1. Blogcraft
or tips and tricks for bloggers
Andy Priestner, Cambridge Judge Business School
2. A unique
life form
Blogging is a unique literary
form with its own rules and
techniques
Latitude for different writing
styles, but generally more
informal and personal
Immediate global
publishing, no barriers to entry
Commentary from, and
interaction with, readers is key
3. Find
your
voice
Imbue your posts with
personality and character
Don’t be tempted to be
formal and dry (it can still be
professional)
Think conversation rather
than broadcast
Consider your audience at
all times
4. Short or long?
Most say aim for concise and scannable
But, sometimes it’s good (and right) to
explore in more depth
Use subheadings to structure longer posts
As long as its interesting, post length is
irrelevant
6. Converse
Ask questions
Employ ‘calls to action’
Allow and respond to
comments
It’s not just about you, make
it a conversation if you can
7. frequency
Time and
frequency
Once you have an audience, seek
to retain them
You can blog too much: “Hasn’t
he/she got anything better to do?”
At least once a month, but ideally
more frequently
Hit the zeitgeist!
8. Use hooks
Craft a blogpost title that will make people
want to read it (it’s often the only thing that
will make people click through)
The title should also convey the benefits of
reading the post and/or be the post in a
nutshell’
Provoke controversy or debate
Try a clever or compelling opening – a
quote, an anecdote, a statistic, a question
(think start of a great talk)
9. Make it
beautiful
A picture paints a thousand words
They forge emotional connections
They grab attention
Charts and diagrams add depth
10. Promote
your posts
Allow readers to follow your blog
Tweet your post
Comment on other blogs
Use internal links
Write a follow-up post
13. So what?
Readers should not be able to
say ‘so what?’ in response to
your posts
Consider your point carefully.
Do you have a goal for your
post?
How does the post benefit
your readers?
What impact does the post
make?
What ambitions do you have
for your blog?
14. The more you blog the
better you will blog (fact)