On Neysan’s 8 Rules For Effective Blogging: How do I measure up?
By george wesley dannells on Jul 1, 2009 in All categories
neysn: 1000 visits to my new blog at www.neysn.net in only two days – good times and thanks! about 4 hours ago from web · Reply · View Tweet
I have been noting for a while that blogging isn’t what it used to be, that numbers are flat or actually down, that Baha’i bloggers that used to post a lot are letting their blogs go dormant. Well, Neysan’s numbers, tweeted above, are an indication that a blog can still seize the attention of large numbers of visitors.
A 1000 visits in two days. Wow! The only time I ever got those numbers on bahaiviews.net was following the passing of Counselor Murphy when I had some timely posts up.
Neysan offers words for the wise on his new posterous blog. Such as, embrace social networking. No argument from me on that one. I do Twitter, I reluctantly do Facebook, but I don’t do Myspace. I did just open a Bahai Views account on YouTube.+
Embrace New Media
Integrate Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Youtube. This is where you’ll reach the crowds. “Web Browsing” as we know it has shifted to social networking sites.
Integrate Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Youtube. This is where you’ll reach the crowds. “Web Browsing” as we know it has shifted to social networking sites.
But Neysn offers some additional advice that can be applied immediately. Let’s see how Baha’i Views measures up to his recommendations. He offers eight ground rules for blogging.
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neysn’s posterous
1. Choose a Niche and Focus
Know why you’re doing what you do and be willing to filter things that don’t fit in with your goals. For example, you choose to cover the use of new media in Saudi Arabia’s democratic elections (smiling?), will you publish the beautiful poem by a Saudi poet that just blows your mind? Readers will come and return to your blog because they are interested in the subject – Focus.
The content is all over the board on Baha’i Views. I need to focus better on my primary subject, which is… Well, what is my primary focus here? I usually say it’s mentions of “Baha’i” online. That’s rather broad. And not only impossible to cover completely, but considering how many great search tools there are now available for browsing, totally unnecessary.
2. Use Visual Content
Use images and graphs, they add color and life to your blog. Make your text scannable by adding lists, subheadings, bolds. Screen-reading is painful, so make life easier for your visitors.
OK, I’ve got lots of pictures, and images of every kind. But how readable are my posts? What’s the gist? What’s the point?
3. Be Personal, Be Passionate
Readers love to hear You in your posts. Use stories from your personal life, describe your emotions, add your opinion. The revolution of blogging lies in the freedom of expression.
I see myself as something of a cheerleader. That’s me. Either I’m an ENFP or an ENFP wannabe. The me is in Baha’i Views, I believe, even though the majority of the content is excerpted from other sources.
4. Write Less
Unless you are George Friedman, no one is going to read that essay you posted. 250 Words/3 paragraphs is absolutely sufficient for a post. If you want to cover a topic that requires more information, break up the story into several parts and post a series over a couple of days.
I’m with ya on this, Neysan. I’ve always believed in short posts, word-wise at least. Interestingly, some of the best excerpts for Baha’i Views are drawn from longer essays. I don’t mind linking to the lengthy or the obscure. I’m only going to take a couple sentences or paragraphs, however.
6. Use Titles Effectively
The title of your post is the only thing that shows up in search engines, on Twitter, on Facebook – It is the single most important part of your post. Keep the title simple, be descriptive of the post, grab attention. The most effective titles are lists and numbers (5 Ideas for Women’s Rights in Iran) and how-to’s (Chello Kebab 101 for foreigners). Solve problems, do case studies, write critiques
Uh-oh. I like long titles with lots of word-play. Sometimes those titles can grab attention. Rarely are they simple. And not necessarily descriptive.
7. Unclutter
I beg you please. Nobody wants to see an empty calendar, your meta data (Login, Admin etc.), and endless blogrolls that stretch further down that the posts. Blogrolls should be categorized and should be no more than 8 websites that you actually recommend. At higher numbers, no link stands a chance of actually being clicked.
This is advice I can act on immediately. My sidebar is bloated. The only links that get clicked are towards the top of the column.
8. Interact
Ask questions and invite comments (people actually respond). Be open ended in your posts and leave room for discussion. Then, join the discussion your commenters are having. They will come back.
When people do respond, I’ve been terrible at joining the discussion. I must change my ways.
Neysn, thanks for the cogent advice. You are on the cutting edge for best blogging practices. Thank you for your service. -gw
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On Jul 2, 2009, Robert said:
We have to look to 1844 for a better method… and the origins of all these things.
Twitter may be a fast way to communicate short messages, beating out blogging, but as seen on TV, the telegraph of Samuel Morse is faster (lol):
http://www.engadget.com/2005/05/25/morse-code-vs-sms-on-the-tonight-show/
It’s interesting to Baha’is that the first official message on a telegraph line was the verse from The Bible, Numbers 23:23 : “What hath God wrought” on May 24, 1844 when the Baha’i Era began.
Wikipedia records another interesting fact:
“Samuel Morse received his first ever patent for the telegraph in 1847….in Istanbul, which was issued by Sultan Abdul Majid who personally tested the new invention.”