By Terez Howard

If you’re just starting out blogging or you want to create an additional blog, here’s a word of advice:

Find a needle in the haystack.

Beginner bloggers probably have heard the terms “niche” and “micro niche.” A niche is a distinct segment of a market, while a micro niche is a more specific form of a wider market. For instance, green living is a niche, and green living with pets is a micro niche.

As a blogger, you want to find a topic that you already have contained a wealth of information, or at least you have a lot to say about the topic. Sounds easy enough, right?

It is pretty simple. Keep in mind that you not only go as tight as possible, but also make sure that you’re writing about something that people want to read about.

That’s where research comes in. Pay a visit to the Google Adwords Keyword Tool. Type in a desired keyword to get an idea of what people are searching for, and then head over to Google to see what you’re competition is like.

This method does not always give you a clear picture, though, since you’re keyword might be too broad, but you’re topic could be perfect. So check through several keywords and remember that a keyword alone should not decide the fate of your blog. It is just a piece of the puzzle.

There are various free and not free software programs that go into greater depth in spotting a niche. You could choose to invest in one if you plan on using it to generate blog topics or post ideas. However, in my opinion, it isn’t necessary.

My short blogging topic list

I was thinking about topics that I would like to write, as well as blogs that I would like to see and/or enjoy reading. I came up with the following list of topics about blogging:

1. Blog writing tips
2. Blog design
3. Unpaid blog marketing
4. Paid blog marketing
5. Sponsored blogging
6. Blogging for businesses
7. Blogging as a source of income
8. Blogging with babies
9. Blogging basics
10. Corporate blogging
11. Video blogging
12. Blogging for fun
13. Blogging about news
14. Blogging for newspapers
15. Where to find best blogs of a certain topic
16. Affiliate marketing and blogging
17. Social media marketing
18. WordPress plug-in reviews
19. WordPress template reviews
20. WordPress graphic designer reviews
21. Ghost blogging
22. Before you blog, you should know
23. The blog that responds to the best bloggers
24. Personal branding
25. Blog that reviews blogs
26. Blog strictly about blogging topics!

Within my list, I can see these topics can be even tighter. A blog about unpaid blog marketing could be cut down to only include how to market via Twitter. A blog that focuses on affiliate marketing on a blog could solely discuss using Commission Junction.

Are you thinking that a super tight micro niche blog will run dry on topics? It may. But the odds are slim because within one topic is the possibility of hundreds of posts.

So yeah, you’re trying to find a needle. It’s also a needle with a billion atoms on its point. You won’t run out of material.

What kind of blogging topics would you like to read or write about?

—
Terez Howard operates TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility. She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas . You’ll find her on Twitter @thewriteblogger

Thanks, Terez!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

As long as I’m willing to do a little searching, I find that I can get reliable answers to all of my business questions. I have yet to ask a question that hasn’t been responded to on someone’s blog.

That’s what we bloggers are here for, right? To provide quality content. But when we read other people’s helpful information at no cost to us, what do we do to add to the discussion?

Questions, comments, concerns

I feel like I’m back in my school days here. Think about this. When the teacher delves into geophysics and you hear Charlie Brown lingo, you should ask for clarification. So, when you read a blog that doesn’t explain a topic clearly, don’t be embarrassed to ask the blogger for additional insight.

Did you ever have the teacher that had each student go around the room and name their favorite something? I think I was in elementary school when we named our favorite animals in front of the class. (At the time, my answer was cats). I remember thinking this exercise was stupid and a waste of time. Yes, I thought this as a 7-year-old.

I didn’t know it all, either. My teacher was preparing us to do at least one thing: socialize. Blogs are a key component of social media. Commenting about our favorite something from a post or sharing some other personal knowledge generates discussion. It makes this social media social.

Teachers make mistakes. When I saw a teacher’s math problem didn’t add up – literally – I let her know quietly and tactfully. I was not about to risk my parents making a visit to the school to hear about their mouthy daughter.

When we see a problem with a blogger’s data, we should let the writer know and do so quietly and tactfully. Even if it isn’t a technical error, we should air our concerns because once again, we get to engage in a social conversation.

What’s the point?

Questions, comments and concerns help us to learn more. That’s why our teachers throughout our years and years of school encouraged them so much. We remember what we talk about. We make connections. We build on this foundation.

Not to mention, the teacher feels his job has been worthwhile when he sees his students responding to his direction. Bloggers, too, feel that sense of worth when people respond to their posts.

Of course, these responses must only contribute to a meaningful discussion. None of that “Nice post” or “Good job” stuff. Sure, it’s nice to be complimented, but a few dozen of those a day can amount to nothing more than spam. I cannot tell you how many spammy comments I don’t approve per day and from the exact same website!

Since I don’t like words full of nothing, why would I give them to someone else? We bloggers have to stick together and truly talk to one another. We can learn so much from one another, but only if we open our mouths, or rather move our fingers, and converse.

How do you engage your readers in conversation?

—
Terez Howard operates TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility. She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas . You’ll find her on Twitter @thewriteblogger

Thanks, Terez!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

By Terez Howard

This blog is brobdingnagian.

Are you scratching your head, wondering why I would talk like this? I don’t talk like this.

Have you already headed over to a dictionary website to see what brobdingnagian means? That’s where I found its meaning. My Microsoft Word Processor doesn’t even recognize it as a word.

Deduct $5 now

If you strip this 14-letter word of its pomp and circumstance, you get this: big. Brobdingnagian is one of those $5 words that do not belong in a blog post and can be substituted for a word worth a dime.

Why should $5 words be avoided?

1. It takes unnecessary time for a reader to look them up. Most people have limited time and want to read through a blog without spending undue time with a dictionary in hand or in another tab.
2. Brobdingnagian words are likely to send readers searching for more reader-friendly blogs. Who wants to read a blog that needs an interpreter? Not me.
3. If you’re making a call to action in your blog, how can your readers act on something they do not understand?

I’m not saying that you have to dumb your writing down. There is no hard and fast rule that says you have to stick to words no longer than seven letters. People do have to understand what you’re trying to say. If they don’t, they are not going to stick around on your blog.

When I wrote for the newspaper, my boss told us that our readers’ level was that of fifth graders. He told us they would not continue to buy papers if we wrote at a higher level. I always remembered that because I used to write poetry, and I liked to pepper my poems with $5 words. That was fine for something personal, but for the public, it was unacceptable.

Explanations for technical terminology

Most of us writers don’t have a problem getting rid of complicated, unheard of words. However, we might be involved in a field that uses several acronyms and abbreviations. I didn’t know that a-s stood for all-sung.

There also might be words that are common in a certain field, like quadrille. But to laymen, that means absolutely nothing.

If your audience knows the acronyms and technical terms you use, you don’t necessarily have to explain them every time. But if you think you just might get a newbie or novice, I suggest you provide an explanation the first time you introduce the word in a post. After that, you don’t have to mention it again.

If you don’t want to do that, be sure to provide the resources for newcomers to your blog, so they can easily locate the meanings of words like concerto grosso and obbligato. The easiest way to do this is to add a glossary.

Add high quality

After you subtract all the $5 words, what are you left with? If it’s not much, you’re doing something wrong. Blogs should serve their readers as a well of resourceful and/or entertaining information. They should quench their readers’ thirst for knowledge.

When you provide your audience with a usable message, they won’t want a refund on your 10-cent words. They’ll take it to the bank.

What do you do to make sure people understand what you’re writing?

—
Terez Howard operates TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility. She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas . You’ll find her on Twitter @thewriteblogger

Thanks, Terez!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!