Remarkablogger

1st Key: Content Production

How do you become a better writer or podcaster? By focusing on the basics and through constant practice. What are the basics? Well, that’s debatable, but here are some as they relate to blogging:

• Each post has a single purpose, and everything in the post supports that purpose.
• Each post has a beginning, a middle, and an end, in a fashion that is similar to stories. And, just like with fictional stories, people love it when your post has a happy ending!
• Speak to a specific audience. Imagine that you are speaking directly to a member of that audience. Would she understand you? Where would her eyes glaze over? Would he feel compelled to continue reading, listening, or watching, or would he click the back button? What need are you addressing that your audience has?
• Write and speak in your own voice. Write like how you speak—not when you’re chillin’ with tha bros, LOL—but like when you are saying something important and speaking to someone you respect. You can still be yourself when you do that.
• Use correct grammar and spelling when writing, but don’t sweat it too much. Go back and make grammar and spelling corrections if a reader points them out in the comments, and then thank that reader for helping you. If you really want to get better at this stuff, you will with practice.
• Be original in your approach and execution. If everyone else is doing it, it’s not special, anymore. But how you approach a subject and how you deliver on it makes all the difference. Because of the huge numbers of existing blogs on the topic, you would think that people would just give up on the idea of creating blogs that help you blog or that help you earn money online. But not only are these kinds of blogs still being created and run, there are new ones that have risen to prominence recently. How is that possible, when the idea has been so overdone? Originality in approach and in execution.

This key to better blogging is probably the most important one of all. It is so important, that focusing on it will help you succeed even if the work on the other keys is not so hot. Excellent, worthwhile content can overcome much! Nearly everything else we do with our blogs is really designed to help our content become understanding in the minds of as many people as possible. There is an order to the seven keys to better blogging. Content Production comes first because it is so essential, so foundational.

Your Feedback is Desired

Leave a comment with a link back to a post you wrote after you read this. Tell me how you applied these concepts, or how you’re currently applying them. At the end of this series, I’m going to pick the best examples and link to them. So please leave a comment below and subscribe to my RSS feed so you don’t miss the rest of them! Tomorrow is Key 2: Blog Design.