6 Traits of Successful Bloggers

Posted on August 17, 2011 by timethief

fish There may be many bloggers in the blogosphere but when it comes to bloggers every one is unique. We all come from different backgrounds and have different interests. We all have experiences that set us apart from one another. Let your individuality be shown in your content. Write with confidence and conviction about what you know best and let your audience know what you think. After all, they came to read your blog so be sure that you don’t leave “you” out of it.

1. Passion Provides Purpose and Propulsion

Successful bloggers are passionate and purposeful writers. Blogging begins with a passion for something that matters. In-depth knowledge of the topic you are writing on is required to attract readers. The more you know about your subject and the more invested you are in it, the more you have to write about, and the more you want to write.

2. Research and Read Other Blogs

Successful bloggers are skilled researchers and readers. Reading high-caliber blogs is one of the most effective ways to improve your writing. What you read fueled your imagination and shapes how you write so learn from styles that differ from yours. Reference: Better Blogging: Powerful, Persuasive Writing

3. Learn SEO and Secure Targeted Traffic

Successful bloggers attract targeted readers who become regular readers/subscribers and commenters. Targeted traffic is composed of readers who know exactly what they are looking for based on keywords found in indexed content. Freshness as well as relevance is what search engines are aimed to deliver. Learning basic SEO, structuring reader and search engine friendly blog, using keywords and tags effectively and appropriately are the traits of succesful bloggers. References: 12 Step Blog Evaluation; Minimalist Blogging: Strip it!

4. Write Well and Publish Frequently

Successful bloggers have something original and meaningful to say; they say it well and they say what they have to say often. The content you write is what will attract readers to your blog and keep them coming back for more. Compelling error-free content is what people expect when they visit a blog and once they have visited they expect to return and read more regularly. Reference post: Top 5 Informative Writing Tips for Bloggers

5. Commenting and Creating Community Counts

Successful bloggers invest as much time into commenting on other blogs, as they invest into content creation, promotion and creating community. Writing in a way that sparks conversation helps build readership. Respond to comments submitted to your posts to affirm that you value reader interest and opinions. Create new content based on reader needs and interests expressed in feedback. References: Comment Baiting; Encouraging blog readers to comment

6. Effective Time Management

To create an effective and successful blog the blogger must become a prolific writer of quality content that calls readers to action. Successful bloggers are organized and manage their time well. Scheduling enough time for creating original content, promoting it through social media and social networks, answering comments, locating similar blogs and reading and leaving comments on them, link building and relationship building requires strong organizational skills and commitment.

Top 5 Informative Writing Tips for Bloggers

Posted on July 2, 2011 by timethief

Blog articles, short reports, reviews, tutorials, newsletters, are all examples of informative writing. Informative writing delivers a brief education on a topic by explaining how to do something, describing a process, a timeline or a sequence of events. Powerful informative writing skilfully hits the target by conveying essential facts and data in as few words as possible.
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Top 5 Informative Writing Tips for Bloggers

Posted on May 7, 2011 by timethief

5 Informative Writing Tips

keep audience needs in focus
be concise and precise
use simple, readable language
structure content logically
optimize content and link to authoritative sources
engage readers with confidence and competence

1. Powerful informative writing is audience targeted

Don’t be too clever for an audience. Make it obvious. Make the subtleties obvious also. — Billy Wilder

Every time you write, you’re writing for a particular audience. In writing, voice is the way your writing ‘sounds’ on the page. The tone you take–the words you choose–the pattern of your sentences are your voice. Use an appropriate tone for your reading audience and natural phrases that sound like ‘you’.

2. Powerful informative writing is easily understood

When you wish to instruct, be brief; that men’s minds take in quickly what you say, learn its lesson, and retain it faithfully. Every word that is unnecessary only pours over the side of a brimming mind. — Cicero

Blogging begins with a passion for something that matters. Informative writing communicates what matters through simple, direct language. When you write to inform – spell it out. Use a structure that delivers the most informative writing a reader will intake in a single reading. Use an effective headline that informs readers what they will learn. Place a keyword or keyword phrase as close to the start of the title as possible. Use your opening to provide general information and context.

