Website
Free Subscription!
Click here to
learn more!
Free Subscription!
Click here to
learn more!
|
| Are you Ready to Jump on the Blogging Bandwagon? |
| |
by Marge Lennon
Owner
Lennon Communications Group
|
| |
Blogs (originally short for “web logs”) first started to gather steam as a cultural phenomenon about ten years ago. Easier to create and maintain than a website, anybody can start a new blog in minutes — free. Now, it seems like every cable news show, corporation, politician or individual has its own blog.
With all the attention focused on the web in the last 15 years, it has become the preferred way to get information. This has come at the expense of traditional media like television and newspapers. Objective journalism of the past appears to be shattered with no clear vision of how the media landscape will continue to change. Many are wondering if newspapers will even exist in ten years. Old-style journalistic habits – like checking facts before printing them – are changing to a post-then-review, fingers crossed, style. No one seems to care anymore if comments posted are factual or merely some blogger’s opinion. Scary stuff!
Incase this is all totally new to you, a blog is an online journal for your own website, a site created to host blogs, or a social networking site. Blogging enables you to communicate quickly and publicly with many people. But it can be very time-consuming, causing many businesses to hire a professional blogger, many of whom come from public relations fields. There’s another new word to learn: the blogosphere, which is the collective community of all blogs.
For a media traditionalist who has enjoyed breakfast with the daily newspaper for years and reading in depth stories on items of interest in weekly news magazines, this “new media” has been frustrating to accept. But technology has changed everything, especially how we communicate, so we must get on board or be run over by progress.
Today, conversation bounces around the Internet like a contagious virus with search engines frantically chasing after them, constantly indexing page after page. Anybody can write about anything at any time … from anywhere. They don’t have to be writers or even know how to spell! A negative review about a consumer product can be viral within minutes of being posted and have a devastating impact on a company’s reputation or future sales.
Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have exploded from the desktop and laptop into every environment where anybody has Internet access. Apple’s iPhone paved the way for internet-enabled smart phones, which have done more to spread social media than any other device. Expanding mobile data networks and free, easy wireless access is everywhere. Just look around. Everybody seems to be “connected” to everyone else like a giant spider web. New media moguls predict that within five years, more people will be accessing the Internet through their mobile devices than desktop computers.
How To Write A Blog
Are you ready to jump on the blogging bandwagon? Read on as we present everything you need to know about actually writing your blog. Ideally, they are directed to a targeted audience that shares an interest in your topic. They are generally written to stimulate responses. Each blog should focus on a single topic, be educational, zippy, dynamic and enjoyable.
Before writing, first decide who will want to read your blog and why? Then decide what tone would be most appropriate and write consistently in that style. Blogs that are written in an honest voice are often the most popular. Keep the tone personable and chatty. A significant component to a blog’s success is the community that develops around it. Regular updates keep people coming back and attract search engines on the lookout for new content. By asking questions at the end of your blog, you open the welcome map for readers to respond.
Your title has the ability to make or break a blog post. It impacts whether people actually read it and how (and if) it’s found in search engines. A blog that’s searchable with keyword-rich headlines will lead people seeking information about you or your company directly to your site. Also, be sure to put your main message near the top of your blog.
Write your blog posts in short paragraphs. Most readers will skim a blog post or web page before committing to read it in its entirety. Text-heavy web pages and blog posts can be overwhelming to readers while pages with a lot of white space are easier to skim and more likely to keep readers on the page. A post needs to have a point. If it’s just an intriguing title and opening you’ll get readers – but if the post doesn’t matter to them it won’t generate responses.
People don’t read content on line in the same way they read content in other mediums. Online readers tend to scan content. Images added to your post have the power to communicate in ways that words cannot.
Do not copy text from other sites. Keep your content original, simple and to your point. If you share information from another blog or website, be sure to provide a link back to the original source. Sometimes it can be tempting to list links to other online content for your readers to follow. Don’t fall into that trap. Instead, give readers a reason to stay on your blog by providing links with your own point of view.
Freda Stemick, Business Development Director from Resort Trades and RT Management & Operations (M&O) has been writing blogs for years. She is a frequent blogger for AskMando and shares a few tips with M&O readers. “A blog post should be conversational and encourage discussion. Keep your blogs to no more than 400 words and do not let them sound like an advertorial promoting a product or service. Instead, describe your opinion or thoughts on a specific subject. It helps when you have a passion for that subject. Write about what you believe in. The trick is to keep the reader captivated and motivated to return to your site. People are drawn to others who speak their mind, have something unique to say and say it in a creative and fresh way. Since there are so many outlets like Linkedin, Facebook and Askmando.com, be sure your blogs are posted on multiple sites to obtain maximum exposure.”
To post your own blog on www.AskMando.com, send a quick email to Carrie Vandever, VP of Production at Resort Trades (press@askmando.com) and she’ll give you some easy guidelines.
By carefully crafting words and ideas, your blog can take readers on a pleasant journey. Go ahead, try it. Live dangerously!
|
|
|
|
Print this page
