What is the key to good blogging? It is the interest of your reader. Readers come from all walks of life and of all mental calibers and approach. So we cannot cope with moods of all blog visitors, but can try to entertain most of them. So if we explain the reader interest, it comprises the following elements.

Validity of Information

Most important element of a blog post will be the validity or credibility of information it consist. If a post is written about history of Internet, it should use the accurate records. Like wise if a post saying how to write well, it should say some professional and expert opinion about principles and techniques of writing. This validity of information gives you the good will, confidence and trust of the readers. For this purpose, always use good source of information. No professional blogger will just depend on the Google search results as a reference. Because there are so many voices and all of them are not authenticated.

Reader Interest

This element deals directly with the mood of our reader. Think about a product displayed at a departmental store. How customers make a choice among various products? The answer is that customers judge the product’s quality by means of items outlook, characteristics, cost and company’s good will. It may be little complicated but in plain words, we can say that if your content/writing carry such a flow stream which keep the interest of readers, will be efficient enough and compel readers to carry on. Also, try to use that title which is accurate and outline exactly, the inside of your post. The first paragraph should be written as a summary or outline of the whole story. It is same as the sign board of a store or shop. If customers don’t get the listed items, they will be eventually disappointed by your services.

There are some useful and appealing elements that make a blog post interesting and informative. They serve as beginning or starting point of a conversation.

• A news story
• Statistics or facts and figures about the topic
• A relevant quote
• Images which explain more about the topic
• Images which serve as a decoration of the post
• A success story (A short bio of a successful blogger for example)
• Useful and relative links for the sack of reference to more information

• 23,000 blogs created everyday.
• 400.000 blog posts are created everyday in the blogosphere.
• 61% of blog readers are over the age of 30 and their income is more then $45000 a year.
• About 45% of old blogs have not a post in 3 months.
• 92% of bloggers are under the age of 30.
• There are only about 5000 corporate bloggers.
• 11% of Internet users read blogs.

(Source: Technorati, eMarketer, Perseus)

If you are one of those who can write interesting content for public, there are very bright features blogging can provide. Most of the blogs use Google Adsence in their blogs to get some revenue. But there is another profitable source of earning from blogs and it is more then the advertisements shown as Google Ads. This method is affiliate marketing. If you don’t know about Internet marketing or how to market a product online, no problem you can also earn by affiliate programs.

Affiliate programs provide a way to earn a commission per sale for one or more products. You are a marketer or advertiser for the actual seller. When a customer clicks on your affiliate link and make a purchase, you will be awarded with commission. Say for example there is a commission of $10 for one sale. It will sum up as greater as many people read the blog and feel interest to go to that link.

A writer can easily earn with blogs using the affiliate links and it does not require any Internet marketing skills. Determine the areas of writing where you can produce best and interesting content. For example if you have a good grasp over the financial topics, the online financing programs, banks offering loans, credit card companies are the best places to sign up for affiliate programs and get a link to post in your blog posts. In the same post you can refer the reader to a related book available at amazon.com, and more relative offers available.

An informative and interesting blog inspire the readers, they admire the knowledge and value of the author and pay attention to her or his opinion. An affiliate link provided at a suitable place can give more chances of clicks then a banner ad or Google ads.

• Decide a niche to write or blog at. Your hobbies, expertise, academic or professional subjects are best to blog about.
• Good content is the key for a successful blog. Research for info or content available on the topic so that to be able to provide valuable content. Write at least 400 to 500 words post.
• Try to get the reader perspective, for example what will reader like to get when he come to know about the topic you just blogged.
• Make the headings or titles according to the search terms; get those which are used by people while searching on a topic. Titles like How to, Tips, Best practices, avoid, help etc are popular.
• List your keywords at the beginning; use them throughout your posts to be able to make a ranking for them in the search engines. But do not over use them. Like here we have, blogs, blogging, blogger, money with blogging, how to blog, earn money with blogging.
• Readers demand everything neat and clean and well worked at free of cost. So try to provide as much as you can. Make a nice design and layout with useful tools or widgets.
• Boost your reader to comment on your work and make a friendly environment.
• Post regularly, get some friends to be guest blogger when you are out of work. You can do it by posting guest entries on their blogs and get for yours when needed.
• Be an active member of relevant forums, blogger community, sign for newsletters etc to get some friend circle and awareness of what is happening around.
• To make your posts more useful, provide links to more information from Wikipedia and other useful directories. You can also add links from other useful blogs and may have some link trade.

