Eight fold Path for Active Blogging
I was on my way to Bangalore. The guy who shared the seat with me was also travelling to the same destination. We opened a conversation on a political satire. Very soon a lot of contemporary events and happenings have popped into our conversations. The entire journey appeared to be so live and short. In between our talks, I asked him what he is doing for a living, he replied that he is a full-time Blogger. He also said that he is a social media influencer working for more than 10 companies. The gentleman was very proud to reveal that he earns a seven-digit figure (INR) as an annual income right from this profession.
Nowadays blogging has become a throb in the pulse of social media activities. It is rated as the most effective promotional platform for any business. Blogging unfolds in multiple styles and strategies. Eventually, it provides the most potential platforms for freelancers for defining a successful career. One of the most asked questions in this context is what makes a blog most effective and popular. Adverting to a few latest social media researches and studies we could identify 8 points essential for a good Blog.
Being yourself: is the first mantra of an effective blog. It is not essential to become a perfectionist in blogging. Try to populate with what you have into your blog post. Imitation and copying will chain your thoughts and expression. If we try to clone content from its original source, it will never stand out because the masterpiece is already there. Never be a shadow in blogging, be a source of glowing ideas which could lit up a social network.
Foreseen plan: This makes a blog purposive. A good blog should have a focus. Hence choosing a topic and the purpose it serves for should be prioritized. Based on this focus, we should frame an outline or wire-frame for the post. Proper research and reference should be made while preparing the outline. A well-formulated plan makes the task half-done.
Cute Title: A good title is the mark of a successful blog. It is important that you have to craft the title so that it is informative and also that which captures the attention of the readers. A cute and precise title is much more worthy than a big description. Being the entry point to a blog it serves as a token of the first impression. It would be better to have a keyword in the title in line with the focus of the blog to make it sound from SEO (Search Engine Optimization) perspective.
Groomed Text: Body of a blog should be less formal and alive so it should be written with a synergic effect. When we write a blog it will be a better practice if we could consider the following criteria. The language of the blog should be appropriate for the targeted audience. While drafting the sentences care should be taken that sentences are not too lengthy. It is a good practice to arrange the text in small paragraphs with subtitles. This will help the reader for selective reading of the relevant area according to their interests. The final draft of the blog post should be sufficient in terms of pre-set keywords.
Use Visuals: Images give a visual treat to your blog. The image could be in the form of a real-time pic of a situation or objects, cartoons, analogic representations, informatics images, maps, flowcharts and even videos. It is important that the images and videos should be relevant to your post. The resolution of the images should be customised to avoid downloading issues. Plagiarism of the images and videos has to be avoided.
Stimulus variation: Monotonous presentations kill the enthusiasm of the readers. The content should be framed by incorporating appropriate stuff to facilitate stimulus variation. The best way to keep the blog live and loud is to add humour or direct experience in relevant situations. Quotes, opinion of experts and inferences of research add more value to the post. Stories and parables may be effective in some situations. Positive approach in presenting a situation will be much more effective than glorifying the negativity of a situation.
Logical sequencing: The content of the post should not be scrambled. It is ideal to present the content in a logical order within the frame of the adopted style of presentation. The repetition of the content should be avoided. The introductory text should be in the form of a motivational mind setter and closure should comprehend the views to the focus of the blog post. Bullet points of the core idea presented will enhance the readability of the blog.
Hyperlink connectivity: A standalone page will not be strong from an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) perspective. A good post should be well connected to the relevant pages by hyperlinking the text of the blog post to an authentic source of information. This approach could reduce the unnecessary explanation of the unfamiliar terms and terminologies used in the blog post.
However, writing a blog demands creative expression but incorporating these technical inputs will make it superior. In the Post Covid scenario of today, Blogging will definitely be endorsed as the most effective tool of digital marketing. It will serve as an instrument that makes you do anything to create, share, connect and inspire society.
Any business is all about building relationships and Blogging will serve as a marketing tool for building relationships and branding of the products.
