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| Blogging Courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net Photo by Stuart Miles |
I can see that scowl of disbelief forming on your face. But, yes. I DO love sharing information, inspiration, and fun with readers.
Most of all, I like receiving comments. Writing is an isolating job, so when blog readers actually respond with a comment, I feel more connected to the world. Thank you to all who take time to say hi, leave a thought about the content of the blog, or ask a question. I know you have lots of other things to do, so I appreciate the time you spend here on the blog.
Reading blogs is one of my satisfying "hobbies." I don't do it and leave a comment strictly for marketing purposes. I love meeting new folks and keeping in touch with friends. Blogging is the vehicle that allows me to do that.
Pointers on Writing a Blog by J.Q. Rose
In my marketing research, my experience, and reading blogs, I've picked up a few pointers I thought I'd share with you. I hope you find them helpful. Please add to the list so we can all learn more.
- When I come across information or have an idea for a blog post, I go immediately to my blog page and click new post. I make a few notes, copy the URL of an article that got my attention, and type in a working title. These ideas already collected in my behind-the-scenes unpublished blog posts give me a bit of peace when I'm struggling to think of a post.
- Choose a day each week that you can commit to posting up your blog. Keep it! Like a dental appointment, your kid's soccer practice, this day should be in your weekly schedule.
- All the blog gurus encourage us to have a photo of ourselves on the top of the page. The purpose of a blog is to connect with readers, so having a picture helps them to do that. Not an avatar but a real life photo of you.
- Images help attract and keep readers. Take your own photos or look them up online. WARNING: Please be sure you can legally use the photos on your blog. Sites for finding images are freedigitalphotos.net (my favorite as you can probably tell,} pixabay.com, presentermedia.com, and makerbook.net. Leave a comment to let us know your favorite sites for images.
- Video is coming to the front as a real draw to attract readers and keep them on the site. You can make your own video from your phone/camera, record it on You Tube, Hangouts, and Power Point programs. I'm getting brave enough to try it. Videos are sprinkled throughout my blog.
- Make attractive, eye-catching graphics with quotes or poems quickly with Quotes Cover and Quozio. Canva is another choice for making lots of kinds of graphics, but it takes a bit of experimenting and practice to get a decent product.
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| Quote on Marketing made with Quotes Cover |
- When adding an image to your blog, be sure to add a caption. Phones and tablets don't always show the images, but they will display the caption to let readers know what the picture is.
- When offering a link to a page, don't use" click here." Instead, write out the name of the URL and highlight and link so the reader knows what page they will be jumping to. Be sure to set your blog to allow a new pop-up box for the link the reader is going to instead of leaving your blog completely.
- At the end of your post, ask the reader to subscribe to your page. Direct her to the location on your page so she can easily find and add her email. This Follow by Email should be above the fold so the reader sees it right away.
Jeni Elliott, the Blog Maven, suggests bloggers not include their social media links on their website because clicking on the page will direct the reader away from the blog. What do you think of that idea? You can read more about it and other tips in her FREE guide, Five Things You Can Do to Increase Subscribers. She offers lots of resources for bloggers on her site.
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Thanks for spending time at the J.Q. Rose blog. Do you enjoy reading articles like this one with helpful tips and information for writers/bloggers? Do you have some suggestions for topics for this blog?
And just as I schooled you, please enter your email address in the Follow by Email box in the sidebar so you'll be notified of new posts on the J.Q. Rose blog. I promise, NO SPAM. Thank you!
4 comments:
Thanks for all those tips, JQ. I've been blogging for years, and like you, I really enjoy the sense of community a blog can bring. I've met lots of interesting people through my blog, and I now also blog for the BookBub site. They are thoroughly professional about blogging, and so I've learned a lot from them.
Thanks for those interesting tips. I hadn't thought of posting my own videos, for example. I'd love to give that a try some time.
I enjoy reading your blog - I always pick up some useful piece of information. It was interesting to see how thoughtfully you go about it.
Great post - thanks!
Hi Helena, Glad you found something in this article you can use. Congrats on blogging for Book Bub. I like the term you used for finding a sense of "community." That's the word for it. Thanks for your kind words. Keep blogging!!
I think you covered it all. Excellent post. :-)
Anna from Elements of Writing
Thanks, Anna. I hope you're right! LOL
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