3. Powerful informative writing has a logical structure

Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. — William Strunk, Jr.

The more knowledge of and passion for the subject the more you feel compelled to write — avoid wordiness. A structure of five paragraphs each aimed at a separate aspect of the subject linked together in logical chain can be ideal. Each paragraph describes and develops three or four succinctly stated supporting or explanatory points on a sub-topic. Create a clear hierarchy. Position keywords in headings and sub-headings and in the natural flow of the text.

4. Powerful informative writing is written in the active voice

To gain your own voice, forget about having it heard. Become a saint of An active voice sentence uses the simple grammatical structure of subject-verb-object.your own province and your own consciousness. — Allen Ginsberg

An active voice sentence uses the simple grammatical structure of subject-verb-object. Grammar Girl, a popular blog for improving written-communication skills, presents the case for using active voice over passive voice. Writing in the passive voice can be awkward or vague, while powerful informative writing is clear and concise.

5. Powerful informative writing engages readers

As a writer, you’re obligated to draw readers into your world, and if your writing isn’t interesting to them, you won’t succeed.– Donald Perry

Keep your informative writing lively by using the active voice to engage and hold reader attention. Use short sentences and numbered or bulleted points. When linking to authoritative sources anchor text links with relevant keywords. Use connectives to make your informative writing coherent and flow smoothly. Insert relevant optimized images to hold interest and deliver information. Wrap it up by summarizing, concluding on a personal note, and inviting questions.

Practice, practice, practice writing. Writing is a craft that requires both talent and acquired skills. You learn by doing, by making mistakes and then seeing where you went wrong. — Jeffrey A. Carver

Developing powerful informative writing skills will benefit your blog, business, and brand. Provided you do it right, the more you write, the more your writing will resonate with clarity and competence.

Writing for the Web Research on how users read on the Web and how authors should write their Web pages.

Better Blogging: Powerful, Persuasive Writing

Posted on April 29, 2011 by timethief

Better bloggers learn how to become powerful and persuasive writers. Personal power is based on passion, confidence, and competence. All writing is about clarity. Powerful writing resonates with competence, vision, and service. Powerful writing persuades readers to read and respond. Developing power writing skills may take some time, but it will benefit your blog, business, and brand. The more you write, the more powerful and persuasive your writing will become.

Social Media Impacts

With the explosion of social media, business writing has taken on new meaning. In addition to the traditional business memos, reports and marketing, we now have blogging, microblogging and fan pages as new venues for business writing and promotion. – Poor Business Writing Costs Billions

Writing to Persuade

When you are writing to persuade you are aiming to convince people to agree with you and act. Do not assume the reader knows what you are talking about; spell it out. The headline should tell the reader what they’re about to read. Lead with a compelling opening statement. Clearly state what you want readers to do and explain how it will benefit them. Communicate through simple, direct language. Write with passion using the active voice wherever possible as strong nouns and verbs engage readers.

Powerful writing is readable, focused, concrete and well-suited for its audience. Powerful writing is compelling and passionate. Powerful writing develops gracefully. Powerful writing flows.– 8 Qualities of Powerful Writing

Repetition and Brevity

Repetition is critical in persuasive writing, since a person can’t agree with you if they don’t truly get what you’re saying. Make your points in several different ways. Ten Timeless Persuasive Writing Techniques But remember that brevity must prevail as these days readers skim read.

Formatting for Reading Ease

The format of your content will determine how successfully it holds the reader’s attention. Be concise and clear. Use short sentences, sub-headings and bulleted points. Insert relevant images. Conclude with a concise statement of the unique idea you have developed to address the issue, followed by a call to action.

