Written on February 21st, 2009 at 03:02 am by Darren Rowse

Today Ali from Ali Adventures (and other blogs) shares some tips on writing for the web.

You’re an experienced blogger. You know all the basics: you’ve read all about writing useful and unique content, and all your posts use subheadings, thoughtfully bolded text and bullet-pointed lists to be as reader-friendly as possible.

But could you be doing more? I spent two years working in an IT company, with overall charge of documentation, and these are some of my top tips for outstanding articles that deliver a brilliant experience for your readers.

In a world of Stumbles, Digging and Tweets, the few seconds after a reader arrives on your blog are vital, and the first post they see must provide a great reading experience.

1. Set Line Spacing to At Least 130% (1.3em, 16pt)

One of the most irritating mistakes on a blog – and one of the easiest to fix – is having lines of text that are too cramped up. Small clear text is fine, but scrunched-together lines make your posts look heavy and uninviting.

Check your blog’s stylesheet and look for a section (probably in “post” or “entry”) which specifies the default line-height in posts on your blog. It should look something like this:

.entry { font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.65em; }

If your lines are too cramped, change the “line-height” to a higher value. It’ll be an em (like mine), a percentage or a pt value (like font size). You can find out more on the W3Schools line-height page, or convert between em, percentages, pixels (px) and points (pt) at http://pxtoem.com/www.pxtoem.com.

2. Offer a Printer Friendly Version of Posts

With longer posts, or a series of post, it’s nice to provide a printer-friendly or downloadable version. One simple way to do this is to compile the post(s) into a pdf, and offer a downloadable link. (You can use software such as pdf995 to create pdfs for free.)

Think about which posts readers might want to print: perhaps detailed instructions, or posts which require a lot of concentration when reading.

Another ways of doing this is to install a plugin such as WP-Print that automatically generates a printer friendly version. A lot of big sites (such as newspapers’ websites) offer a “print this page” button, so it could make your blog seem more “pro” to a reader.

3. Mix Lists and Paragraphs

Bullet-pointed lists are great for getting your message across quickly and clearly. But if your whole article consists of lists, readers are likely to feel as though you’ve just written an outline and presented it as a complete post.

A lot of lists can also make the text look “choppy” on the page, as the reader’s eyes will skip from one to the next.

Try having a few short lists, then a couple of full paragraphs. The variety both in the writing style and in the visual look on the screen will help keep the reader’s attention – increasing the chances that they’ll read right to the end of your posts.

4. Use On-Page Anchors

If you’ve written a long post with several subsections, it’s worth putting links at the top so the reader can navigate around the post easily. These are called “anchors”, and you can find out full details here.

To use an anchor in your post, switch to the HTML view, and put the following near the top of the post, where you want the list of links (the “myanchor” text can be anything you want, but it should be preceded by a hash symbol):

Jump straight to an anchor

Then, wrap these tags around the heading of the relevant section. (Note that this time, “myanchor” does not have a hash symbol.)

Section heading

Using anchors is particularly important if some of your post might not be relevant to everyone reading; for example, if you’ve written a list of “Online resources for designers, writers and programmers”, it would make sense to save your readers from wearing out their scroll wheel. You could give links at the top like this:

• Resources for designers
• Resources for writers
• Resources for programmers

5. Use Links Generously

As well as using links in places where they’re considered “necessary” (linking back to previous posts of yours on the topic, acknowledging the source of images, linking to blogs you’re quoting from), try thinking of links as gifts to your readers. One of my blogging friends, Sid Savara, wrote recently in an email to me:

I try to link not just as a source, but for sort of “Easter Eggs.” That is, each link in my article can lead someone down a whole new rabbit hole.

This is exactly the right attitude. Readers who feel delighted by the richness of your posts, and who have found extra resources through your links, are likely to come back to your blog for more.

6. Use the Title Tag for Links

If you put a title tag in your link, readers can get extra information about the link when they hover over it. This is especially useful if you’re linking words in the middle of a sentence to a different blog post, as the post often won’t have the same title as the linking word.

