Wednesday, March 26, 2014

How to make people read your blog

What makes a good blogger? Well, some of us seem to be very talented, and others, well , not - but there is hope for everyone. There are a few rules, that if taken into account, will improve your blog posts instantly . Of course you are not going to be an expert blogger right away, it needs time and a lot of experience, but a good way to start is browsing through many blogs and reflect what was appealing and what was not.

Browsing some of the suggested blogs of Mr. Newman I noticed a couple of things, most of this bloggers do, or at least parts of them. I have listed some things here for you :)

1. interesting headline
2. nice layout
3. to address readers personally
4. interesting and unique style of writing
5. Don´t leave the reader indecisive after reading your blog 
6. Keep it short and simple
7. Be yourself



1. Layout
There’s much to say about "inner values" but let´s face the truth. You might be the most interesting blogger in the world, if I click on your page and the layout is vacuous and boring I very likely won´t read it (unless someone has suggested it). The first impression is extremely important, because your brain decides in less than a second whether it likes something or not, so do not underestimate the importance of a nice layout.

2. Catchy headline
The second thing you notice is the headline, it is the next checkpoint to decide whether you are going to read this blog post or not so you are doing fine making it interesting and catchy. Capture their attention and curiosity!





3. Topic /Style of writing
Once you got that far and there is really someone out there reading your blog posts ( except for your English teacher maybe, who is obligated to do so ;) you need to keep his or her interest. You can do so through an interesting topic, an unique or funny style of writing, or (for experts) a combination of both. Try to choose topics that really interest you, so you are passionate about what you are writing. Make sure to include your own opinion. Remember if people just wanted to know pure facts they would browse wikipedia and not blogspot. Also try to address your readers personally, it gives them a nice feeling and they are more likely to continue to read. 




4. links /videos /references
There is another important rule for blogging: never leave the reader indecisive after having finished to read a blog post. Provide links for further information or interesting videos about the topic. If they are interested, they may want to know more about it. 




5.KISS
Consider the KISS - rule: Keep it short and simple: because nobody is reading through dozen of pages. The amount of time you invested is not determined through the lengths of your post





For my part I too took some of this strategies into account and started by making a completely new layout that will meet my own requests. Also I will think more about the topics I post and will try to find my own unique style of writing.