What is difference between an article and a blog post?

There is no specific rules made for writing a blog post, rather there is a key difference between them and it is the behavior. A blog looks like a live place to read and comment. While an article directory have static content to read. Although, you have the option to read similar content posted by different people. So they have their own specifics.

Another aspect of blogging and articles is the reason. Articles are purely submitted in directories to get back links and attract reader to a particular service or product. Most of the articles do not exactly mean to provide the useful information. So you have to get the desired info after reading a couple of articles from different authors. It’s time consuming and sometimes causes the reduction of interest in the research being performed.

So for a professional knowledge about a particular subject will remain, sources like Wikipedia. While the blogging has a key difference that the content provided at a blog is optimized to be useful, interesting and professional because it directly impact on the overall value of the blog.

What are Blogs used for?

It’s important to know about the actual concerns of a blogger. These concerns may be defined as the possible profits of blogging. To be realistic, no one has the time to write continuously and put valuable knowledge without getting some benefits. A blogger generally write for the following reasons.

A blog provide valuable and interesting content about topics. As the quality of content is enhanced, it directly increases the traffic of readers to the blog and it increase the overall value and ranking of the blog in search engines.

When a blog gets some organic web traffic and have age of at least 5 months, it could be used to display different type of advertisements like Google ads and banner or text ads from other small businesses companies. So as many people visit the blog, so will be chances of revenue from the ads.

A blogger can review someone’s product or services and provide their business link in the post. These reviews are paid by the business owners.

Blogs are also used to promote affiliate links. Many affiliate companies pay high commission when you refer some one to them. A blogger can successfully nest the affiliate links in the post. For example, if the blog post is about “Tips on self financing”, the links of banks or institutes providing such services will be useful for the reader and potentially, can generate affiliate commission for the blogger.

Blog Marketing: Now blogs are also used to promote a website. For example we have a website example.com, our blog posts could track back to this site. We can provide links for this site in between the post text or promote the services/products of this particular site. As the blog gets value in the search engines, it will direct this value to the website, the blog is struggling for. This idea is new and popular because search engines love blogs due to the fresh content added.

But after years of blogging, after over a hundred posts published, after creating two or more new blogs, you find yourself disinterested in blogging all of a sudden. I’m not sure if there is such a thing as over-blogging wherein you’ve maxed out yourself blogging. Maybe it’s like hitting a plateau. The interest is still there minus the excitement. Could it be that blogging and the blogging community, including the different blog platforms, has grown exponentially in the past years to the point of saturation? On a personal note, I find this development very positive. It only goes to show that a lot of people want to be heard and like to have his or her little space in the virtual community.

Blogging everyday requires discipline. Keeping your site updated with fresh posts is a total commitment. Off days or not, you have to write especially if the blog’s theme is current events. Being ahead of the pack gives you the opportunity to get high rankings in Google and other popular search engines.

So what do you do if you don’t feel like blogging anymore and yet you want to keep the blog constantly updated? One solution would be to get a ghostwriter to write blog posts for you. Just make sure that the writing style stays the same. It would definitely be obvious if the style of writing shifted to something that is different from the original. Another option is to invite guest bloggers to write for your blog.  Their posts will keep your blog active during the lull days. In addition, you may also start a blog carnival that other bloggers can participate. Pick a topic that would entice other bloggers to contribute articles. For example, since Mother’s Day is just a month away, you may start this topic where bloggers can blog about anything that relates to Mother’s Day. It could be personal anecdotes, photo essay, gift ideas and so on.

