Who’s Reading Your Blog?
According to Jakob Nielsen, author of Homepage Usability: 50 Websites Deconstructed, people who surf the web don’t read. They scan information instead.
Writing for the web is much different from writing print articles and newsletters. The speed of the Internet coupled with pages and pages of information at your fingertips means readers want instant gratification so they spend more time scanning content online than they do reading it word for word.
Writing scannable blog posts is much easier on the eyes and allows your readers to quickly digest the information you provide. Here are a few tips for writing scannable blog posts:
Use a Friendly, Conversational Tone
Pretend you’re writing to a good friend so that the tone of your posts is easy and conversational. Write the way you naturally speak. For instance use contractions (e.g. isn’t instead of is not) and common colloquialisms instead of writing in a formal tone.
Remember the Inverted Pyramid Writing Style
The inverted pyramid style of writing simply means that you start your post presenting your key points and conclusion first; and then you provide background information and other details.
The first line or two of your blog post could determine whether or not a reader decides to stick around for more so grab their attention right away.
Keep paragraphs short
Forget what your high school grammar teacher taught you about paragraphs consisting of four or more sentences. Keeping paragraphs shorter with white space between to break up the copy is much easier to scan. One tip that might help is putting only one idea at a time in a paragraph.
Use Bullets
Bullet lists are a great way to summarize important points. They really stand out.
Use interesting headlines
Headlines are important because they serve two purposes: They entice your reader to keep reading and they let the reader know what the next paragraph is about.
Your reader can scan your post and get the gist of what you’re saying by scanning the headlines. Many times they’ll go back to read more in depth the get to the meat and potatoes of your topic.
Your content is what draws readers to your blog so it’s important to make sure it’s easy to “read.”
Brainstorming Ideas for Your Blog
Even if you’re blogging everyday about a topic that’s near and dear to your heart, chances are eventually you’ll run into trouble coming up with new ideas. It’s not unusual to hit a brick wall. It’s one reason so many bloggers wind up abandoning perfectly good blogs – they think they’ve run out of things to say.
If you’re delivering good content to your readers and building a community of loyal followers, you don’t want to all of a sudden stop supplying them with good information. Fortunately, this is an easy problem to solve. There are ways to get unstuck and get those great ideas flowing freely again.
Plan Ahead
Create your own editorial calendar by making a list of topics in advance. You can plan a week, month or even a year in advance if you’re feeling ambitious. This will ensure that you’re never left with nothing to say.
Revisit Older Posts
If you’ve been blogging for a while, you’ve probably noticed that some posts draw more discussion than others. When you feel blocked, read over your more popular posts again – and don’t forget to read the comments too. Sometimes reader comments will spark a completely new idea you may have never thought to blog about.
Tackle a Topic from a New Angle
You can revisit an older topic and explore it from another angle. For example, let’s say you have an attachment parenting blog and six months ago you wrote a post listing the benefits of breastfeeding. You could revisit the topic and writing about overcoming breastfeeding challenges, breastfeeding multiples, how to treat and cure thrush while breastfeeding, etc.
Look Out for Ideas While Networking
Forums and social media sites like Twitter can be great places to find new ideas for your blog. Pay attention to what others are saying – especially if you notice topics discussed in your niche. It can lead to lots of topic ideas.
Just Ask Your Readers
Your readers can be your greatest source of inspiration. Invite them to send in ideas for future posts. If a reader contacts you privately with a question you feel might benefit others, create a post based on the question (taking care to protect your reader’s anonymity, of course!). Make sure that your contact information is easy to access.
photo credit: opensourceway
Popping in to Say “Hi”
Hi, I’m Kimberly and I’m the new intern blogger here at Profitable Mommy Blogging. I’m really excited to be a part of the Moms Talk Network, and look forward to sharing helpful blogging and Internet marketing tips as well as interesting news tidbits that will benefit your business.
A little background about me: I’m married with four children ranging in age from nine to three. I’m a blogger and web entrepreneur working from home and love every crazy minute of it.
It’s so amazing how far the business of blogging has come. You can find blogs covering just about every topic under the sun giving readers vital information and sparking community discussions. As a business model, a blog can do everything from help you connect with and understand your customers and sell products/services to raising awareness about important issues.
If there is a topic you’d like to see covered, don’t hesitate to contact me. I’m always keeping an eye out for new ideas.
photo credit: Claudio Matsuoka
The Relevant Conference: For Christian Bloggers
I just learned about this up and coming conference from a fellow blogger. It’s The Relevant Conference.
They have a Mission Statement which includes this:
Relevant is a one-of-a-kind conference that seeks to engage women by teaching blogging techniques and social media skill while also urging and encouraging women to live fully integrated lives with their faith and family.
