Writing Killer Blog Posts

By Wade Kwon

Someday, we're going to have a special prizeThe Nobel Prize for Blogging

Will you win it?

Yes!

Why improve your writing?• You owe it to your readers• Only 2 kinds of writing get

noticed ... good and bad• It's how you stand out among

millions of blogs and bloggers

I. Better Writing

Goal review• What is the goal of your writing?• Of your blog?

Read good writing• Blogs• Magazines• Newspapers• Books (remember those?)• And save clips

Practice practice practice• Often, daily if possible• Helps with writer's block• Forces you to think about writing• Helps develop your writing style

Passion counts• If you're bored by your topic,

your reader will be, too.

What does this mean to the reader?• Sum up in 1 sentence.• Sum up in 1 word.

Revise revise revise• Make first paragraph count• Get someone to read over it• Or put it down and read it later

Revise revise revise• Cut by a third• Spellcheck• Incorporate reader feedback

Tools• Q&A / FAQ• Opinion

– Forces you to think critically• Lists

Tools• Surprise

– Contrary opinion– Original thought

• Humor

(Take 5 minutes.)

II. Better Blogging

Get organized• Important on a blog page• Include roadmap if needed• Pick a game plan:

– Sections?– Lists?– Chronologically?– Q&A?

Write conversationally• Don’t use “click here”• But incorporate links

– With headlines– With title tags

Think visually• Bullets• Bold key points / sentences• Break up paragraphs• Subheds using <h2> tags

Think about time• Write long version,

but add a short version at top• Add “related posts” at bottom

Think meta• Headline

– Clever vs. SEO friendly– Short vs. long– Think CNN.com

Think meta• Sprinkle keywords throughout post

– Tagcrowd.com• Use tags

OK, so you might notwin the Nobel Prize,

but instead ...Recognition

FansSatisfaction for a job well done