Many people are interested in blogging but are literally so stuck and overwhelmed they can’t get started. In trainings, posts, newsletters and chats, the nagging concern is that educated business and nonprofit professionals are afraid of humiliating themselves with the wrong style, vernacular, word choice and length. What to write, when to write, how to write, and into the abyss. Where did all these “rules” come from anyway?
My 14 Commandments of Blogging can help you:
1. Thou shall not expect to be a professional award-winning writer. Be conversational; be yourself.
2. Thou shall (if needed) write an outline before typing to help organize your thoughts and flow.
3. Thou shall use statistics, quotes and relevant information for openers and closers.
4. Thou shall cite your sources (see Commandment 3)
5. Thou shall write concise and compelling words that impact your reader, building rapport with them.
6. Thou shall not worry about word count but make every word count.
7. Thou shall write with bullet points and short paragraphs that are reader-friendly.
8. Thou shall keep your finger on the pulse of your industry, trends and news which will give you great topics and fodder for your posts.
9. Thou shall appreciate the power and influence of the written word and the Internet and not write harshly of anyone.
10. Thou shall review and rewrite, knowing the first draft is never the final. No one is that good.
11. Thou shall write posts that are strong enough to be repurposed in the form of a book (light bulb moment!)
12. Thou shall insert pictures and videos to make the post more visually appealing and interactive.
13. Thou shall provide valuable information that will prompt readers to share links and tweets of your favorite posts (like this one!)
14. Thou shall be aware of keywords in your title and text for SEO purposes.
Blog titles are extremely important too. Read up on key marketing words that connect with human emotions. Your title should be a tease to entice people to read on. Learn about Search Engine Optimization but focus on content first, then SEO.
(Photo Credit: Roland)
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Susan,
I enjoyed your post and passed it on to some of my clients as a refresher for them as they write their blog post.
Hi Susan,
This is a great post which I’ll reference in a talk I’m doing next week on social media for small business. I can offer a couple more commandments:
15) Thou shall use the gobbledygook grader before I post anything. You can find it at http://gobbledygook.grader.com/. It will identify jargon, hyperbole and other tiresome phrases in your post.
16) If you really can’t bring yourself to write a blogpost, you can farm the writing part of it out. There are plenty of good B2B writers that can whip up a blogpost to your specifications. It’s better to hire a professional to do the writing than miss out on a valuable way to communicate with your clients and prospects.
Great post. I’ve bookmarked it and Tweeted it!
Love the 14 commandments.. now if I can only implement them better than the first 10.
Hi Susan,
Great commandments! Thanks for sharing them. I can put them to use in my new blog, http://www.gatesoftheheart.wordpress.com. Thank you, thank you!
Carolyn
You are most welcome Carolyn. I am glad you’ll be able to use “The Commandments” when writing your own blog.
Best of luck~
Susan