If you’re a Christian blogger who craves an in person event, this could be a good fit for you. Be prepared to sock some cash away though – as with most events, the conference ticket and hotel will set you back quite a few precious dollars.
If you can’t go but would love to sponsor someone else, check out this blogger’s pitch for sponsorship.
Mom’s Talk Network Blogging Internship Application Open
Session Four of the Mom’s Talk Network Blogging Internship is starting up in March. If you have ten hours a week for ten weeks available to serve as a blog intern you can earn access to an amazing internet marketing education.
A Fast Growing Group: Plus Size Bloggers
Have you noticed that one of the fastest growing niches in the blogosphere is that of Plus Size Bloggers?
Plus Size Bloggers = People blogging about their efforts to lose weight and get in shape.
There’s a brand new website getting ready to celebrate their launch on Twitter next week that intends to celebrate and reward these bloggers on a regular basis.
If you blog about your weight loss efforts, you can submit your blog – thus volunteering to be tracked on their website. If you are faithful to report your weight loss efforts on a weekly basis all through their quarterly tracking schedule, you are entered to win a Wii Fit Plus and other awesome prizes.
In addition to recognizing the efforts of Plus Size Bloggers, the site also intends to feature and appreciate other blogs that serve their needs.
Visit the site and submit your Plus Size Blog!
Do You Need a Blog Designed?
I recently had the opportunity to work with Lara Valez of Designed by Lara and had a great experience that I want to share with you.
My friend Angel wanted to start a new blog. Usually, I would want to design a blog for a friend – but I knew that she would be interested in a particular style of graphics that I’m not especially gifted for. I immediately thought of Lara and invited Angel to check out her work.
It was a match at first sight and we quickly secured a spot on Lara’s design schedule.
Lara has a very polished and professional approach. There was a detailed questionnaire for Angel to complete and we were able to communicate everything we wanted in the new design.
Right on schedule, Lara created the new blog design and presented it to us for review. We were super impressed and couldn’t wait to put the design on Angel’s blog! (See it at plussizeskills.com!)
If you are in need of a classy new blog design, I heartily recommend Lara.
I Drove Through The Mountains To Learn This…
Hey everyone! I’m writing this from the NAMS 3 workshop in Atlanta, Georgia right now. Let me just say that NAMS has far exceeded my expectations! I’m blown away by the speakers, the information and just all the networking going on here! It’s AMAZING. Seriously you need to consider attending the next workshop in August this summer! I WILL be coming back that’s for sure…but probably will fly and NOT drive through the mountains again (let’s just say I had a major meltdown because I was so scared while we were going through the mountains!). Read more
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Do You Offer Ad Space?
Blog Advertising is great for brands and the large ad networks know this very well – yet so many of them refuse to consider blogs with small readerships. This is tough on new bloggers. They’re working hard to grow an audience, writing their hearts out, promoting their blog as much as possible – but until they hit a certain level of readership, they can’t plug into a good ad network.
What many bloggers then do is offer ad space of their own – with mixed results. From what we’ve seen, most aren’t providing enough information about their readership. In fact, I went looking for a few good blogs to buy some affordable ad space on and had a really hard time of it!
Should we create a new directory that lists mom blogs that offer ad space? What do you think?
By the way, Advertising Moms has a great article on blog advertising. If you’re trying to sell ad space, you may want to link to this great information.
Stepping Away From the Fear of Sales
Bloggers are often people with passion and for sharing information, tips and more. Some of those writers already have a knack for sales. But there are many who still haven’t quite gotten the hang of it, even though they hoped to make their blog a profit center for themselves.
With a few pointers, it’s easy to become one amongst the ranks of those who successfully make a living from their writing. It comes down to reminding yourself of a few key aspects, as well as being prepared for the task at hand.
You started this journey to make money, and it’s time to get that working for you. It’s important to remember how each reader is also a potential customer. It’s up to you to guide them to the products they require. If you do this part well, your readers may come to rely on you and your opinion as their source for advice and information.
You may come across people who become annoyed at your suggestions to purchase a certain product. This simply means these people aren’t part of your target market – you want to sell stuff, so you target market is buyers and people who are receptive to product suggestions.
Some of the ways you can prepare yourself for success are easily established. You can learn copywriting. While it doesn’t always mean a hard sell, any copywriting skills you acquire gives you the opportunity to incorporated copy elements naturally into your content.
Look for experienced writers or bloggers who tend to “pull you in” with their content, making you want to act on their calls to action. Watch what they do, and try to achieve the same thing while keeping your own writing style.
Inform and sell at the same time. Whether it be a detailed review or an explanation of how exactly a product works, sales and information together in the same copy can be helpful for your readers.
