1. Put your best arguments first (On post body).
If you start every post with “Today I’m going to write about… ” - that’s not the best way to draw people in. Kick off with a point that makes people go “Great point!” or “Terrible point!”
Avoid mediocrity or blandness. Make the words jump out at you, right off the page and onto the floor. Don’t forget to pick them up and put them back on the page before you publish the post, though.
2. Then your 2nd best arguments last, great!
OK, you have a great opening… but the post doesn’t end well. “So, that’s what I think of this. How about you?” No no no… don’t do what I do. You can do better than that.
First, you grab the reader’s attention, next you make them read the detail of your post, and finally you have to give them a good point to go out on - but leave them wanting more. Otherwise, they’ll be underwhelmed, and your post will be just another one that doesn’t get many comments.
3. Write only what you really know.
There’s not much point writing on things you know nothing about. “Hi, I’m not a sports fan, but did you see the game last night?”
The subjects also need to be relevant to your blog, familiar to your existing readers, and familiar with potential new readers. But not so familiar that they take one look and say “Heard it” before moving on.
You want to write what YOU know, but what the reader doesn’t know they know. If that makes sense.
4. Use a great title.
“KAPOW!” Great title. A much better one distills the meaning of your post into just a few words. “Google PageRank update” - who cares? “PageRank: what Google never told you” - a bit better. “How to boost PageRank and influence people” - perfect! Well, it’s not bad.
As with the opening line of your post, the title should jump out and make you want to read more. For instance, if you’re going to do “Wordless Wednesday”, can you do it without using that as the title? Get creative. Otherwise, you’re just… not very creative.
5. Don’t generalise - name names.
Good examples:
- Ken Armstrong wrote a good post about James Bond.
- Bad Evan has changed his Entrecard widget image.
- Evil Woobie has a blog about love.
- Turnip of Power is a vegetable.
Bad examples:
- Someone wrote a post about something.
- Someone changed their image.
- Someone has a blog.
- Someone.
6. Then again - don’t name names.
Be gentle, let people know it’s them you’re referring to, but don’t name them! They might comment to say “hey that’s me!”
Examples are the same as for #5 - just swap the “good” and “bad” around. Maybe avoid the “Someone” example though. That’s not coy. It’s just silly, got it!
7. Captivate the reader.
Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Banana Blah Blah Blah Bleh Blah Blah Blargh Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah nana Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah.
Really, who wants to read a dull post? Would you go back and read it again? If the answer’s no - it might be time to rethink your writing style. Bad style never comes into fashion.
8. Reply to comments with new questions.
OK, so you’ve got a comment or two. Why not start a discussion by adding a comment with some further thoughts? This can get people to keep coming back to your posts. Failing that, you’ll look silly as you’re always the last one to leave a comment, but at least you tried!
9. Reply in a new post.
Replying to comments is good, but replying in a new post is much more visible. Did someone just give you an idea for a new post? Use it!
10. Ask questions at the end of the post.
What do you think would happen if the Internet stopped working for 24 hours? Why don’t you help me get more comments on this post than any of my others? Tell me when… will I see you again?
Or, ask questions that are actually relevant to the post…
Have you apply that? It works as well, doesn't it?
No comments:
Post a Comment