Tuesday, November 18, 2014

25 Blog Tips For Writers That Work


1.      If you want to build a social media footprint and increase your list of connections – and sell books – you must have a blog.  Any exceptions?  You can choose other types of media, such as podcasting or posting videos on YouTube, but whether your blog is visual, verbal, or oral, you need one.

2.      Blog daily.  That’s right.  I know you don’t want to see that, but blogging daily or every other day is the way to go.  To control the dialogue, you need to participate in it.  Frequency is very important when branding yourself online.

3.      Focus on quality, not just quantity.  Every blog post should be consistent, useful, interesting, and relevant to serving the image or brand you seek to project.  Don’t start blogging about politics if you cover sports, or cooking, if you cover business – unless you can merge the two together in a meaningful way.

4.      However often you blog, use other social media to distribute it.  Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. all should use your blog links to generate more traffic.

5.      Make sure your blog is listed in every spot imaginable – on your social media profile pages, on your website, in your email signature, on business cards, and in your communications with others.

6.      At the bottom of every blog post make sure you have other key contact information, including a Twitter handle, website, phone number, and email address.

7.      Be aware of what you hope to accomplish with every blog post.  Filter the topics you write on and the voice or persona of the blog through your prism of goals.  The blog is not just a rant tool or a therapeutic device.  It’s a place to be heard and for you to be seen as an expert.

8.      Respond to comments on your blog – engage those who show an interest in you.  Encourage them to share your blog with others.

9.      Feel free to promote prior posts and links in a new blog post, perhaps at the end of the new content.

10.  Update your content regularly.  Feel free to revisit old posts by supplementing, revising, or enhancing them – and then repost.

11.  Use catchy, short headlines.  To lure people to click and read, the headline is the key.

12.  Write in short paragraphs.  A lot of blog reading is on mobile devices and chunky text overwhelms readers.


13.  Add relevant images to dress up the post.

14.  Use a readable font, such as Times New Roman, 12-pt.

15.  Use sub-headings to break up a long post.

16.  Use lists (9 ways to do x, Top 10 blah blah, 9 things to avoid).

17.  Use bullet points to break up text.

18.  Consider using guest posts.  Now you can do less work and still have a link to share.  Plus, by having a guest-poster, they may invite you to post on their blog and thus, get introduced to a whole new set of connections.

19.  Use appropriate keywords and liberally sprinkle them throughout a post in a way that feels natural, not forced.

20.  It’s okay to use blue language, tell racist jokes, or share nude images – if you run a business like porn, comedy, or truck driving.  Otherwise, be mindful of your readership’s moral code and expectations.

21.  Never plagiarize or share content without permission and attribution.

22.  Don’t use your blog as a tool to hurt others or focus on negative stuff.

23.  Link to relevant posts, news media, or current events and appear informed and timely in your posts.

24.  Find like-minded bloggers and examine their content and style for ideas to model but not completely replicate.

25.  Experiment.  There’s no exact formula to follow here.  You may come up with a whole new approach to blogging.  Be a leader, not a follower – but before you burn bridges to blaze a new trail, think before you leap.


Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, Media Connect, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2014

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