That Blog Post? (yawn)

by Cooper on 7/27/2010 9:33:10 PM1 Comment

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, in a sweltering Jefferson, Iowa. Normally I am a "throw open the windows and let the fresh air in" kind of person, but today is one of those days when there is none. So I had a little moment of concern about an hour ago, when the thermostat started inching it's way back up, even though the air condtioner was running full blast. I had done the bad thing: ran the dishwasher and the oven. I knew better, but raw zucchini bread isn't worth much, and the dishes have to get clean somehow and it takes hot water no matter which way. Anyway the subject of the day has nothing to do with any of that. Instead we need to talk about writing a blog post.

More specifically, Writing An Enjoyable And Readable Blog Post.

A newsletter came in the mail the other day. The real kind of mail, like a mailman with two feet, instead of the internet with a webhost. A group of kids had been to a youth retreat and some of them wrote brief notes of their adventures to publish in the church newsletter. So, good kids, good event, all good. I have to address writer of note #3 however. "Honey, your note was so stiff and dry, I could not for the life of me, bring myself to read the whole thing".

How many of us write our blog posts as good artists, good events, and then bore our readers to a point just this side of comatose? How many fair-weathered readers never get to the conclusion of our posting because it's just unbearable?

I found a handy little list of blog writing tips, that's a good place to start, eh? I picked out my favorites :)

1. TITLES ARE IMPORTANT!

Is it too much to ask that a title be informative, to the point AND clever? There seem to be a rash of blog posts lately written by members of that club that label all their paintings "untitled", however with their blog titles, it seems to be more a consensus of boring us to pieces. Quite possibly a post titled with the name of your most recent painting "Butterfly on Asclepias" will cause someone to send the blogging sheriff and his posse knocking at your door with a pair of handcuffs. Bear that in mind. A good title should pique our curiosity, shouldn't it?

2. Make Lists

Lists are easy to read, aren't they? See? You are reading one now.

3. Spices

Spices, yes, really. I am talking about the punctuation kind---you know, bold, italics, all-caps, that kind of spice. But think about the culinary kind of spice (since I knew you already were) What happens when you throw too much basil in that pasta sauce? (I know, I know, that's next to impossible, but try to imagine) It takes away the magic when you over-do. Surely you've heard the phrase "less is more"? Use those italics to give it some zing---it only takes a LITTLE.

4. Give Them A Pretty Picture

Do you remember going to the library when you were a little kid? Did you pick the books that didn't have any pictures? How about the ones that only had black and white pictures? Now, let's be honest here: we all love text that's accompanied by an enjoyable image. In fact, I still pick the books with nice pictures, Renoir, Morisot, Degas, to name a few :) Your readers are quite probably still kids at heart. They probably still like colorful pictures. Share one with them now and then. Look how easy it is:

Sidewalk Traffic, an acrylic painting on a spiffy little 20 x 24 inch canvas. Just off the easel and available in my portfolio.

5. Chop Off That Paragraph
Shorter paragraphs. Let me repeat that: SHORTER PARAGRAPHS! I read a lot of blogs. If someone writes a blog where the paragraph is so long it runs off both the top and the bottom of the screen, I give up. Is it human tendacy to think we'll never get to the end, if we can't see it? And if we think we'll never see the end, we start to be concerned about how much time this is taking, and can we really devote that much time to reading this person's thoughts? Shorter paragraphs. Please.

6,7,8...AllThatOtherStuff...10,11,12...

I suppose you are wondering where I put the paragraph about SEO, and the paragraph about linking, and I suppose there should have been mention here about vital content, and something about writing famously so everybody reads your blog post no matter what, but seriously, aren't there enough people out there telling you all of that? And right up at the top of this, I clued you in: I am after the enjoyable post. An informative, educational writing is only worth something if we enjoy it enough to stick with it. If you are like the kid who wrote that stiff little dried up paragraph in the church news letter, it really doesn't matter what vital content you include, because most of us won't make it all the way to the conclusion of your article. We'll have clicked away. So please, keep on sharing good information, but give it some life while you're at it. Make it a joy to read. Thanks for stopping by.

Later, Cooper

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That Blog Post? (yawn)

2. Make Lists

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