Problogger Diary

So what does it really take to make it big in the blog world, and, for that matter, the Web world as well? Of course there isn’t some instant mantra that you can follow to get blogging success, but by following these simple tips, you can make your mark and, probably, a few bucks as well.

Pen… err… Keyboard Ready!
First of all, before getting into the real, nitty-gritty of the blogging business, it is important that you have the keyboard at hand at all or most times. This doesn’t mean that you need to carry a laptop with you at all times. It just means that mental notes of things you want to blog about are often forgotten, so it is adviseable to write it down somewhere (backs of bus/train tickets, napkins at restaurants, etc., make for reasonable idea remembrance). Ideas are no respecters of time and place, they may come at you in the oddest of moments. If you are planning to be a dedicated blogger, always keep a pen and shorthand pad within easy reach. Better to jot down the fleeting idea, rather than lose it. It may be that one such idea will be your greatest post and float you to the top of the blogosphere. You never know.

Put Thoughts To Words.
A great idea is just an idea until you tell someone about it. To blog, you need to be able to write. Which doesn’t mean that you need to be a ‘writer’ per se. Basically, you should be able to spill out the idea in your head, in words. The reader must be able to see what you see, and ‘get’ what you want to say. The better the articulation of your thoughts, the better the reader’s experience, and more likely will be the connection with your thought. So get your words as vivid as your thoughts. There are few things to keep in mind when spilling your thoughts out on paper. Do not get into long sentences. This is a sure shot way to lose readers. This does not mean that you cannot use long sentences.

Sometimes what you have to say cannot be said any shorter, but use them sparingly. The objective is to keep the reader’s mind engaged. Too many short sentences can also be
disorienting. Group your thoughts into paragraphs. Keep a logical flow from one thought to the next. Till you get comfortable and confident with your writing, be prepared to proof read what you’ve written. If you are using Microsoft Word you can also use their Spelling and Grammar
(Press [F7] or Tools > Spelling and Grammar ) tool to check for spelling and grammatical errors. Remember that the tool is just a guide and you will have to make your own judgment and decide
what is right. For example, a general rule of writing is to avoid passive sentences. MS Word may highlight certain sentences as passive. Your decision to change it to the active voice should be dependant on the context and not just what MS Word says! Also, turn on readability statistics (Tools > Options > Spelling and Grammar > Show Readability Statistics). This will further help you get a general idea about how readable your post is. There are three readability metrics that are helpful:

Passive Sentences: Shows the percentage of passive sentences in the entire document. Lower is better. Aim for anything less than 5-10%

Flesch Reading Ease: A measure of how easily readable your document is. On a scale of 0 to 100, higher is better.

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: A measure of how easily readable your document is to grade school (primarily US/English speaking) kids. Lower is better. Aim for a typical score of between 10-12. Again, remember that these tools are just a guide. The final decision is yours.

Topical… Or Not!
This is one of the great debates in blogging. Should blogs be personal diaries? Should they be opinions on things of ‘popular importance’? Should they be a description of how bad your
lunch was?

We say, you don’t need to confine yourself to ‘genre-ising’ your blog. Write about anything and everything you fancy. As long as you’re true to your words, and you feel that it’s a though that has readership potential, go ahead, blather all you want. There is also a merit in discussing just one topic like rock music, or cricket, or bus travel. But decide where you have more things to write about, consistently, and go with that. What you write about will in part be dictated by your blog’s theme, your objectives (if any!) in maintaining a blog and of course what’s buzzing in your mental word factory. In general if you decide to focus on a particular topic you should stick to it. Though of course, it being a personal blog, going off topic once in a while will be a refreshing change that will break the monotony of stick-
ing to the same subject.

Language No Bar.
This is the next wave in blogging. Regional language blogs. Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Chinese, French, Spanish, Swahili. Blogging is not just an English language fad. Regional and foreign language blogs are an untapped market. There’s tonnes of readers looking out to read content in their own language. Desi Pundit (http://www.desipundit.com/), a popular Indian blog, is available in, apart from English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Bangla and Marathi! Hindi Blogs (http://www.hindiblogs.com/) is a free Hindi blog aggregator and is a great place to get into the whole Hindi blog movement.

Consistency Pays.
The blogosphere is littered with one post and ten post blogs. If you wish to make a name or earn an income from blogging you will need to be there posting to your blog regularly. If today is April and your last post was in January, the likelihood of anyone reading your blog is slim to nil. With blogging, you have to be regular. Which is not to say that you should think of it as a daily chore, but more that you need to have at least some schedule of regularity in your updates. You may choose to write everyday, or you may choose to write once or twice a week. Whatever the regularity you decide, stick to it. It is the only way you can try and ensure regular visitors at your blog. Choose a regularity that you are sure you can keep.

Be Prepared To Have No Readers!
At the beginning, it is quite likely that the only person who visits your blog, is you. Things are usually slow when it comes to visitors on blogs. Remember that there are millions of blogs on the web all vying for readers’ time, and though you’re not just another blogger, you are just another blogger in the bigger picture. To build a loyal reader base you need to be persevering enough to go a long time with a very few set of visitors. But perseverance does pay and will pay in the long run. Be persistent and consistent and you will see the results soon enough.

Posted by Problogger Diary at Wednesday, March 25, 2009