» Writing/Content

Lately, it’s become very popular to co-author a blog posting with another blog owner for a variety of reasons. First, as the old saying goes, two minds are better than one. When both (or more than two) of you sit down and write a blog posting, you’ll be able to include a variety of thoughts and opinions which will only benefit the articles depth and content. The second reason many bloggers are now co-authoring blog articles is simply for exposure of their writing skills as well as free “promotion” for their own blogs. However, this became a mild challenge as there was only one author allowed per blog article using the Wordpress platform, so, the only way you’d know if the article was co-authored was if it was explained in or at the bottom of the article.

But now, Eugen Rochko from Anime2 has created a plugin that will allow the main author to add in all of the other authors that helped him on the blog article. It’s an incredibly simple and easy plugin to use and is quite the resource if you co-author blog articles with your friends or fellow bloggers.

I should note, it would be beneficial for you and the co-author(s) to register at your blog and have them fill out their profile. That way, there is a little biographical information about them as well as a link to their blog/website which really is one of the main purposes of this plugin. I will also recommend that you put an area on your blog that lists all of your co-authors and a link to either their blog or a little biographical information. It’s very important as a blogger to create a sense of “humanism”, for a lack of better terms. You connect with your readers on a much deeper level if they can get a little more information about you and your fellow bloggers. A picture works great as well.

To download the plugin, click here.

I’m sure we all remember it. Back in high school, maybe even junior high, during English class we were put through relentless practice hours of creating “outlines” for our reports, stories, etc. But as we’ve gotten older, most of us have moved on from the “traditional” ways of writing and might only “write” on our blogs. And while we are “writing” on our blogs, most of us (even I) do it in a very nontraditional way, a very stressful way.

Sitting down in front of a blank monitor with a blinking cursor is intimidating. Seriously, it is, especially if you don’t have a solid idea of what you’re planning to write about. So, a great way to overcome that challenge is to quickly write out a small outline of what you want your post to be. You don’t need to go overboard by any stretch, but, a quick title, a few bullet points as to the meat of your post, and a conclusion written down before you sit down to type is a huge benefit. Not only does it help you during the writing process, it also keeps you on track and you avoid rambling about unrelated topics in your blog post. It seems like such a silly idea, but it’s one of the better blogging tips I can give. You most likely already do it in your head without realizing it, and it  doesn’t hurt to try it, so give it a shot.

When you get stuck in the middle of your article, just refer back to your outline and you’ll be back on track in a second. It’s extremely helpful.

I’m not sure if you’ve ever noticed or even thought about it, but you’ll notice a lot of blogs that you read and visit simply don’t update on the weekend. Why is that? Well, we bloggers have a life too, right? But just cause you take a day off, doesn’t mean your readers to. So, if you do have an active blog, personally I think it’s a wise strategy to post on the weekends.

As far as the content to post, that can actually vary and that’s what I’m here to help you with. Rather than writing a full article on Saturday or Sunday, a good idea would be to actually write an article or two earlier in the week and set up the posting to publish in the future. You can do that by selecting the edit feature in the “publish” area of your posting page and set it up for the time and date you want it to become “public”. Another idea you can do is to have the weekends be a time when you continue a recurring “theme” post. For example, if you run a technology based blog, you can have Saturday and/or Sunday be the day when you post a review or a quick note on some new gadget. That way, you always have a foundation on what topic you’re going to post about and you don’t need to worry and think about what to write about. Personally, I recommend writing a post or two earlier in the week (they don’t need to be excessive or in-depth, they could be simple) and setting them up to post at a future date. You obviously don’t want to become tired of blogging, you need a break at some point, so taking a break and have your blog do its magic while you rest is the best of both worlds.

It definitely pays to keep track of the traffic you get and what peak days you get the most traffic, as you want to make sure you not only post on those days, but post your best articles.

Hopefully these few quick, but important ideas will answer a few questions about content and posting frequency on the weekends!

The other night I was watching a special on fishing and for odd reason, it occurred to me that fishing is very much like blogging. I know, it’s a really odd combination to think of (not sure how I even came up with it), but the two fit hand in hand.

To anybody that has ever went fishing or even watched it on television, you know the proper way to get a fish on your line is to bait it with something enticing to them. In a blogging sense, your bait, is your blog post title. Not only do you need a relevant blog title, but you need a blog post title that will make the reader want to go further. Many times, it doesn’t matter how wonderful your article is if there isn’t that instantaneous attraction, many readers will skip over it.

Once you’ve got your reader (the fish) hooked with your bait (your post title), then it’s time to reel the catch in with the article. As shocking as this sounds, many times, it’s much more difficult to actually come up with not only a relevant, but catchy blog title which acts as the “waiting” in fishing. Once you have the reader (the fish) on the line, reeling them in is the easy part, so writing your article should actually be the easiest part of the process.

As important as it is for blog articles to be informative and unique, you’ll never get the fish without the proper bait. I know many bloggers who write these magnificent postings/articles that are a joy to read, but very few ever do because the title has little relevance and/or it’s simply not engaging enough. So while it’s important to take time to write your blog posting, it’s just as important (if not more) to sit down and take some serious time to consider the right blog title for your posting.

Also of note - there is a way to get a second blog title for your post, and that’s by downloading the Plugin (for Wordpress.org blogs) named “All In One SEO Pack”. Once you install this automated plugin, it will properly set up your postings (and overall blog) for search engines. But the extremely neat thing about it is that you can add an entirely different title to your blog post, giving you TWO unique blog post titles which can only help.

To download All In One SEO Pack, click here.