Best Blogging Practices

March 18, 2014 Blogging Guide

By the end of 2012, the blogging website WordPress had reported the creation of over 70 million blogs. Reading and writing blogs has become one of the central uses of the internet as citizen journalists and social commentators spread their messages, news, jokes, and observations.

But the question remains for many of the people on the outside looking in: What makes a good blog? For those thinking about diving into the world of blogging, there are a few things to keep in mind to develop the best blog possible.

How to Start Blogging

Now that you know a bit more about why your company should be blogging, you need to know how to get started. There are tons of different blogging platforms. However, despite the number, there’s only one that leads the world in terms of adoption (both for businesses and by consumers). WordPress is the most heavily used blogging platform, and for many good reasons. With the number of high quality WordPress templates available, you can easily create a tailored blog that fits your company like a glove, and you can add in necessary tools and plugins to help tie your web presence together and connect with your audience in as many ways as possible.

Engage, Converse, and Write What You Know

The key to writing a good blog is writing what you know. The best sports bloggers are those that truly enjoy and understand the games they cover on their blogs. The best fashion blogs are those written by people who have studied and appreciated fashion, even if in an informal way. Don’t write a blog because you think people will read it; start it because you want to write about your topic.

From the beginning, it’s important to establish a connection with readers. The unique benefit of writing a blog versus writing for a printed publication is that you have a chance to directly interact with readers. Engage readers in a conversation with your blog posts, and be sure to connect with them outside of the posts, too. Reaching out to readers via social media sites can be a good way to establish a more personal relationship with your readers, which should be the goal of anyone putting their voices out on the internet in the form of a blog.

Be Ambitious

The best blogs are those that maximize the efforts of the person writing it. A person could be a great writer or find the all the best content on the web, but without a little ambition, the blog is going nowhere.

When thinking about your blog, keep in mind the limitations of your schedule and your motivation toward the site, but don’t be afraid to jump in. Use all of the tools and resources at your disposal: Write about your experiences in life and on the internet, and introduce other sites and content so that the readers can have a more complete online experience.

Remember that being a blogger also means paying attention to the rest of the blogging community. Try to avoid overlap with other sites, but don’t be afraid to comment on issues that other sites are covering. Be confident in your voice.

If You’re Going to Do It, Do It Right

The worst thing a blogger can do for his or her site is to put in less than a full effort. Not everyone has the time or energy to write a blog post every day, and not every blog requires that kind of activity. But commitment to running a productive blog doesn’t mean constantly adding new content. Rather, it’s important for bloggers to fully commit to whatever sized blog they want to operate.

Remember that an ambitious blog means making a promise to your readers: You will provide high quality content to them, and they can count on it on a certain schedule. Breaking that promise will turn off regular readers, and it will subvert your attempts to put together a good blog.

In addition, it’s important to mind the security of your site and your readers. Use proper security measures to protect both your information and the computers of your visitors, as security problems can be the death of even the best blogs. Investing in a VPN service (or finding a free one) is worthwhile, as VPN service provide data encryption that allows you to guarantee the safety of your information and eliminate any worries you have regarding malicious code and viruses.

Stick with It

Blogging isn’t always the easiest thing. The money isn’t enough to motivate blogging (in 99.9% of cases), so writing a blog should be about more than just making money through your writing. That’s why it’s so important to write about topics you actually care about. Being invested in your subject matter makes it much easier to keep writing content.

Establishing and maintaining a good relationship with readers and the rest of the blogging community can also make it easier to keep up your blogging work. Readers will come to count on the content that your blog provides, and you’ll have more motivation to fulfill that obligation.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to model your blog off the blogs you like best. If a website has been strong enough to attract your attention over a long period of time, it probably means that the blog is doing something right. Theft on the internet isn’t right, but imitation can lead to the development of some of the best new blogs. Adapt the good aspects of other sites that you read, and put your own spin on things.

About author
Anny Solway is a dedicated writer at ThemeFuse – a leader in the premium WordPress themes area. She likes to discover new ideas about internet marketing, social media and blogging.