Have you asked yourself that question?
After months of trying to come up with good posts, deciding on punchy leads and titles, I still want to know what makes a very good blog post.
How does one make a good blog?
Eight months into blogging, I still consider myself a beginner. There are just to many things to discover, many facets to explore, many ideas to consider, many tricks to uncover and learn.
I think we can learn a lot from the success of bloggers who have made it big. We can do a little bit of research, analyze and read from them. Many of the tips I received I got from the man behind TechnoTechniques and the lady from TheLadyProgrammer.
But what makes a good blog entry?
I just finished reading How to Craft a Blog Post - 10 Crucial Points to Pause. It was quite a good guide.
Now, I've come up with my own list, ideas that popped out of my mind one daybreak, lying idly, trying to make most of my time while waiting for sleepiness to come and night dreams to take over. These are not how to make one good write-up but the qualities that a blog entry must possess so I can consider it good.
"Nice choice of words and phrases, strategically sequenced to capture and maintain readers' interest."
"Sometimes I don't know, I just know when I read one... from the moment I read the first line, I could not help myself from reading until the end of the story or article".
"Short, simple sentences and paragraphs - no more than 300 words"
"Vivid, graphical and colorful descriptions creating some sort of drama, that makes me hooked until the end"
"Best if accompanied with a photo or video that goes well with the theme"
"In-depth - giving rich details, citing reliable sources, uses statistics and valid findings (for news or commentary) "
"Something that inspires, enriches life, offers hopes, gives wisdom, shares uncommon knowledge."
"Good grammar, need I say more?"
"It depends on individual preference. Some posts maybe interesting to some and boring to others"
"Clear, cohesive presentation of facts and details"
"Something that appeals to human emotions that makes people laugh, cry, empathize, have pity or make them angry."
However, if you're like me who's still groping the techniques, learning the skills to make one, don't lose hope. Some things really take time, we need to take simple, careful steps one at a time. One day, we might be able to come up with very interesting ideas.
Let me ask you though, what do you think makes a very good blog post regardless of the topic?
What makes a good blog post?
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
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18 comment(s):
Many thanks for these tips. o",)
I'm still learning pchi! thanks for the tips..
Hello PChi. Thanks for the comment on my post. I cannot delete the images for commenting. It has to be there as CAPTCHA to determine if the comments are done automatically by a computer or a robot and not a human.
it's also to determine whether it's spam or not.
Parang kagaya dito sa Blogger mo,we need to write out the word or letters first before submitting the comment. What do you mean "hirap ka mag-comment pag naka disable ang images.?" So you mean, pag wala ang images ,hirap ka mag-comment? I dont' get it. Disable means to detach the inability ---opposite of enable.
I need to have the images there as CAPTCHA like inn your Blogger comment box .
Hi I do agree on most of the points you cited. But I don't agree with less than 300 words. It contradicts also to the point you have given----rich, detailed, and in-depth. If the topic is not about what happened to my day, but a certain opinion or a news event or something that really interests a wide varied audience, 300 words cannot justify that---at least for me. SEO experts say to be more "appealing to readers", you should write short , concise posts. I write what I want to write because that's how I express it. But I'm careful not to evoke too much "inner dialogue " to myself that I am just talking about myself, and not taking the reader's account. Blogging does have a lot of purpose----each purpose can never be gauged in a standard of "word limit"---if the info or news you want to post can be written in less than 300 words, then do. But if you do have certain information and other matters to point out, you can't be limited to 300 words only---otherwise, people will never get the "meaning" of your post or never get what you really intended to say. As I've said different bloggers have different purposes---some just wants to make a personal diary--telling others what happened to their daily lives. some give celebrity news, some give tips on something, some try to help others through their knowledge or expertise, some give opinions, some write fiction, etc....so you cannot just say to each one of them, "write that post in less than 300 words" because they simply cannot get their intended message across. How can they be "rich, detailed and in-depth " if their post is only less than 300 words?
Hey, I got your mail. I even replied to it.
Yea I published your comment. Thanks so much for the effort you exerted just to disable your images or whatever (although I really don't understand why you're doing that disabling thing)..Stay sweet all the time, pray and God bless you much , sweetie.
It also depends of what your blog is about. I have four blogs. One is personal, another is socio-religion, another deals with international politics and the oldest is about Phil. politics.
Before creating a blog, you must consider what it will contain. One must try to base everything with personal experience and you should always be passionate.
i've done all of those but no one still notices me
I think it's the lessons we learn everyday.Despite of the pain we go through this encourages the readers and learn more from life.You learn from it so as the readers c:
yun nga eh I keep on making friends pero ilan-ilan lang nag nabalik
I believe you got a good list that will keep your blog posts interesting. I have effectively used much of those techniques in my two blogs.
I would have to disagree with the 300 words thing. When I started blogging I first believed that the best blog posts should not exceed 300 words. I've seen enough blog posts to make me believe that limiting the posts to 300 words does not make it a quality one. In fact, the problogger's guide that you mentioned actually exceeds that limit.
Thanks for mentioning me. Extra pa kami ni Pasti, nyehehehe.
hi pchi
thanks for droppingby to my blog morgentau..
sorry im not so active today in blogging world...super tamad ako hope makabawi next time sainyo..
gbu takecare!
I think these are great tips. I think what has worked best for me is writing about things I am passionate about.
Davida
I write by the seat of my pants. Hehehe! That's what I mostly do. Write what I am passionate about and try to write it well. This is quite a good post. As for me, I don't count the words unless it's a paid post that has word count limit.
@RJ and Chubskulit
oh no, these are not tips actually :D
well, I hope they help though!
@Bingkee
I understand sis. That was a stupid request I asked from you.
Yes, you're right in arguing about the length. well, I write really long posts too! even more than a thousand... but I realized as much I wanted to share everything... the readers want me to summarize them because they have very short attention span and maybe busy....
:D that's why I put less than 300 words... just enough to get your points across
@Joel
thank you for your response. Yes, I do agree with you. It depends on your blog's purpose and what it should contain.
thank you for your insight, greatly appreciated
@Boris
I understand your situation Boris. Anyway, just keep blogging. Make as many friends... you'll be noticed soon
@Iceah
that's right!
Our own unique stories are interesting enough because no two people went through the same experience and so telling about a personal experience in itself, interesting to another
@Gem
yeah, that was not good - limiting a post (because it's supposed to be uncensored self expression, I just realized)
maybe as a beginner... I'll need to keep my entries short
actually, when I started I wrote long articles... because I am the kind of person who can go at lengths about something
although it might be interesting for me, it might be too long for another :D
yeah, totoo naman, ang dami kong natutunan sa inyo ni Pasti
@Maus
OK lang yun sis... We're on the same boat :D
@AttyDavida
yes, that's quite right... to write about the things we are passionate about
thanks for sharing
@Marites
Weeh! Maybe, I should erase that word limit portion...
I think yes, that should we do... writing about what we are passionate about
nice tips from you =)
ako bara bara hahaha
well, personally I always like to read a post with smart ideas telling combined with smart jokes. The post that can make me think and at the same time can make me smile or even laugh. But to be honest I can't do it. It's so difficult :)
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