July 05, 2005
Interblogging's Guide to Blogging
Interblogging's Five Steps to Having Good Blog
1. Whenever you can add images that go along with your articles. This helps to pull the reader in and it gets them interested in the article. They will usually see the image first and then think, I want to know what this is all about. If a reader goes to your blog and sees oceans of nothing but text, they are likely to skip to the next blog.
*note* including links are also helpful. For example do not say, "Jim Shorts saw War of the Worlds yesterday." If Jim has a blog instead say, "Jim Shorts saw War of the Worlds yesterday" where Jim is a link to his blog and War of the Worlds is a link to information about that movie. Do not be afraid to italicize movies or book titles. Every now and then an italicized word can make your articles look more inviting to read. The text is less monotones.
2. Do not just post about what you did that day for every article. No one wants to read day after day, "First I did this... and then... next... after that...." If your blog is more like an online journal you will want some of that, but try to make entries about things you like or things that are personal to you. For example I like movies. If I see a movie I really like (or hate) I will write an article about that movie or even give a movie review.
*note* no one wants to see a blog that every entry is nothing but questions that they found on someone else's blog, or crazy quizzes/personality test results (odds are no one really cares which superhero's cooking style is closer to your own). It is okay to share your quiz results or answer questions that you found other people answer, but everything in moderation.
3. Give credit where credit it due. If you get an idea off another person's blog give them credit by linking to their article. This gives everyone more exposure in the end. If you do not want to send the reader away from your blog you can add to the link, target="_blank". This will make the link open in a new window so they can finish reading your article. However, if the user is using a real browser (anything but IE) then they will probably open any link from you article into a separate tab anyway. Surly no still uses IE right???? Download Firefox
4. Do not use a default template. Readers have seen them hundreds or thousands of times. This makes you blog just like everyone else's blog which makes it boring. If your template is unique people are going to be more likely to remember your site or be more interested in reading your blog. Especially if the template theme matches the content or type of blog you have. It also creates an atmosphere for your blog. Set the mood with your blog's design. Unfortunately this is too often ignored.
5. Do not make your posts too long. No one wants to read a 2,000 word essay about the last time you walked your dog. If you have to scroll down to finish reading an article it is probably too long. Please be courteous to your fellow bloggers.
*note* Try to keep your blog rolls (or other side links) from being too long also. They seem to disappear in a ocean of links if you have too many. Link to your favorite blogs and not the mediocre blogs you visit from time to time. No one wants to click though your watered down blogroll.
1. Whenever you can add images that go along with your articles. This helps to pull the reader in and it gets them interested in the article. They will usually see the image first and then think, I want to know what this is all about. If a reader goes to your blog and sees oceans of nothing but text, they are likely to skip to the next blog.
*note* including links are also helpful. For example do not say, "Jim Shorts saw War of the Worlds yesterday." If Jim has a blog instead say, "Jim Shorts saw War of the Worlds yesterday" where Jim is a link to his blog and War of the Worlds is a link to information about that movie. Do not be afraid to italicize movies or book titles. Every now and then an italicized word can make your articles look more inviting to read. The text is less monotones.
2. Do not just post about what you did that day for every article. No one wants to read day after day, "First I did this... and then... next... after that...." If your blog is more like an online journal you will want some of that, but try to make entries about things you like or things that are personal to you. For example I like movies. If I see a movie I really like (or hate) I will write an article about that movie or even give a movie review.
*note* no one wants to see a blog that every entry is nothing but questions that they found on someone else's blog, or crazy quizzes/personality test results (odds are no one really cares which superhero's cooking style is closer to your own). It is okay to share your quiz results or answer questions that you found other people answer, but everything in moderation.
3. Give credit where credit it due. If you get an idea off another person's blog give them credit by linking to their article. This gives everyone more exposure in the end. If you do not want to send the reader away from your blog you can add to the link, target="_blank". This will make the link open in a new window so they can finish reading your article. However, if the user is using a real browser (anything but IE) then they will probably open any link from you article into a separate tab anyway. Surly no still uses IE right???? Download Firefox
4. Do not use a default template. Readers have seen them hundreds or thousands of times. This makes you blog just like everyone else's blog which makes it boring. If your template is unique people are going to be more likely to remember your site or be more interested in reading your blog. Especially if the template theme matches the content or type of blog you have. It also creates an atmosphere for your blog. Set the mood with your blog's design. Unfortunately this is too often ignored.
5. Do not make your posts too long. No one wants to read a 2,000 word essay about the last time you walked your dog. If you have to scroll down to finish reading an article it is probably too long. Please be courteous to your fellow bloggers.
*note* Try to keep your blog rolls (or other side links) from being too long also. They seem to disappear in a ocean of links if you have too many. Link to your favorite blogs and not the mediocre blogs you visit from time to time. No one wants to click though your watered down blogroll.
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