Tips for Beginning Bloggers

Tips for Beginning Bloggers Guest Lecture – Amy Mengel ENG315 – Blogging and First Person Narrative College of Saint Rose

Blog Management Software
Self-hosted vs. free software
Factors to consider:
Design flexibility
Level of comfort with coding
Available plug-ins and features
Ease of use
Storage space, ad capacity
Questions to Ask
Choosing a Blog Platform

www.wordpress.com
www.blogspot.com
www.LiveJournal.com
www.MoveableType.org
www.TypePad.com
www.squarespace.com
www.Tumblr.com
www.Posterous.com

Write some sample posts first and don’t publish them. Familiarize yourself with:
Embedding hyperlinks
Embedding photo and/or video
Tagging and categorizing posts
Playing with styles and headings
Critique blogs that you like from a design and content perspective. What can you incorporate into your blog?

Types of blogs
News and commentary
Most similar to traditional media. Many attempt to either break the news or offer deeper editorial commentary about current news
Examples:
TechCrunch
NY Times “The Lede ”
TMZ
Dead Spin

Types of blogs
Review and Critique
Product reviews, company or industry critique
Examples:
Gizmodo
Consumerist
Thought Leadership
Developing a position as a knowledge authority in a particular industry or area of expertise
Example: Seth Godin (marketing)

Types of blogs
Educational
How-to blogs, detailed information on a narrow topic
Examples:
Digital Photography School
Get Rich Slowly
Documentary-style
Follow a particular person or group through an experience
Examples:
John is Fit (weight loss blog)

Types of blogs
Location
Blogging about happenings in a specific geographic region
Examples:
Gothamist
AllOverAlbany
Lifestyle
Blog about a specific kind of lifestyle (vegan, urban, cowboy, etc)
Examples:
FatFreeVegan
Married to the National Guard

Types of blogs
Gimmick
Similar, recurring posts around a theme or gimmick
Examples:
Julie Powell
Tiny Art Director
Leila Texts
Stuff White People Like

Beginner Blogging tips
Find a niche. How are you different?
Be regular with post frequency. Develop an editorial calendar .
Comment on other blogs . Respond to comments on yours.
Find your voice. (You’re not writing essays!)
Links are the currency of the Web. Link back to anyone you cite or mention.

Types of blog posts
Don’t stick to just narratives!
Lists
Interviews
Reviews
Rebuttals
Pro/Con
How-to
Video/Audio/Photo
Events
Battling Blogger’s Block: 20 types of posts

What to write about?
What are your passionate about?
What makes you an interesting person?
How are you unique?
Why is your viewpoint different?
Be specific, but not too specific
The focus of your blog can change gradually over time.

Be Interesting
Take source material (news, other blogs) and write about it from a new direction or perspective that fits your blog’s niche
Draw in readers with humor, criticism, honesty or drama
Think Reality TV: Why is it so addicting?
Don’t make your posts generic – make sure that each post is something only YOU could write
Add a guest post every now and then to provide a different view/voice

Be Personal
Show your personality in your writing
Be conversational
Share personal stories that connect with readers
Respond to reader comments
Decide how much is appropriate to share
Make sure what you share is within the context of your blog
Be cognizant of other people’s privacy (friends, family members)

Your blog will be…
Your online professional profile
Content is indexed by Google For-EVAH!
Future employers will read it and assess your writing skills, thought development
It can complement (or contradict) your resume
A creative outlet
A time suck
A source of frustration
A way to make new connections and friends
A rewarding experience!

Credits
Slide 2 image by http://www.flickr.com/photos/jerrycooke/3171393927/sizes/o/
Slide 7 image by http://digital-photography-school.com/canon-eos-7d
Slide 9 image by Henry Ray Abrams, Associated Press http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/051018/051018_julia_vmed_12p.widec. jpg
Slide 10 image by http://www.flickr.com/photos/mommamia/2217623384/
Slide 11 image by http://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinbell/35089898/
About Amy Mengel I’m a communications professional and consultant based in Albany, N.Y. I’ve worked in corporate communications roles for companies like Lockheed Martin and General Electric. I now work with clients on a variety of PR, marketing and communications projects, including how to incorporate social media practices into existing marketing strategies. I’m the founder of Social Media Breakfast Tech Valley, the region’s first community-focused social media event. I blog about PR, marketing and social media at www. amymengel .com when I’m not cycling, hiking, traveling, skiing or watching college football. On Twitter: @ amymengel

Tips for Beginning Bloggers

by Amy Mengel on Sep 10, 2009

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Tips for Beginning Bloggers — Presentation Transcript

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