You can set the title to anything you want. It’s often useful to give the title of the post or page you’re linking to, along with the name of the blog it’s on (if it’s not your own one). If you’ve set the link to open in a new window, it’s helpful to mention this in the title tag too.

To add the title to a link using a visual editor, click to edit the link, and look for an option called “Title”.

To add a title in HTML code, add it like this:

title=”ProBlogger site”

7. Create a Style Guide

The IT company I worked for had a “style guy” that covered everything from how titles were capitalised to how “alt” tags should be used on images (for accessibility purposes). Your writing will look more polished and professional if you’re consistent: for example, do you use single or double quotes? Do you capitalise words like “Government” and “Senate”? Do you write “website” or “web site”?

It’s worth creating a simple style guide for your own blog. This doesn’t need to be a huge task – you can just add to it as you go along.

If you have guest posters, or if you employ writers to work for you, you could give them your style guide and ask them to keep to your house style – to make sure that posts are consistent.

Do you have a tip for writing outstanding content that wows readers by being easy-to-read and looking professional? Share it in the comments!

About the Author: Ali is a freelance blogger and writes for a number of popular blogs (see her current list here). If you’d like to hire her, drop her an email at ali@aliventures.com.

Written on February 18th, 2009 at 12:02 am by Darren Rowse

If your blog were to die today - how would it be remembered?

Here’s a little 2 part exercise that might be fun (although slightly morbid) - and hopefully insightful. You’ll need half an hour or so to do it properly.

1. Write an obituary for your blog 10 years in the future

Project yourself forward 10 years, imagine that at that point you decide to end your blog having achieved everything that you want to achieve with it and write a short obituary about your blog as you’d like other people to have seen it to that point.

Keep in mind that your blog has been as successful as it can be and you’re ending it at the peak of its game.

• What do you want people to say about your blog?
• How do you hope it will have been perceived?
• What will people miss about it the most?
• What ground has it broken?
• What has it achieved?
• How has it helped people?

Take 10 minutes to write this obituary and dare to dream big.

2. Write an obituary for your blog as it stands today

OK - back to the present. Lets just say that you blog ended today. Perhaps it was hacked, perhaps you just decided to delete it or perhaps your server died and you didn’t have a backup - the reason doesn’t matter - the exercise remains the same.

Write an obituary for your blog as you think others see it now.

• What would they say about it?
• What would people miss about it?
• What has it achieved?
• How has it fulfilled a need or service in people’s lives.
• What ground has it broken?

This exercise is one I did a few years back in another context and it was a powerful and motivating exercise. The key to it is to look at the two obituaries (the one you want people to write in the future and the one that people would write now - and to compare them and to sit with the differences.

The reality is that most of us have not yet achieved what we want to achieve with our blogs - however the question is, are we moving in the right direction to make our dreams a reality?

Many bloggers that I talk with have grand dreams and hopes - but their day to day blogging doesn’t take them closer to them.

Once you’ve compared your two obituaries - the next step is to start to put together some concrete steps that will enable you to move from the present reality to the dream for your future. These sorts of dreams don’t just happen - rather they are the result of taking daily steps towards your goals.

If you’d like to share your obituaries (or at least what you discovered in writing them) in comments below I’d be interested to see what you come up with.

Written on February 13th, 2009 at 12:02 am by Darren Rowse

In this post Isaac Sweeney shares some rules of writing that I think many of us as bloggers will benefit from. Isaac teaches at the School of Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication at James Madison University (Harrisonburg, VA) and is a published author. He blogs at Ways With Words.

Whether it’s blogging, a novel, a newspaper article, a screenplay, or a poem, some writing rules are universal.

1. Revise

Nothing written is perfect the first time around. In fact, many writers don’t care at all about first drafts; they say the real writing is done when revising.

