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Blog Review Checklist

October 25, 2005 by Liz

How to Blog Series

When was the last time you looked at your blog the way your readers do? If you write only for yourself, you look at it that way every day. . . . You are your audience. You’re done.

The rest of us are looking for an audience a little bit larger than one.

Humans have unconscious tendencies. We do lots of the things we like to do and ignore the things we don’t. This makes for a blog that looks great from our point of view, but can leave gaping holes–holes that our readers see, holes they probably won’t tell us about.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s okay to leave things out, as long as we know that we’re doing it. Not every blog has to do everything. In fact, most really shouldn’t. But walking around with a hole in your blog could be embarrassing, especially if you don’t know about it.

Here’s a checklist to make sure your blog’s (ahem) vital parts are covered.

Blog Review Checklist

Audience: What words would your readers use to describe your blog? What do they like best about your site?
Purpose: What is the purpose of your blog? Why does it exist? Is the purpose stated plainly where your readers can see it? How well does your blog meet that purpose?
Content: How well does the content support the purpose? Is the content readable, interesting, accurate, entertaining, and appropriate for your audience?
Design: How well does the look of the blog communicate the kind of blog it is? Is navigation easy and intuitive? Do items flow naturally from the first to the next? Do the color palette, image, and type choices support the content or call attention away from it?
Posts: Do you post on a consistent schedule the information readers came to find? Do your posts reflect the unique purpose and style of your blog? Do they offer variety and interest within your blog’s purpose and theme?
Comments: Do you read and respond to comments to form a sense of community? Consider which posts get most comments and which get none. How does that effect the topics that you’re posting on?
Technical Issues: Have you checked lately to see whether and how fast your blog loads in other browsers? Have you overdone the use of plug-ins and gadgets, making the experience more confusing than fun?
Writing: Is your writing clear and respectful of your readers? Have you established a writing voice that lets readers know who you really are? Is the blog essentially free of errors in grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation?
Organization: Have you set up your categories to draw readers into your backlist? Do you feature “Golden Oldies” that new readers would have interest in? Do you name your Categories things that readers can understand?
Marketing and Social Networks: What are you doing to let readers know that you are here? Are you listed in the right directories? Do you read and comment on other blogs within your readership? Have you included linked to the social networks where your ideal readers spend their time?

Sure it takes time to review your blog. It takes even more to make tweaks and changes. But you invest so much time blogging. Doesn’t it seem worth it?

A rule of good publishing says, Spare the reader not yourself. In the end, you won’t be sorry.

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

Want to be a better blogger? Buy the Insider’s Guide to Online Conversation.

Blogging and Perseverance

July 21, 2005 by Liz

From: D. Keith Robinson

Duncan Riley has some good advice for those of us who might get a bit discouraged trying to build a successful blog. His main point is to stick with it, keep posting quality posts on a regular basis and try not to let “the blogging blues” let you down.

He says:

“Very few people find fame and fortune through launching a blog overnight, but over time most people can build a reasonable audience, or even more, based on perseverance at blogging, literally going the distance.”

This is so true and can be hard to remember. It took literally almost a year before my first blog, Asterisk, saw much readership. I had to keep posting and wait. Eventually it “tipped” and I began to see comments and links coming in. But even before that I was having fun and I think that is key. If you’re not having fun, you might have a hard time sticking to it.

I’ve got a newish site I’m working on (Sweetdex) and I hit a bit of roadblock because it was kind of a chore to post in. I decided to mix it up a bit, not worry about sticking to the format and have a bit of fun. Now it’s much easier to post because I enjoy it more. Think about something like that if you are thinking about throwing in the towel.

So, keep at it, make it fun and hopefully you’ll get something worthwhile out of it.

The Benefits of a Conversational Style

July 5, 2005 by Liz

From: D. Keith Robinson

Some of this post is adapted by one I wrote almost two years ago. Back then I saw the benefits of a conversational style and since then I’ve not only realized many of those benefits, I’ve learned a thing or two about blogging, writing for the Web and developing online community. Oh, and my writing is much better.

(It was kind of scary reading my old stuff–but good to see a definite improvement.)

When it comes to a relaxed, conversational style and tone I find that, for me, that style works very well. In general I think it’s a good style to develop for any Web writing–especially blogs–whether they be personal or business related.

A conversational style fits in perfectly with what the Web is all about. As I’ve said quite often, the Web is about people. If you write like you are speaking to your readers, like you’re having a conversation with them, you’ll be laying the foundation for building a relationship with the people that read what you’ve got to say.

Benefits of Conversational Style

Identification with your readers. This is especially true with Web sites that allow comments or encourage feedback. You’ll score points with your readers if they feel like they have your attention and can get to know the writer.
Easier editing. With a this kind of style you’ll be able to self-edit more, and if you are doing it right, your readers will edit your writing and be very tolerant of mistakes, but be careful.
Less writers block. By adopting this style you can be yourself, talk about things that are important to you and your ideas and words will come a bit easier.
More reader participation. Your readers will feel more involved and want to be a part of what you are doing. On a professional site this can translate into more business. On a personal site–more fun.
More honest writing. A conversational style allows you to be yourself.
Makes for a more entertaining read. I personally much prefer a personal, conversational writer. It comes of much less “dry” and makes it easier for me to “get” what they are trying to say.

There are a few drawbacks you might find with a conversational style. While I don’t see them in any way outweighing the benefits, they’re still something you may want to consider.

Drawbacks of Conversational Style

Poor writing quality. This type of style can lead you easily down the road of sloppy writing and factual mistakes. This is something to watch out for, as you may lose credibility with your readers. Still, you can have great quality and still keep the conversational tone, just be careful.
Criticism. If you adopt this style and have any measure of success you may be criticized or seen by some as unprofessional, and that is something you’ll need to deal with. Personally I’ve not seen very much of this. Not enough to worry about, that’s for sure.
Misrepresentation. It can be very easy to misrepresent yourself with this kind of style. After all many of your readers may have never met you in person and may not get some of the subtleties of your writing style. Sometimes what we think we’re saying doesn’t come through. As you get more comfortable with your style, and learn how your readers react to it, this will get less common.

In my experience, if proper care is taken to make sure it’s done right, a casual, conversational style can be perfect for many blogs, both personal and professional. There are drawbacks, but I feel the positives outweigh the negatives in most cases.

It’s all dependent on your audience and your goals, but as I’m sure you know, writing for the Web is unlike any other type of writing and the old rules, while shouldn’t be disregarded entirely, need to be bent a bit.

Much of our interaction on the Web is two way, and a conversational style helps invite that all important second party into the mix. No one wants to talk to themselves and when it comes to blogging it’s all about making connections and engaging the reader in that all important conversation.