Road Trip to a Better Blog
I had the privilege this morning of talking to an interesting group of business owners, authors and non profit organizers at the Enterprise Center at Salem State about one of my favorite topics: building better blogs.
I was impressed with the caliber of ideas coming out of the audience and I’m hoping both for your sake and mine that they come to fruition. I’m ready to learn about vacation homes in England, organic gardening and reclaiming tossed off furniture, just to name a few.
(If you were there and are stopping by, send me an email or leave a comment with your website or blog – I’d love to see what you are working on).
Having a plan to get started blogging will help, but just as important is having a plan to keep going. Where are you going to get ideas for blogs? How are you going to find material? It can help to define the types of posts you want to have – a series of articles, for instance or running commentary on major news events. If you establish a style or order, your audience will know what to expect and be more likely to keep coming back for more.
At the talk, I promised to put up a couple of slides in which people had a particular interest. (see below)
Please email me with questions or leave a comment.
This one has some ideas for types of posts:
When looking for ideas, here are some things to think about:
- —Ask your audience what they want to know about
- —Start a tickler file
- —Make note of posts that interest you
- —Pay attention to what gets attention
It helps to think ahead so that if you aren’t feeling inspired, you still have some good ideas to write about. Here is a sample editorial calendar:
10 Comments
I wasn’t able to attend in person, but watched the streaming seminar live. Thank you for sharing your expertise. It was nearly impossible to read any of your slides on the stream. I would be interested in seeing the rest of them!
I make hand made cards and gift items and just started my blog in April. I spent a couple of weeks designing the look and feel of my blog before making my first post.
my blog can be found at: http://www.craftingstolenmoments.blogspot.com
Thanks!
May 21, 2013
I wasn’t able to attend in person, but watched the streaming seminar live. Thank you for sharing your expertise. It was nearly impossible to read any of your slides on the stream. I would be interested in seeing the rest of them!
I make hand made cards and gift items and just started my blog in April. I spent a couple of weeks designing the look and feel of my blog before making my first post.
my blog can be found at: http://www.craftingstolenmoments.blogspot.com
Thanks!
May 21, 2013
Thank you for an informative, inspiring seminar yesterday. The room was packed and you engaged the audience well. I am excited to start blogging.
May 22, 2013
Let me know when you get started. I’d love to see what you write.
May 22, 2013
Thank you for an informative, inspiring seminar yesterday. The room was packed and you engaged the audience well. I am excited to start blogging.
May 22, 2013
Let me know when you get started. I’d love to see what you write.
May 22, 2013
Hi Jennifer,
I enjoyed the presentation at the Enterprise Center, and would like to sty in tough.
Cheers,
Peter
May 22, 2013
Hi Jennifer,
I enjoyed the presentation at the Enterprise Center, and would like to sty in tough.
Cheers,
Peter
May 22, 2013
Okay I guess I typed a little too fast: stay in touch is what I meant
May 22, 2013
Okay I guess I typed a little too fast: stay in touch is what I meant
May 22, 2013