Nerd Party // What to remember when blogging

In the last Nerd Party session, Meagen asked, “What are some vital things to remember when blogging?” So here are the top things I try to remember.

Write about what you love
You’ve probably heard this over and over, but it’s for a good reason. If you don’t have passion for the things you write about not only will it be obvious to your readers and come across as disingenuous, but you’ll run out of things to write real fast.

Find your focus & perspective
Learned this while reading 31 Days to Finding Your Blogging Mojo (a good read if you’re just starting out, but if you’ve been blogging for a while I’d skip it). Are you a foodie reviewing local restaurants or a college kid cooking on a budget? Are you a seasoned fashion designer, a green-thumbed gardener or a new parent trying to figure it all out? Even if you’re just writing about your life and a new topic every day it helps to have an over all focus for your blog.

Reach out to other bloggers
This is what blogging is all about – connecting with other people, sharing the things you love, learning from each other. Comment on other blogs and respond when people comment on yours. Share great posts on Twitter – those written by you and other people. And make sure it’s easy to comment and find your Twitter link on your blog!

Keep a schedule
Whether you’re posting once a week or 10 times a week, be consistent. If your readers don’t know when to expect new content from you they may lose interest. I use the Editorial Calendar plug-in to keep track of my posts and schedule most of my content in advance.

Add a photo to every post
This is especially important if you tend to write long posts. Breaking up the text with photos will keep your readers from being overwhelmed and skipping over or scanning your posts.

One topic at a time
It’s always tempting to write about your entire weekend in one post, but I like to break things up to make them easier to read. So if you went to the beach and ate at an amazing restaurant and saw a really cool band and bought a new outfit and spent time with your best friend, why not write about each separately? Then you’ll have a week full of posts and your readers won’t get bogged down by 15 paragraphs and 50 photos all in one post.

Do you guys have any advice for Meagen as she jumps into the blogging world?

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