Checklist for a great blog
If a blog isn’t worth repeating or contesting, then it’s not worth writing.
Most blogs suck. Because? Because they are written for the wrong reasons or by people who focus on search engine optimization (SEO) instead of creating great content.
This is a new website. This article provides a simple and easy to follow way on how to write blogs that are interesting, meaningful, and provide value.
1. Focus on one keyword.
Pick a theme by choosing a single reason that you want people to use to find your blog. Choose only one reason per entry. This will keep you focused. Plus, it will keep you productive and save time.
You can use other ideas for future posts. Save them in a document for future reference. Mine now has 46 ideas, and this is only my third official blog entry. Don’t worry. Most ideas suck and will never develop into articles. But it is important to keep them long enough to evaluate them objectively. This is an essential part of my creative process.
For this article, I want the word “Checklist for a great blog”.
2. Research the topic.
Great writing always starts with research.
A Google search for my keyword phrase led me to a wonderful article by blogging expert Heather Stevens. she is very good. So, I read her article and then left her a thoughtful comment with a link to my site. I read about 10 other articles, keeping each one open in separate tabs so I can comment on these blogs AFTER I posted this article.
As a former professional writer, I have many opinions that apply to the art of blogging. Especially about the style: I like short, easy-to-read sentences. First person narratives. Verbs in present tense.
I think the Internet could be much more useful if the language on websites was simpler and easier to understand. This style is also easier for search engines to understand.
3. Research the keyword (or phrase).
Google’s perspective is the only perspective that matters for most search results. I use your free keyword tool to get insights into how searches view my blog. Bad news: Google thinks I’m more of a fitness fanatic than a marketing strategist. So I make a list of some other keywords related to mine. I focus on the most popular global and monthly searches. BlogSpot is the big winner here: the system I used for my previous (now defunct) fitness website.
4. Start writing. keep it simple
Use a word processing system that allows you to check readability statistics. I use Microsoft Word, but I’m evaluating other free writing tools that seem to work just fine. The best blogs score below the 12th grade reading level. This article ranks at the 7th grade level – a good solid score.
Why is it important to write at such a basic level? Because it is easier to understand and therefore more meaningful. This is especially true if the topic is very complex or technical.
Here’s an example: My new business (if funded) must explain the benefits of a consumer preference matching technology that uses fractal semantic data integration, automatic ontology generation, and neural network programming.
The easiest (most meaningful) way to say it: We predict customer preferences by analyzing online behavior data.
Or more simply: we have a tool that allows companies to build personal relationships with each customer.
Good writing ends with an easy-to-understand conclusion. Reader-relevant benefits are great takeaways!
5. The art of writing is rewriting.
Add new information, ideas, and style. Repeating what others have written is BORING. So be creative. Use video. Or videos of other people to support your ideas. Or insert a link to a cool YouTube channel that has ideas you love.
6. Recognize the genius of others.
Hyperlink to other informational sites using anchor text: These are the highlighted words that indicate that you are linking to another website or page. The relevance of the anchor text is really important. It provides context (also known as “semantic value” for searches related to the target site. I spend a lot of time working on new technology that uses semantic search, so this is important to me.
Some important guidelines:
A. Never link to the same site twice. Decreases the value of all links.
B. DON’T stuff your blog with tons of keywords or links. Limit yourself to less than 10 links. Once again, scarcity is a hallmark of value.
C. Consider your sources. Keep yourself in good company by only linking to sites that provide unbiased and original information.
7. Be yourself and tell the truth.
Not too long ago, I was in the market to hire an SEO company. So I searched for the best online marketing company, clicked on a few links, and then narrowed my search to San Diego. To my dismay, the company that had the #1 SERP (Search Engine Results Page) had ripped off a competitor. Instead of sending me the original work, they sent me a copy of HubSpot’s Website Grader without giving any credit to the legitimate author. The result: I became a fan of HubSpot and now recommend its services and technologies. Unethical San Diego company created a client for its competitor!
8. Don’t look stupid or obsessively strive for perfection.
Make sure all links work, check your spelling, READ what you’ve written BEFORE posting. Style matters.
Test what you’ve written using a tool designed to rate blogs during the writing process. Set a time limit to post the blog. For beginners, I think four hours is a good starting point. Then shorten it. You will get much faster as you blog more.
When I started writing donation drives for the PBS affiliate of KCET, it took me two to three days to write a single three to five minute call to action. My first jobs were so bad that Ringo Starr refused to read one of my scripts. After the first year of writing, I could write one in under an hour. The quality improved to the point where Jamie Lee Curtis, Wayne Dyer and Marg Helgenberger congratulated me and then told the producers that I wrote the best engagement scripts they had ever seen.
9. Finish strong.
Close your article with a call to action. You want people to do something with your information that will help THEM (not you). The idea here is that giving is the best way to ensure that you will receive. You can give advice, offer more information, or provide a coupon. Or provide a hint about your editorial calendar so readers have a reason to come back (or subscribe!).
Ideally, you’ll want your closing paragraph to have a landing page that allows you to gather enough information to start a one-on-one relationship with your reader.
10. PUBLISH!
Enough is enough. Are you ready. Remove it.
Once it’s published, I use an online tool to rate my blog. I then promote it on all the social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Here is my teaser to subscribe to my site: I will be writing about the promotional aspects of blogging in a future blog which will provide a blog SEO checklist. (Yes, this is a placeholder for a future hyperlink.)
11. Get involved.
Go back to the other experts you admire and make meaningful comments on their sites. Focus on adding to the conversation. Don’t sell. It is about giving credit and sharing ideas to build relationships, credibility and authority on the subject. You will find it much easier to sell once you have established a trusting and meaningful relationship with them.