2 articles that are worth a read…
Both the articles summarised below are a bit longer than the ones we normally share but they are both worth reading and we certainly found good advice and ideas in them. As always please don’t try and embrace everything you read all at once, break it down a bit. It’s OK to take bite size chunks and start working on them straight away and then keep other parts for later. Just make sure you don’t forget about them!
The first article is from Chris Brogan, 97 Ideas for Building a Valuable Platform. Chris has broken down the list into 9 categories, we have listed the categories below with our favourite idea in each one. LEt us know if you agree and then check out the full article for the other 88!
Start Somewhere
Get in the habit of writing daily, even if you don’t post daily. Start with 200 words. Then 300. The current best bet for a blog post’s length is between 300-500 words. You can get that.
Video. Video. Video
Get a YouTube account. You can use any other platform you want, but you must also use YouTube. It’s the #2 search engine in the world. Why would you NOT use it?
Embrace Brevity
Writing commentary about other people’s ideas is great – occasionally. Start formulating your own brief ideas.
Ideas Drive Platform
Hoarding ideas is like stashing ice cubes under your mattress for later. Use them when you get them, and share them liberally.
Be Yourself
Remember that praise and criticism are the same: other people’s thoughts that shouldn’t sway your overall mission. (We tend to accept praise but loathe criticism. Learn to loathe it equally.)
Your Three Roles
Whether or not you want to be, you are now in sales and customer service, along with whatever your main goal or drive might be.
Overnight Success
Doing the work requires more time and effort than not doing it. Unemployment is also easier than working.
What to Talk/Write About
Deliver instruction. Teaching someone how to do something never goes out of style.
What to Avoid
Want to wow people? Don’t write nasty posts about your competitors.
Second article is from Social Media Examiner, 26 Tips for Writing Great Blog Posts. If we are being honest not a week goes by without seeing a ‘Certain amount of Tips for Blogging’ type article and we usually end up reading them all. Most give advice such as ‘write engaging content that your audience will want to share’ and a pretty much a waste of time but as usually Social Media Examiner have put together some good advice. We have listed the 26 topics below, unfortunately they don’t make that much sense on there own, you will need to take 10 minutes out and read the full article.
#1: Anatomically Correct
#2: Blogging Platform
#3: Categories
#4: Description
#5: Editorial Calendar
#6: Fine-Tune and Revise
#7: Guidelines for Writing for Search Engines
#8: Headings
#9: Images
#10: Journalistic Approach
#11: Killer SEO and Blog Design
#12: Lists
#13: Metrics for Blogging
#14: Names, Titles and Bio
#15: Original vs. Curated Content
#16: Publish and Promote
#17: Questions
#18: Research
#19: Stand Out
#20: Title
#21: User-Centered Content
#22: Valuable Content
#23: Word Count
#24: (E)xcerpt
#25: Your Story
#26: Zone for Writing
