The A-B-C’s of Blogging

I am in awe of writers that are able to produce effortless, coherent, and meaningful thought in their online entries. I follow multiple blog posts and have them pushed to me every day. I find it gratifying that Feedly has filled the RSS shortsightedness of Google after they discontinue Google Reader. I share my reading with others by curating my input into brief posts on my social media accounts using Buffer to broadcast to my colleagues. It is not so much to show my ability to read because I’ve been doing that since around age 5 or so. The purpose is to try and stimulate a dialog regarding common problems and to discuss things that are important to us. I have been writing for almost as long as I have been reading and that too serves the purpose of continuing a dialog. Blogging is something I am compelled to do for some reason and occasionally I am brilliant… of course other times it is honestly quite a chore. I have had to struggle with showing up daily on my blog without having it completely take over my life. The following is my A-B-C’s of blogging. It may be good advice for others or it could just be the personal set of rules that I use to tease my muse into cooperating with me.

• A is for Audience – Writing without a target is aimless. Firing off in all directions may eventually hit something, but a planned approach at reaching people that will read the blog works best. As a general rule this can change from post to post as long as the overall theme is consistent because professional colleagues can often benefit by getting a glimpse into the personal lives of the writer. A writer can also write for self… a worthy target audience of one, but if it is too personal it should be in a private journal and not a blog.
• B is for Budget – The time I am spending to write my blog posts is time that will not be available to do something else. Planning for a blog needs to consider the totality of life and prioritize the pieces that will be dedicated to blogging. Other business matters overlap the blog, but time must be set aside to do it right. If you are an obsessive-compulsive type of individual (SQUIRREL!) avoid blogging or it can take over your life. Prioritization is so important or the product delivered will be half baked and not worth the time.
• C is for Concise – I need to listen to my own advice because brevity is not my friend. I often stubbornly continue writing much longer than most people will read. Cutting out a piece of an idea from the draft that I have outlined is like cutting out a piece of my soul. A good concept that is well written will hold the reader’s interest to the end. I already know that my A-B-C’s of blogging will also have a D-E-F so obviously the plan to have you totally hooked at this point is working.
• D is for Discerning – Showing good judgment and understanding of a topic is the key to holding the audience. If this means additional time to research a topic, so be it. If the dialog is to be real, the knowledge shared must be pertinent. The most riveting of topics are controversial and express a point of view that explains in detail how this unique concept applies to the whole body of thinking. Challenge people to think and they will engage. Feed them drivel and they will pass you by next time.
• E is for Entertaining (or maybe Educating) – Bits of humor sprinkled like colored sugar beads on vanilla ice cream throughout a blog post can do wonders to maintain continuity. People like to be educated and entertained. Learning is enhanced by leading students willingly into thinking about a topic rather than cramming it down their throats. Similarly, there is an art to crafting an article that shows that the author knows when it is appropriate to be humorous.
• F is for Forensic – Do research on a topic. Then tear it apart and do more research. Know the hows and whys of something before commenting. Opinions are important, but if it is parroting somebody else’s idea without thinking it won’t be convincing. Some of my posts take weeks of research before I am convinced it is worthy of my blog. Others happen effortlessly, but the same thread of “keeping it real” pervades the thought process.

If you have made it this far then I have succeeded in one more post. If you like it then you may comment or tweet about it. If you are silent then I may wonder, but in the grand scheme of things it isn’t really all that important. One of the people always included in my target audience is me. If I cannot be influence myself I have virtually no chance of influencing you. Learning is a forever thing.

 
Image credit: dacasdo / 123RF Stock Photo

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