Τετάρτη 11 Ιουλίου 2012

Four Quick Ways to Improve Any Blog Post

Do your blog posts lack something? Perhaps you’re trying hard, but you never seem to get more than a couple of comments – and you only have a handful of subscribers. The problem is, you don’t have hours to spend on perfecting every post – you’ve got a busy life.

Here are four simple, quick ways to improve any blog post:

#1: Add a Great Image

I’m sure you’ve heard this advice time and time again! Most blog posts, particularly longer ones, benefit from at least one great image. You can use images to:

  • Catch the reader’s eye, typically at the top of the post
  • Break up a long post, typically between paragraphs
  • Help the reader understand key points, perhaps with screenshots or photos alongside paragraphs of text

Where can you find images for your blog posts? I use Flickr – making sure to search for Creative Commons images licensed for commercial use. (You can do that with the advanced search here.) Remember to cite the artist/photographer, and link back to their Flickr page.

#2: Edit Your Introduction

After the title, the most crucial part of your blog post is the introduction. Your first couple of paragraphs – even your first couple of sentences – have to hook the reader and convince them to read on. Otherwise, there’s not much point you writing the rest of the post!

If you only have a few minutes for editing, spend them on the introduction. Make sure that the first line grabs the reader’s attention (perhaps with a question, or a provocative statement) and that the rest of the introduction clearly sets up the topic of the post.

#3: Add Formatting

However great your writing is, readers aren’t likely to have the patience to read long, unbroken paragraphs online. They want short paragraphs, bullet-pointed lists, bold text and subheadings, which break up your post and make it easier to understand.

By spending just a couple of minutes adding formatting – perhaps putting in subheadings, or finding a few key sentences to highlight with bold text – you make your post much more engaging and easy to read.

#4: Check Your Call to Action

A “call to action” is when you give the reader a specific prompt to do something. Usually, the best place for this is at the end of your post. Your call to action might be:

  • Leave a comment below and let me know what you think
  • If you enjoyed these post, please tweet it, or share it on Facebook
  • Click here to get the blog feed by RSS, so you never miss a post

… and so on.

Think hard about what actions would be most helpful to you. For instance, if you’re keen to increase readers’ engagement with your blog, ask them to comment; if you want more traffic, ask them to share your post on social media.

Today, try putting into practice at least one of these tips: that might be on a post-in-progress, or on a previously-published post that you want to enhance.


by Ali Luke
http://www.dailyblogtips.com/

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