A good blog post is one that everyone wants to read. Even better: after they read it, they feel inspired to recommend it to other readers. What are some ways to make this phenomenon possible?
Create a Title, Not a Topic
First-time bloggers love to name their blog posts after the topic of the post. In the case of students, this means titling your post “Symphony with Dan Pink” for the symphony blog post exercise. How many students do you think are going to use that oh-so-original title? Every single one, and no one will have any reason to prefer your post over another.
Writing a catchy title, however, does not mean you should deceive your readers. We’re not writing tabloid blog posts, so your title should not be “How to Change Your Life in 30 Seconds,” unless you’re planning to explore the concept of “change” at length.
Write for an Audience, Not for Yourself
Many people compare blogging to journal writing, but they’re not the same! Your blog posts are online for everyone to see:
- professors
- classmates
- parents
- coaches
- future employers
- subjects of your posts
In sum, your blog has the potential to garner a huge audience, while your journal won’t be read by anyone until you’re dead and famous.
Blog Often, Not Just When You’re Supposed To
Most students will only write a blog post when the syllabus assigns them to. However, good blogging is not about being told what to do. Blog when you have an epiphany, when you have the day off, when you are moved by a TED Talk, when you’ve had a particularly interesting encounter with other students, when you can’t think of anything to write about. The more you blog, the more adept you will become at it. Not every blog post needs to be brilliant, but you’re more likely to write a brilliant blog post if you write more of them.
Make Your Blog Readable, Not Stay Awayable
Nothing says “please don’t read me” like a big block of text. Remember: most readers will only SCAN your post, so you need to be strategic about what you put where. Readers scan:
- titles
- subheadings
- images
- lists
- bold text
- topic sentences
You want your readers to see your key points right away, so that they will become interested in reading further into your post.
Provide paragraph breaks every time you switch topics, ideas, or angles. Paragraphs don’t have a universal prescribed length; rather, the purpose of a paragraph is to guide your reader through your content, from one point to the next. Smaller paragraphs create more white space on the page–however too many, too short paragraphs are just as difficult to read as a big chunk of text.
Blog Assessment
- At the end of the semester, you must have posted 30 blog posts.
- In your final blog post, write a self-assessment of your blog:
- Select your 10 best posts to be graded for content. Why are they your best? Include the URLs to each post.
- Assess your commenting practices: link to blog posts where interesting conversations emerged.