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Sep 30 2010

What’s your blogging voice?

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The inspiration for this post comes from a recent writing group I attended.  Now, if you really want to make it as a blogger, I do recommend checking out local writing groups both for writing advice and access to resources.  And sometimes the group can even provide inspiration for a topic to cover.

At the meeting I attended, one member read a short piece written for a contest. The contest challenge was to write about a well known event but with a personal touch.  The piece presented discussed the aftermath of a hurricane that hit our state.  The main problem with the article was a problem I see journalists fall into.  The person aspect of the story stopped for a paragraph of hurricane statistics. Once that happened the tone or voice of the piece went from “personal” to “Wikipedia.” So the group provided feedback on how to bring it back to the personal.

But have you thought about the tone or voice you’ll use for your blog?  What voice will work best for your topic?  Right now, I’m aiming for chatty and informal.  Chatty because I’m using both “I” and “you” for this post to make the reader feel like we’re having a conversation.  Now, see, when I just said “the reader,” I changed your feelings about the post a bit, didn’t I?  When I refer to you as “the reader,” I put distance between us.  Distance isn’t good.

Also, you’ll notice that I write with contractions and informal language. Essentially writing as I would speak.  This informality makes it easier for “the reader” to relate to the post.  I’m not presenting a peer-review article on brain surgery here.  I’m just talking to you about how to make blogging a better experience.  I want you to feel like we’re sitting in that writing group together and having a conversation.  That’s my blogging voice. What’s yours?

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Sep 20 2010

Grow your twitter list

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The first rule of Twitter – don’t be obnoxious.

Social media sites, such as Twitter, are great ways to get the news out about your blog. And tweeting about a new blog post can bring in some quick readers.  But remember — people have to follow you and read your tweets for them to do any good.

Now I’ve seen a lot of Twitter advice and Twitter help out there and much of it is good. But now and then I’ll see a recommendation that seems downright dangerous to your reputation.  So, remember the first rule of Twitter – don’t become and obnoxious Twit.

How do you know if you’re being obnoxious?  I have a friend who insists on asking this question on online groups.  I’m always tempted to respond to him that if he doesn’t know when he’s being obnoxious, perhaps he shouldn’t be online.  The same goes for Twitter. If you can’t spot actions that annoy you and are likely to annoy others, you’re going to find that you’ll have trouble keeping followers. But here are some basics.

- Don’t spam. This means don’t send DMs (direct messages) or @ messages to people trying to get them to read your blog or buy your product.

- Don’t repeat messages. Reposting over and over that you updated the blog is going to lose followers.

- Don’t post too often. A few times a day is more than enough.  Every 10 minutes is too much.

- Don’t expect to gain followers if you don’t follow back. Become a part of the community.

Now these aren’t the only guidelines for Twitter and I will be blogging some more about how to use your Twitter account to your best advantage. But these are the first best practices that you want to put into place. Because unless you conquer “don’t be obnoxious” nothing else matters.

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Sep 16 2010

Building a writing platform

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Maybe you’re a writer or a blogger or a freelance journalist.  Have you thought of and begun developing a writing platform to sustain your career?  With all the blogs out there and all the freelances offering services, you’re going to want something that will make you stand out from the crowd and help readers and prospective clients find you.  A platform isn’t just what you write about but the underlying structure of expertise and viewpoints that support your writing.  It’s what you use to market yourself and get your message out.

First you’ll want to consider which topics you feel most comfortable with or most passionate about.  Not just for one article. Look at it in a broader perspective. What can you write about day after day and not feel like you’ve exhausted yourself or the topic?  You want to at least be a well-informed amateur in the topic.  But you could write about gardening or music or sports or just great food.

Now, take the topic you’ve chosen and consider the local focus. Even though your blog may be available world-wide, you don’t want to forget the local focus because it’s going to help you grow your platform.  So, let’s say you love gardening and want to blog about it.  Great, now what are the local problems in your area? What local resources do you have? Where are the local gardening groups?  Those are going to help provide topics and material. But they’re also going to be a resource to connect with the community.

Now start growing your platform by connecting with those locally with similar interests.  Perhaps find a group or meeting to attend. Become a regular at a few and when you feel comfortable, offer to speak on a topic.  Exchange links and blog promotion with those you meet.  Letting that local connection build will improve your knowledge in the field but it will also increase your range of influence.

Then grow that platform.  Write blog posts or articles with a broader reach. Perhaps expand the range of cities you give talks in.  As you become well known, you’ll find that people will think about you when something comes up in your area of expertise.  They’ll begin inviting you to functions or even just letting you know of a topic that you can address.  And they’ll be more likely to mention your name when someone is looking for a good blog or a freelance writer.

By building your platform, you’ll build your list of contacts and your own expertise.  It’s well worth the effort.

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Aug 19 2010

Choosing a WordPress theme

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The most common blogging sites used by journalists, writers and other bloggers offer you a wide range of themes to use to brand your work.  Choosing a theme isn’t a decision that should be taken lightly. Not every blogger will be able to afford an individually designed theme, logo and brand, but there are plenty of serviceable free designs out there.

However, before you choose a design for your blog, stop and think about the message it sends to readers.  We looked at a number of themes while choosing one of this blog (and as I’m writing this, I still haven’t found the perfect theme. I’ll probably do some tweaking to a basic design to get what I want).  But here is an example of some of the conversation that went on:

“That doesn’t say writer to me.”

“That one is nice but those are Canadian coins. People will think we’re in Canada.”

“No, that pen is gigantic and it looks threatening.”

“Cute, but not professional enough.”

“Eh, that’s just someone’s desk. Not a writer.”

All of this because I want the look of this blog to say “I’m a writer and I’m here for other writers” when the reader sees it for the first time.  I want it to be clean and somewhat professional, but not stodgy. Not to feminine and not too masculine.  And apparently not too Canadian (mainly because if you ask me questions about Canada, I won’t have the answers).

Choosing a theme is a fun part of being a blogger.  But before you get started, sit down and think of the three main things you want your theme to say about your site.  Because those are going to be the first things you tell your reader.  And you’ll do it without words.

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