The ABC’s of Blogging 2

Picking up at M and hoping Q’s dressed and ready when I get there…

M. Lay all meanness and malice aside.  Isn’t there enough of that in the world?  If you feel yourself getting worked up and on the verge of getting offensive or obnoxious - take a break.  By all means, if you have something to say, say it.  But say it to be helpful, don’t say it to belittle - that’s only being little.

N.   Carry a notebook and pen with you at all times.  You never know when you’ll hear or read a quote, get an inspiration, or have your thoughts provoked - with pen and paper handy, they won’t get away from you.  Otherwise, Hasta la vista good stuff.

O.  Be open-minded.  Open your mind to others and their opinions.  If you don’t open your mind, nothing new will ever get in.  The old stuff will just keep bouncing off of one another.  (Can you say dullard?)

P. Passion!  If you feel passionate about what you’re writing about, it’ll come through every word, every picture,  every :), and every !.  Fan the flames and keep them alive.

Don’t ever be afraid to let the passion show through.  You say, “Oh, I’d ne-ver do that…”  Well, if you’ve ever erased a ! to replace it with a ., you’ve done that!

Join my daughters and think about Johnny Depp.  When he signed on for Pirates of the Caribbean, he envisioned Jack Sparrow as a flamboyant, over the top, zany character.  The suits had pictured him as something altogether and though The Depp had lost The mind.  But, he’s who he is, so he won the argument and, in the end, played Sparrow as he wanted to - with as much passion as I’ve ever seen a role played.  His passion came through every swagger, every facial expression, and every “Weeerd he zaid.”  He didn’t play it safe or keep it on the low.  I’d wager that the suits are delighted that Johnny Depp doesn’t erase !s.

Q.  This one’s a toughy, but periodically ask yourself which is at the heart of your blog:  The quality of your information and the quality of your purpose or the quanity of traffic and the quanity of money.  Said another way, don’t sell out.  Yes, we all have to make a living, put kids through college, buy new waterbeds (feel that brick upside your head, Michael?), and so on…but if that becomes our #1 goal, it will be woefully obvious to even the most naive readers. 

Some blogs have more commercials than the Super Bowl. If I’m on a blog and I’m having to search for the content - I don’t search long, I just change the channel.

R.  Read twice as much as you write.  Twice as much should go in than comes out - it’s when the opposite is attempted that people, and blogs, dry up.

S.  Starbuck’s (Or your coffeehouse of choice).  Each of my blogs could read “Powered by Starbuck’s and Beyond the Brim.”  You know you’ve got it bad when you have two coffehouses in your life. I don’t sleep much.

T.  Truth.  Tell it.  Don’t stretch it.  Don’t manipulate it. Sharp people see through the smoke and mirrors, I promise they do.  Then they put a wall of mistrust up between you and them - and if you cause the erection of enough walls, you’ll never see the light of day.

Even if you’re telling the truth, guess what - no one reallllly cares about what car you drive, the size of your house, or the vacations you take.  One thing’s for certain - just like kids on a playground, people care about their own toys.

U.  Be Uncommon.  Booker T. Washington said it best:  “Do a common thing in an uncommon way.”  Don’t try to be, sound like, or look like anyone else.  Put your own twist on what you do.  If your inner Nervous Nellie whispers, “But no one else is doing it this way….” - you’ll know you’re getting warm.  Run with that.  I zip and zoom around the internet all day - not only researching information, designing, writing, and coding - I also observe.  And I had MUCH rather see someone going a bit too far trying something new than to stay in a predictable, safe mode.  B-O-R-I-N-G. 

V.  Use visuals.  Try to make your blog as visually colorful and appealing as possible.  Change things up every now and again - change colors around, rotate banners and images…you know, that sort of thing.

If finding pictures or having a place to upload them is a problem, consider this little trick:  Get a few affiliate accounts.  When you’re ready to create links, you’re ready to create art for your posts and you blog. (Affiliate pictures don’t have to be uploaded - just used.)  Click HERE to see what I’m talking about in action. (It’ll open in a new window) You put the image at the top, then a link at the end - your post looks spiffy and you might just make a little money.  All Posters.com is an excellent place to start - their pay rates are amongst the best, they’re easy to work with, and you couldn’t ask for more beautiful images!

W.  Post at least weekly.

X.  EXplore the world around you.  Don’t get locked into the seat in front of the computer or the one in front of the television.  If that’s all the world that you ever experience - you won’t have much to say unless your blog’s about tv shows, internet surfing or chairs! In order to have something to say, you have to have something worth saying.

Y.  Yes, you can!  If you can write an e-mail, you can write a post.  You’re simply writing an e-mail that (hopefully) many people will read!

Z. Keep it Zippy (Full of energy and vim.) - try to make your blog crackle with excitement. I realize that can seem virtually impossible if your subject matter is buttoned up.   Just inject your personality in there somehow. After a visitor leaves your blog, make sure they know they were there.  Try to give them something that’ll stick with them - a quote, a phrase, a word, a thought. Something zippy.

Joi