I started a 30-day blogging challenge created by Sarah Arrow of Sark e-Media. I signed up so that I could learn how to blog properly and to get plenty of help & tips along the way.
Today is Day 7, and I’ve hit a bit of writer’s block. Despite having a list of ideas to write about, the words refuse to flow. So, I am going to do a brief recap of the 7 things I have learned so far.
1. What I can write about
There are any number of things that a person could write a post about. It is handy to keep a list of ideas that you can add to whenever you think of them.
2. Keywords
This was a great exercise which enabled me to make a list of all of the keywords and phrases I want to be found for. I even added to my list of ideas from Day 1! The challenge was being able to use one of the keywords in a post properly.
3. Optimising the blog
This challenge was a bit difficult to start with as the Ihelm Enterprises website is not using WordPress, but Joomla, so I had to apply what the lesson taught to a different CMS system. Once I understood where all the right boxes were, it was easier to work at optimising the post.
4. Managing the editorial process
This challenge actually caused me to have a brief panic attack and realise just how much goes into creating and maintaining a successful blog. There is more to writing the posts – you need to plan what you will write about and when.
5. Creating an outline
A very useful technique that can be used over and over again. I used it to help me write the post for Day 5 & 6, and it really did speed up the process.
6. Length of the post
This lesson came at just the right time because I wasn’t sure if the posts I had written were too long or too short. I learned that the length of the post isn’t really an issue as long as there is quality content in it.
7. Headlines
Every post must have a headline that grabs the readers attention. If you can’t grab your reader with the headline, they won’t read the post.
I have learned a lot in the last 7 days and I know I have a lot more to learn from Sarah. I am very much looking forward to opening my e-mail every morning over the next 23 days and finding out even more about how to write better blog posts.