Inspiration for Powerful Writing

Some insipring quotes on powerful writing can be found in this PDF file Powerful Writing In 30 Words Or Less ©Joanna Young 2008. It’s presented in 7 different sections, based on the themes that emerged. Powerful writing… (1) hits the mark (2) moves us (3) comes from the source (4) follows intent (5) changes things (6) lingers (7) inspires us to write. Here are two examples of powerful writing in 30 words or less:

Powerful writing cuts through psychological noise and grips our attention. It becomes like a tuning fork for the reader. It enhances a pure tone that resonates with the reader.

Powerful writing can move the reader forward, almost as if they can’t resist; always moving in that direction you want them to go.

Writing for the Web Research on how users read on the Web and how authors should write their Web pages.

Discussion

Readers, would you like to express what powerful writing is to you in 30 words or less?

5 years at WordPress.com

Posted on April 11, 2011 by timethief

101

Life is a balancing act and it’s not easy to achieve balance with one foot offline and the other online in an environment that never sleeps. The Internet doesn’t stop, can’t stop, won’t stop, so they say. It’s this aspect of blogging that can become repetitive and disheartening. You create content, publish, promote, comment, discuss and the cycle continues.

Passion and Persistence

Blogging begins with a passion for something that matters. If you blog, you have a commitment to publish on a regular basis. When your idea bank is empty you question: why am I doing this? The answer is validation. Keep creating content regardless of how you may feel at that moment. Publish and you will receive that validation.

Purpose

In-depth knowledge of the topic you are writing on will make your blogging easier. The more you know about your subject and the more invested you are in it, the more you have to write about. But regardless of how much you think you know, it’s important to research before you write. That’s when you will discover new material or come up with a new writing approach.

Productivity

Compelling error-free content is what people expect when they visit a blog. Committing to a content creation and publishing schedule (a certain number of words, hours, or articles per day/week/month) will help you maintain momentum. Schedule your time in advance and research, write or edit for exactly that amount of time, whether it is going well or not.

Reading high-caliber blogs is one of the most effective ways to improve your writing. What you read shapes how you write so learn from styles that differ from yours. What’s more is that reading fuels your imagination and that, after all, is a writer’s best friend.

People

Initiating connection and discussion leads to building a blog centered community. Learning from reader feedback helps you grow and your blog evolve. Pay close attention to what your blogging friends publish so you can comment and backlink to related content in your new posts. Network and be open to new ideas. Then when you write you are buoyed with the passion you had on the first day you began to blog.

I joined WordPress.com five years ago. I have enjoyed exploring the ins and outs of wordpress.com blogging and I hope my readers have too.

When I first became a member I believe the WordPress version was 1.5 or so. In any event it lacked all the fancy features we have now. There was only 1 staff member in Support, 1 Moderator, and 1 FAQs thread at the head of the single support forum we had. There was no support documentation.

Every time I learned something new I answered forum questions and passed that knowledge on. I also blogged it in 2006 in this blog which is now archived. That blog became the forerunner to one cool site which now contains 551 published posts..

one cool site

WordPress blogging tips, tools & tutorials

Category Archives: Writing for the Web

6 Traits of Successful Bloggers

1. Passion Provides Purpose and Propulsion

2. Research and Read Other Blogs

3. Learn SEO and Secure Targeted Traffic

4. Write Well and Publish Frequently

5. Commenting and Creating Community Counts

6. Effective Time Management

Top 5 Informative Writing Tips for Bloggers

Top 5 Informative Writing Tips for Bloggers

5 Informative Writing Tips

1. Powerful informative writing is audience targeted

2. Powerful informative writing is easily understood

3. Powerful informative writing has a logical structure

4. Powerful informative writing is written in the active voice

5. Powerful informative writing engages readers

Better Blogging: Powerful, Persuasive Writing

Social Media Impacts

Writing to Persuade

Repetition and Brevity

Formatting for Reading Ease

Inspiration for Powerful Writing

Discussion

5 years at WordPress.com

Passion and Persistence

Purpose

Productivity

People

Follow “one cool site”