This document provides tips for starting a blog, including choosing an interesting topic, finding your blogging voice, getting straight to the point in posts, checking facts, and making posts visual. Some key points are to research similar blogs for inspiration on topics, use a conversational style that shows your personality, support arguments with evidence, and include engaging elements like images which require proper licensing. Blogging can improve writing skills while sharing ideas with a global audience using free sites like WordPress or Blogger.

1. Get CYBERSMART with blogs
Blogging is a great way to develop your writing skills, showcase your knowledge
and document your experiences. There are lots of free blogging sites available
(such as WordPress or Blogger) that are easy to use, allowing you to quickly share
your ideas with a global audience. Follow these tips to help you get started.
CHOOSE YOUR TOPIC
What are you going to talk about? Try to find an original topic or
explore an existing theme from a different angle. Research similar
blogs to help you find inspiration. If you aren’t genuinely interested
in what you are writing about, your readers won’t stick around.
FIND YOUR BLOGGING VOICE
Who will want to read your blog? Consciously selecting and keeping
your audience in mind will help you to find your blogging voice. Use
a conversational, chatty style and draw on personal experiences - let
your personality shine through.
GET TO THE POINT
Don’t keep your audience waiting to find out what your key message
is. Use catchy headings that sum up the topic of each post and try
not to waffle with the details. Readers should be clear about what
you are saying and how you would like them to respond.
CHECK YOUR FACTS
Don’t leave yourself open to criticism (or to being sued for libel) by
making unsubstantiated claims. Avoid generalisations and support
your arguments with appropriate statistics or recent research. Don’t
forget to include links to any online sources you reference.
MAKE IT VISUAL
Blog posts that contain videos, infographics or images will be much
more engaging so start thinking about how you can support your
message in a visual way. Make sure you have permission to use any
images or look for content that has a Creative Commons licence.
@SocialMediaQUB
You will find examples of blogs by Queen’s University Belfast staff and students
at blogs.qub.ac.uk