Even Darth Vader is a food blogger!
Post by Nichole Donovan
So not to be cynical but it seems like everyone’s a writer/blogger these days – but this doesn’t automatically make them good. Here’s a few pointers to set yourself apart:
1) Have a plan. Everything you write you should be proud of, so treat your work with same respect and professionalism you would a business.
2) Post regularly and consistently. There’s nothing worse for readers than stumbling upon a great blog, only to find the writer’s given up a couple months later. Try to avoid sporadic bursts of content as well and spread the love.
3) Only post in what interests you. When you’re a blogger, you are the product you’re selling – so sell your personality and interests.
4) Good layout. Not only should you choose a theme that is aesthetically pleasing but also one that reflects your blogger tone, make your format unique. This can sometimes seem difficult where limited themes are available. However some subtle changes such as font and colour can make a world of difference – and give something generic a real facelift.
5) Strong headlines. Remember when people subscribe to your blog they receive emails when you publish new posts. The headline must enticing enough for them to want to give it a ‘click’. Avoid being cute or worse, cryptic.
6) Images. It’s true the more you give your readers the more they’ll want to give to you. This means multiple pictures where applicable, links, video clips and mp3 sound bites.
7) Write as you speak. Enough said really. Nothing worse than an online Shakespeare who takes themselves too seriously and a tone that doesn’t suit the subject.
8) Try to limit your categories. If you’re not posting hundreds of times a week, you’ll only end up with a couple articles per category and this looks silly. By refining your categories you’re also refining your area of interest, and in doing so become more special.
9) Share the spotlight. Guest posts give readers something new and different to read, click, ‘like’ and share. You want to be your reader’s source of all things new and interesting – including other people’s views.
10) Don’t let it go to waist. Take the time to promote yourself and your hard work – at least an hour each week.
Nichole is a Communication student at UTS and Zookal's blog editor. In her spare time she writes for holliandlola.com under one of many unexplained nicknames 'Lola' – check it out here it's a whole lot of fun!
Are you a writer/blogger? Got any good tips? Want to write for Zookal? Let us know your thoughts below...
