{"id":7797,"date":"2016-03-05T13:41:02","date_gmt":"2016-03-05T21:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itgroove.net\/brainlitter\/?p=7797"},"modified":"2016-03-05T13:41:02","modified_gmt":"2016-03-05T21:41:02","slug":"10-dos-and-donts-for-blogging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regroove.ca\/brainlitter\/2016\/03\/05\/10-dos-and-donts-for-blogging\/","title":{"rendered":"10 do\u2019s and don\u2019ts for blogging"},"content":{"rendered":"

The next two posts are part of a Small Business Marketing series that was intended to be on a Microsoft based site for “Small Biz Hacks”. Unfortunately, Microsoft never followed through with the site or series but it was a joy to work with Luanne Brown and it would be a shame to throw this content away.\u00a0 So here’s the 2nd of 2 I could find. This one was created in partnership with Robert, Colin and Kelly.<\/p>\n

Before you start your blog<\/h1>\n

Do<\/h3>\n

Come up with four to six topics\u2014broad categories of subjects you\u2019re interested in writing about. Then break these topics into categories and determine what stories you want to tell that fit into these main topic areas. Devise a system to record your ideas for future blogs. We use Microsoft OneNote 2013 (shared in SharePoint) to keep a running list of topics and make notes about what we want to say.<\/p>\n

Don’t<\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t start a blog if you don\u2019t think you can keep up the effort over time. There is nothing worse than a blog with only one or two posts. If you have an abandoned blog, unlink it. If you\u2019ve abandoned your blog, your customers might worry you\u2019ll abandon them too.<\/p>\n

Do<\/h3>\n

Structure your writing. Ask \u2018what\u2019 (define the problem), \u2018so what\u2019 (why does it matter), and \u2018now what\u2019 (how can the problem be resolved).<\/p>\n

Don’t<\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t ramble, get to the point.<\/p>\n

Do<\/h3>\n

Put a bit of your personality into your blog. Let people know who you are and they will be more interested in what you have to say and, perhaps, more inclined to work with you too.<\/p>\n

Don’t<\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t make your blogs too technical and dry. Avoid religion and politics.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019re <\/span><\/span>blogging regularly<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Do<\/h3>\n

Decide on your subject beforehand.<\/p>\n

Don’t<\/h3>\n

Construct your blog around the kind of action you want people to take once they\u2019ve read your blog.<\/p>\n

Do<\/h3>\n

Keep your blog short and digestible.\u00a0 Readers are attracted to blogs that focus on solving a very specific problem.<\/p>\n

Don’t<\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t cover more than one subject or make your blog too long.<\/p>\n

Do<\/h3>\n

Write about problems you come across in your everyday work life. If you or someone you work with has a question or problem that needs solving, it\u2019s likely other people will too.\u00a0 What matters is that you help people get to the next step in their process.<\/p>\n

Don’t<\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t go out of your way to drum up ideas.<\/p>\n

Do<\/h3>\n

Get your content out there.<\/p>\n

Don’t<\/h3>\n

People are waiting for solutions to their problems. Don\u2019t let perfectionism slow you down.<\/p>\n

Once you’ve published your blog<\/h1>\n

Do<\/h3>\n

Share your blogs in different ways.\u00a0 We have an RSS feed on our site and Tweet with links. We don\u2019t use Facebook for our technical content. We tag our posts with three to five Microsoft key words in the title and blog post. Posts optimized for keywords are getting the farthest reach. While readability is important, wherever possible, repeat keywords.<\/p>\n

Don’t<\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t assume that if you just publish to your site your blog will get much play.<\/p>\n

Do<\/h3>\n

Try to start conversations. Pose questions and invite people to respond so that once your blog is published, you\u2019ll hear back from readers.<\/p>\n

Don’t<\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t lecture.<\/p>\n

Do<\/h3>\n

The future is video blogging. We\u2019ve invested in Camtasia<\/a> as a tool to help us create professional videos from text, screenshots, and our PowerPoint presentations. We also use Snagit for static screen shots.<\/p>\n

Don’t<\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t stick with words only\u2014especially if you want to reach the post-millennials.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The next two posts are part of a Small Business Marketing series that was intended to be on a Microsoft based site for “Small Biz Hacks”. Unfortunately, Microsoft never followed through with the site or series but it was a joy to work with Luanne Brown and it would be a shame to throw this … <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":7795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[76,248,5,195,24],"tags":[280,277,281,282],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n10 do\u2019s and don\u2019ts for blogging - Brainlitter - Inside the mind of Sean Wallbridge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/regroove.ca\/brainlitter\/2016\/03\/05\/10-dos-and-donts-for-blogging\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 do\u2019s and don\u2019ts for blogging - Brainlitter - Inside the mind of Sean Wallbridge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The next two posts are part of a Small Business Marketing series that was intended to be on a Microsoft based site for “Small Biz Hacks”. 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