So you see, you don’t have to sulk when you run out of topics to write about. You may try any of the blogging tips I’ve mentioned above to keep your blog active.

]]> http://www.thisisnotablog.net/2009/04/keeping-up-with-blogging/feed/ 6 http://www.thisisnotablog.net/2009/04/unblocking-the-writers-block/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.thisisnotablog.net/2009/04/unblocking-the-writers-block/#comments Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:59:48 +0000 editor http://www.thisisnotablog.net/?p=11 Have you ever experienced writer’s block? You know, the feeling of wanting to write but nothing coherent seems to come out of your thoughts. You doodle, write a few sentences only to delete it afterwards. Sometimes I feel the same way about my blog. There are moments when I feel like closing down my blog altogether. There are days when I don’t update my blog because I don’t feel like writing or I have run out of topics to write about. I could have written something to fill the void but expect a meander of thoughts, rants and gripes about the mundane things around me.

When I find myself stuck for ideas to write, I don’t force myself to pen anything. I entertain my mind with something else to declutter my thoughts. I go out for a walk, read a book perhaps or if I’m really bored, I turn on the TV. Once I’ve organized my thoughts, it’s time to choose which subject to write.

With blogs, you can write about almost anything. The wide scope of topics to write is infinite. Picking a topic should not be a problem. Really. I try to stick to the topics I’m familiar with and break it down into more detailed topics. For example, in my blog, I usually write about careers and parenting. These two are still vague subjects to begin with. What about careers and parenting? For careers, I can discuss HR problems, career advices, in-demand professions, corporate ethics, interview tips, writing a resume and so on. Same goes for parenting, I can talk about school kids, pregnancy, teen problems, puberty and more. It’s just a matter of focusing on a specific area or sub-category of your chosen subject.

Now you have a topic and all you need is to put those creative ideas into words. Since blogs are more of a personal statement, write as if you’re just talking to someone, maybe your friend or partner. If you employ a specific style of writing in your blog i.e. first person or third person, I suggest, be consistent throughout. The writing looks more fluid and well-thought out. It will be easier to read and your audience will read your blog post from start to finish.

Moving on to editing, a piece of advice: don’t edit while writing. Just let your thoughts flow. Don’t mind the misspelled words and grammar just yet. You can do that later. What’s important is to put a coherent blog post that will interest your readers. After you have finished writing your blog post, that’s the only time you begin editing your work. A spell checker comes in handy. Also, be mindful of the subject-verb agreement, tenses and verb use. I usually review my draft twice or thrice before hitting publish post.

Blogging or writing should not be difficult. Blog about what matters to you most. In that way, writing will be second nature. Think of blogging as if you’re having a conversation. If you can carry on a good dialogue with another person, then blog writing would come as easy.

One topic that has become a personal favorite was Penelope Trunk’s post on the “Five signs that your career is about to get vapid.”Among the five items discussed, this one struck me most.

“1. You aim to be a generalist.
The best way to see what you’re great at is to specialize. Pick a type of work that suits your personality, then pick a field that is a specialty within that. Usually you will pick wrong. So what? Keep trying. When I was trying to figure out what I was great at, I wrote a lame novel, I pitched stupid articles to Marie Claire and I got dumped as a feature writer for an alternative Weekly. This is how I learned that I should be writing career advice. The process of becoming a specialist is finding out what makes you special. How could you not want to know that?”

You know the familiar feeling when you’ve been around doing the same work for years. You no longer feel challenged. You literally have to drag yourself to work. You work on auto-pilot. You find comfort in mediocrity. Complacency has become your comfort zone.

