Blogging for Writers: Ten Tips for Beginners

by  @AnnieDaylon 

Blogging for Writers: The Sequel 🙂
(10 Tips for Beginners)

My last post about Blogging for Writers dealt with value: What’s In It for Me? What’s in it for Us?  This one deals with content. Here are 10 Tips for Beginners:

1.  Get Started. Don’t wait until you have the exact area of interest or until you have perfected your style. These will come. Choose a topic and go.

2.  Keep it Short. Write enough to cover your topic. Stop. I set time limits for reading blog posts (busy!) and, out of respect for other readers, I set word limits for writing them. My writing goal/post? Fewer than 500 words. More to say? Write a sequel!

 3.  Keep it Simple. Get to the point. Tell your readers what you are going to write about, write about it, and tell them what you have written.

4.  Use White Space (or, in my case, blue. 🙂 White space is simply that, the leftover space around the words. White space around content actually draws readers toward content. To create white space, use short paragraphs. Get rid of unnecessary words. Use Point Form.

5.  Include a Question to Encourage Readers to Comment. E.g. What are your best blogging tips?

6.  Use a Call to Action. Ask people to subscribe or follow.

7.  Share, and Ask Others to Share. Use Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, Google+, whatever works for you. Make sharing easy for your readers by including Share Buttons. A blog is a tool.  It is useless if people don’t know it is there. Share. Share. Share.

8.  Use your Twitter Handle in the Byline of your Post. When I read a good post, I share it via Twitter. I schedule my Tweets using Tweetdeck. If I can find the Twitter handle of the author, I add it to the Tweet. Why? If someone at-mentions you (e.g. @AnnieDaylon) it will show up on your Twitter stream; you can favorite it, retweet it, reply to it. Your post will gain more ground.

9.  Always Check your Work. I just checked this post and realized that I had 9 tips, not the promised 10. I added this one. 🙂

10. Invest in a Good Resource about Blogging. Try Blog It  by Molly Greene. It contains information on everything from Set Up to SEO. It saved me a lot of time and energy. Highly recommend!

If you are on the verge of blogging, as I was a while back, try the above Ten Tips for Beginners.

If you are already a blogger, what tips do you have for beginners?

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My best to you,