As a blogger, you don’t need a big sales pitch, but you’ve got to persuasive and sure in your recommendations. Studying copywriting, the writing of others and applying it to your own writing will go along way. Find your own balance between information and promotion – it’ll get easier than you think.
Need more help?
For more tips for using the power of words for your marketing, visit Contentrix…your source for straightforward content marketing advice. Whether you’re looking for more traffic, sales or both, Go to ContentrixContentrix has it covered.
Blogging to the Frugal… If You Gotta Do It, To It Right
When it comes to great bloggers, they’re passionate about their topics. They can even use blogging as their income venue. But the problem is, many bloggers allow their passion to take the upper hand over any profit plan they may have.
And there’s nothing really wrong with that. What better job is there than something you love? If you decide you want to blog to a more frugal audience, it’s your choice. But if you want to make some money doing it, here are some tips – just remember you probably aren’t going to be making millions anytime soon.
While the Internet Marketing gurus may not agree with this, try creating smaller sized informative products you can sell to the more frugal-minded crowd. It’s easy to break down documents or series, creating smaller morsels of information on a regular, scheduled basis. You could create a membership site where a customer pays monthly for this content, yet has the ability to cancel at any time. Read more
Tips for a Mom Vlogger: Write it Down
This is a guest blog post by Alice Seba of Contentrix.
Audio and particularly, video seem to be the words of the day when it comes to content marketing. But have you ever stopped to think – the written word is still the root of it all, no matter what format you choose for your content.
Before you end up with that polished multi-media content your audience craves, you begin with words. Whether it’s detailed notes or a script, doing your homework produces a much higher quality and informative piece for your viewers and listeners.
Thinking on your feet and other forms of spontaneity do have a place, but doing it all the time won’t give you the impact you want to make on your listeners and viewers. Just look at some of the multi-media content out there for an example. The content is dull and repetitive not to mention awkward in spots. To avoid that, create notes for yourself so you end up with the product that you want.
You don’t believe that movie actors work from thin air do you? There is a script that they follow to get into their characters and to bring out the story. Without some sort of direction, your content would remind viewers of a really bad reality TV show, shooting off into all directions and losing the once focused message. But, even reality TV shows leave a lot of stuff on the editing room floor and the finished product is specifically designed to tell a story. Documentaries are the same, with scripting to avoid being too off-the-cuff and to bring all the pieces of the puzzle together into one comprehensive piece.
Learn to think first and speak well later:
- If you’re being interviewed, ask for interview questions ahead of time to avoid babbling and repeating yourself during the actual interview.
- Find a preparation method that works for you. It can be creating fully scripted answers to the questions or just jotting down a few points to keep you on track.
- When you are the star of the video, by all means use notes. Using a webcam allows you to keep your notes on the screen or somewhere near the camera.
- Keep the audio or video moving by alternating between script and spontaneous discussion. Do use a scripted intro and conclusion to be sure that none of your important points are missed…and you can include any slick product promotions where it counts.
These tips won’t stop the occasional stumble or mumble while speaking. Don’t worry, we’re not looking for perfection, just solid content your readers can use. And working from a written game plan will keep your audience watching and eventually lead them to take action on your offers.
For more tips for using the power of words for your marketing, visit Contentrix…your source for straightforward content marketing advice. Whether you’re looking for more traffic, sales or both, Contentrix has it covered.
It’s Time for Profit with Mommy Blogging
This is a guest blog post from Alice Seba of Contentrix.
What’s all this talk about Mommy Bloggers these days? From Motrin Moms to a Marriott boycott (due to tactless comments by company regarding a sexual assault on a mom), moms are making their voices heard on the internet and felt in the physical world. But, then again it‘s not surprising. Moms have influenced buying in the marketplace for a long time.
Moms these days are high-tech – they‘re connected to the Internet wherever they go. This gives them even more power and far-reaching influence.
And with all this exposure for mom blog, others moms are joining in…hoping to exert influence and earn an income from their blog (if that‘s you, keep reading). The problem is, there are so many different mommy bloggers out there, all with different goals, so it can be tough to figure out how to start profiting from your blog.
But, before we go any further, there is an IMPORTANT point to be aware of. As long as you remember it you can keep working toward your income goals. Here it is: Read more
Social Bookmarking: Delicious
September 30, 2009 by Amber Passey · Comments
We’ve already covered StumbleUpon in our series on Social Bookmarking. Now we are heading to one of my favorites for bookmarking: Delicious. I have to admit, I was completely turned off to this site by all the dots: del.icio.us. I couldn’t wrap my mind around it so I didn’t even want to figure out what it was. I’m so sad I waited so long!But very glad they moved away from the former format and are now simply Delicious. Read more