What is up with being a generalist anyway? Generalist is akin to being a jack of all trades, master of none. You have the skills alright but the skills are what you considered superficial. It’ not enough to make you an expert. You lack the in depth knowledge required to perform complex tasks. That said,  how do you turn yourself into a specialist?

Companies normally sponsor skills training or further studies to step up your education. When such opportunity arises, seize it. Becoming a specialist not only increases your technical skills, most of all it increases your marketability in the job market. Plus, all new skills learned would all work to your advantage. So the next time your company offers training, whether it’s a new skills set or a refresher course to brush up your skills, grab it.

The big question is, how do we do it?

In the insurance sector for example, the 9/11 event caused a multitude of problems for insurance companies. Capital was depleted because of the substantial loss that occurred. With regard to policy terms and conditions, the clauses have become more stringent. Pricing-wise, the premiums have increased astronomically. Some insurance companies were forced to discontinue operations and some decided to merge with other companies. There were retrenchments and lay offs but the insurance industry was able to get back on its feet. It was a painful phase for both insurance companies and customers but the hard times soon came to an end.

I know it’s hard to stay positive especially if you lose your job but it is important to keep some sanity in place during these tumultuous times. Plus, the recession comes in cycles. In time, the economy will recoup.

Another thing is if you’re lucky to be employed as of this writing, you have to work harder than before. Work hard not just to earn your keep but to stand out from the crowd. When companies streamline their organization, the first one to go is the bottom performers. And you don’t want to be part of that group.

You can also volunteer to do special projects that would contribute to the company’s bottom line. This will earn you plus points and who knows, you might even get a promotion.
No matter how tempting it is to bitch about the economy, restrain yourself from doing so. This goes without saying: avoid whining about the situation. Just focus on your work and how you can increase your contribution to the company. If you have a penchant for business, you may also try setting up a business.
Nowadays, job security is non-existent. Long-term employment is a thing of the past. From the lowest ranking staff to top management CEOs, no one is insulated from unemployment when the company goes bust. We’ve seen quite a number of high ranking management people out of work today. No job is secure. The only exception here is if you belong to the healthcare industry or a federal employee, your job security is better off than the others.

Looking back, it was tough to juggle two jobs especially if both are office based. Imagine having to shuttle yourself from one office to another. Sooner than you thought, you’ll eventually overextend yourself and suffer burnout in no time. The money earned from the part-time gigs will consequently go to medical bills. It’s simply not worth it.

I didn’t give up, of course. I committed foul-ups and wrong decisions in my search for the perfect part-time job. I did multilevel marketing, sold health products and other consumer items which are all on a recruitment slash referral basis. The people who recruited me call it multilevel marketing. But I think it’s just an embellished word for pyramid networking. Unfortunately, I didn’t earn a single cent from those so called business opportunities. I invested, lost money and wasted my time.
And so I continued to research on other ways to create additional streams of income. Passive or otherwise, I gave it a shot. This time, however, I have become wiser. I did not shell out any money nor paid any joining fees to get me started.

In 2000, I was introduced to blogs. If my memory serves me right, the first blog I read was using a diary-x platform. Blogger, Wordpress were unheard of, as far as I’m concerned. Well, I’m not really sure if it was indeed called diary-x. All I remember was that it was some sort of a journal written by a doctor. It was not at all related to medicine nor health but rather about his philandering and other sexual mischief. Come to think of it, he may not be a doctor at all. Anyway, going back to blogs, I love to write and getting myself published was such an ecstatic feeling back then. It allowed me to flesh out my thoughts in the virtual world. And it has set ablaze my passion for words more. To cut the story short, I put up my own blog.

The blog has become my stepping stone to freelancing. Years have passed after reading my first blog and I have, so far, created three blogs under my turf. It opened new opportunities for me. It allowed me to make money from simply doing what I love best and that is writing.

I consider writing as career. Part-time for now. But who knows, I may end up embracing my part-time gigs full-time. Hopefully, soon.