Be A Blogging Superhero
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In yesterday's post I lamented about having nothing worth blogging about. Although my topics for discussion may have dried up, I'd like to share some thoughts on how to post more effectively.
Title
Although posting may have dropped off recently, Steem is still awash with thousands of posts daily. You want yours to stand out from the crowd and to grab your audience from the get go. Avoid 'clickbaity' titles: you don't want your audience to feel cheated by clicking on your post only to find the content doesn't live up to the hype. Respect your reader. Be clear, short, and concise. More people read your title than your post, so make your title compelling.
Thumbnail and Header
The first image in your post will be used as the thumbnail in feeds. To ensure it does not get cropped use a resolution of 800x480 pixels or stick to the same ratio to ensure the same picture used as your header is sharper, such as 1600x960. Use this opportunity to attract readers to your post and make it stand out from the crowd. ALWAYS include an image for the thumbnail.
Post Length
Due to the increasing digitised lifestyles we all lead, humans have a far shorter attention span than we used to...oh, squirrel! According to recent studies the average human attention span is just 8 seconds: the proverbial goldfish now beat us by one second.
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As brilliant a writer as you may be, readers prefer bite sized chunks. Don't try to write your opus, rather split it into smaller posts. Make your point and don't waffle on needlessly. By the same token, refrain from posting a few lines and calling it done. Your reader will not respect your lack of effort.
Formatting
You want your reader to feel comfortable while digesting your work. Make it visually appealing. Use relevant images to compliment your text and always cite the source of any pictures used. Learn how to use markdown, for example by inserting links, like I just did here.
White space is your friend: use paragraphs. Think of white space as a breather between points, a rest and a chance for your reader to absorb the previous paragraph. It is also easier to lose your place in a solid wall of text should you momentarily look away when distracted by that squirrel.
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The use of headers, such as in this post, can serve as bookmarks for the eyes.
Avoid needlessly long sentences. If while reading it aloud you run out of breath, it's too long. Once written, read your post aloud. Why? Onto my next point...
Use YOUR voice
A blog post with a list of facts is a sterile read. Inject some personality into your writing. Your reader will feel more of a connection with you, making your blog unique and it will stand out amongst others. Don't be afraid to open up to your audience and to share what makes you YOU.
Read aloud
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Yes, it's worth repeating. Reading your words aloud helps you to catch sentences that don't quite work, as well as grammatical and punctuation errors. Speaking of grammar...
Edit, Edit and EDIT
It's very rare that a train of thought typed directly into Steem will become a perfectly formed post. Write a draft, refine it, check it, rewrite it and refine it once more.
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With everything having a spell checker included nowadays, there is no excuse for having spelling mistakes in your writing. Grammar can be trickier, especially if English isn't your native language. Make use of FREE editing services like @thewritersblock - shameless plug - to help give your post that extra polish.
Be Original
Offer something different to your readership, be a shining beacon amongst the many crypto posts and memes. Share what interests you, things that happen in your life and vicinity.
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Review that book or movie. Share your art or hobby. Let your reader know what makes you tick, makes you happy or sad. Or...
DON'T Be Original
Why the flip? Although most will tell you to find your own niche and to never veer away from it, I believe it can also harm your blog. If the subject of your post is too niche or personal, you may struggle to grab loyal readers.
Picasso once said "Good artists copy, great artists steal". Now, I am NOT advocating for plagiarism. DO NOT directly copy work, but do have a look around at what others are talking and writing about.
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Keep your finger on the pulse of the latest news in whatever field interests you. Share YOUR thoughts and opinions. Give a fresh perspective to current trends. Write a response and counter argument to somebody else's post.
Engage in Replies
So you have lots of replies on your post? Great! Don't let this opportunity go to waste. Engage with your readers and learn more about them.
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Tailor your future posts according to your replies. Use this as a chance to learn what works and what doesn't.
Do you have any blogging advice to share? Let me know in the comments below.
All good advice Muxxy.
I’m still drawing a blank too. 😫😫😫
Glad to see you're still around. I'm sure you'll get there dude.
Absolutely agree with all your points, including the use of in-between headers which really help reading.
And I hope by this post, more non-fiction writers will read all this and consider joining @thewritersblock, it's a great place to learn more about writing, by getting feedback on your posts before you publish them, and by giving feedback yourself.
Good reminders, thank you. I have a different problem to you - I never have enough time to blog about all the different things I'm interested in!
I think post length is more about what is it you want to say and does it need a short post or a longer one. I enjoy little snippets - here's a great little Tale of 2 Log Movers from @pumpkinsandcats, but I also enjoy a long read like What is College Actually For by @cstrimel. Craig also makes an eloquent argument for long posts in I Like to Read and Write Lomg Posts (and I Cannot Lie).
On a more pragmatic point, how do I use Markdown to create a smaller font size? 😊
And as long as I am here, I agree with your statement about post length @gmuxx, in general, but I also think it is totally fine and up to the writer (and reader). I have learned there are plenty of people who appreciate longer posts, and they have been the ones I have earned the largest payouts for. Its great to understand what the average person wants today, and that is clearly the purpose of your good post, but always catering to the average is also a path to hell, sometimes :).
Of course, these are not hard and fast rules and as you said there are always exceptions. Some people have the impression that more words equals more value when unfortunately you may find you get upvoted as much for a shorter post as a long one. Just something to consider. Thanks for the reply.
I'm not sure if you can do that in markdown.
Wow, thanks for the mention @shanibeer. Here is a mardown that I use in my 5K posts for @runningproject:
Posted by @cstrimel on behalf of @runningproject
Use: <.sup> text</.sup> without the periods
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Thank you @shanibear = D Shorter posts as easier to manage I must admit!
Great points.
On the subject of originality, I remind myself that we all stand on the shoulders of giants. What part of us is really our own?
Our language, our symbols, our science, our beliefs are all borrowed from the past. This is not to state that none of us are original. We can arrange all we know in original ways.
Another thought I borrow from the past is this. Nothing is new under the sun. It has all been done before in one way or another. We may rediscover it and believe it be our own, but it is illusion.
So we play with the peices, like your building blocks illustration above, and make new arrangements. In the end it is a game. A game of connection with others. A game of fascination and attraction.
Very true. Nothing is truly original, just the connections we make between everything. Thanks for the reply.
I'm agreed with all your words @gmuxx. Great way to write down those tips that often some people think about but don't actually know how to get to the point and start getting better (even if it looks like simples things, when we read it from another person is when we really pay attention and where we see our mistakes we've been doing).
As you ask at the bottom of this text, I would say that another very important tip for a better blog is blogging everyday, or at least 3 or 4 times at week. Why?, well, if you catch the eyes of a reader, maybe they will go for more or they will wait for the next day to find more about your topics, just because they like the way you wrote the first one they read. If you don't have an active looking blog, those readers will go away to find someone active who gives them those news, facts, reviews or whatever they post about but with fresh letters. The world is going fast, everyday there's a new movie, a new discovery, a new song, a new band, a new book and just in our life we find new stories to share day by day, so people wants to get going, and refresh the new day with some new news.
Once again, great post @gmuxx. Hope to read more from you soon. Have a nice writing!
While I agree that the more you write, the better writer you will become, I would caution against posting just for the sake of posting. Thanks for your reply.
That's definitely correct. If you're going to try posting more often, you will need to apply all tips you mentioned first on each writing.
Absolutely agree with all of this!
Make the posts appealing, make it bite sized digestable. And make sure readers see that the post is yours. Use your own typical writingstyle!
I liked it very much, thank you