Revising and proofreading are different. Proofreading means going back and finding mistakes, from grammar to spelling. Revision isn’t about finding what’s wrong, but about finding what could make a piece better.

Some basic questions to ask when revising are: Am I being concise or could I say this same thing with fewer words? Will my reader understand my idea? Do I need to explain more? Would an example help? How can this be more impactful?

All of the steps that follow are also things to think about when revising.

2. Proofreading: It’s “Definitely,” Not “Defiantly”

Proofreading and revising are different (see number 1). Proofreading isn’t simple, but it’s simpler than revising. It requires a check for mistakes — grammar, spelling, word choice, correct site names, etc.

Unfortunately, when it comes to fast-paced writing outlets, like blogging, first drafts that contain mistakes get published again and again. In the process, these writers (and subsequently, their blogs) lose credibility. This can translate into less traffic. As you know, traffic is the lifeblood of any website.

3. Structure Matters: Beginning, Middle, End

Rants and stream-of-conscious pieces are fun and therapeutic. But real writers think about structure before publishing. They move things around and/or plan them out. While the writing process is often chaotic, the writer needs to think about structure before showing a piece to any reader.

Structure is a fun thing to experiment with, but every piece should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. This beginning, middle, and end may take different forms — that’s the fun part — but they must be there.

Some basic structural questions to ask are: Does my beginning keep the reader reading? Does my middle convey important information while keeping my reader’s attention? Does my end leave a lasting impression?

4. Don’t Be Afraid of Change

As I said, the writing process is often chaotic. Word meanings change. Readers’ vocabularies differ. Maybe your planned research is impossible because of the massive natural disaster in City X.

Whatever the case, all good writers face adversity and adapt. Maybe a natural disaster is extreme, but closing without saving happens to the best of them. So the writer may purchase some sort of anti-virus protection for the computer — this is change.

It could be as frustrating as an idea that goes nowhere, and the writer is forced to throw hours of work into the digital recycle bin. Sometimes change is as basic as adapting a writer’s process. There may not be time for the brief outline the writer usually makes before beginning; instead, the writer delves right into a draft, still leaving time to revise.

A writer’s willingness to change is necessary.

5. Revise: I’m Repeating it on Purpose

I cannot stress enough the importance of revising. Revise as much as possible. A written piece is never perfect, but the writer should always strive for perfection.

Written on December 30th, 2005 at 06:12 pm by Darren Rowse

Here are ten tips that help me with my blog writing.

1. Make your opinion known
2. Link like crazy
3. Write less
4. 250 Words is enough
5. Make Headlines snappy
6. Write with passion
7. Include Bullet point lists
8. Edit your post
9. Make your posts easy to scan
10. Be consistent with your style
11. Litter the post with keywords

1. Make your opinion known
People like blogs, they like blogs because they are written by people and not corporations. People want to know what people think, crazy as it sounds they want to know what you think. Tell them exactly what you think using the least amount of words possible.

2. Link like crazy.
Support your post with links to other web pages that are contextual to your post.

3. Write Less
Give the maximum amount of information with the least amount of words. Time is finite and people are infinitely busy. Blast your knowledge into the reader at the speed of sound.

4. 250 is enough
A long post is easier to forget and harder to get into. A short post is the opposite.

5. Make Headlines snappy
Contain your whole argument in your headline. Check out National newspapers to see how they do it.

6. Include bullet point lists
We all love lists, it structures the info in an easily digestible format.

7. Make your posts easy to scan
Every few paragraphs insert a sub heading. Make sentences and headlines short and to the point.

8. Be consistent with your style
People like to know what to expect, once you have settled on a style for your audience stick to it.

9. Litter the post with Keywords.
Think about what keywords people would use to search for your post and include them in the body text and headers. make sure the keyword placement is natural and does not seem out of place.

10. Edit your post
Good writing is in the editing. Before you hit the submit button, re-read your post and cut out the stuff that you don’t need.

I hope you enjoyed my tips for writing a blog post - feel free to share your own blog writing tips below.