Reading blogs every day helps you understand how to approach your own. When a client asks about best practices, consider sharing some observations from a reader??s perspective:
? Offer Full Feeds
People using aggregators shouldn??t be punished for doing so. They??re your audience and ought to be treated with the same accord as the individuals who visit your site. Part of this means making your content 100% accessible to subscribers. I understand that you want to bring people to your site. Much more important than that, though, is getting your ideas through. What may get read may be skipped over because:
- Your teaser line isn??t working hard enough
- People don??t want to bother clicking through to your site ?? that??s one of the reasons why they??re using a newsreader in the first place
? Your Tone Is Your Branding
Building on the first point, you have to assume that people are not visiting your site. So they??re not seeing your logo. They??re not seeing your beautiful design. Or your page layout. All you have are words. Start by being human and friendly. When people like you, they??ll be more open to learning about your message. Or product. Or service. Your readers don??t get visual cues ?? but they are taking in some very powerful hints about doing business with you, all from your writing.
? Don??t Backdate Your Posts (AKA retro-blogging)
Bloggers who backdate their posts are, in my mind, abusing the spirit of this platform. Blogs are supposed to be real-time collections of your thoughts and reflective of the time and place of your post. This is a platform that assumes honesty and authenticity. Backdating your post, even for the smallest reason, misleads your audience.
? Make Corrections Openly
If you??ve made a post and need to correct something ?? major or minor ?? don??t erase and delete the original. Use the strikethrough function to cross out your old thought and complete the new content right alongside of it. Your readers don??t expect perfection, but they do expect to be told the whole truth and nothing but. It??s odd to read something and then see it changed without explanation the next time you go back.
? Tell Your Readers Who You Are
This is important for individual bloggers and multiple-contributor blogs as well. Readers gain a lot of information from your ??About? page. Use it to tell people who you are and what you??re about. If more than one person is contributing to your blog, make sure their bios are featured as well. And, as I??ve brought up before, make sure you properly identify each contributor to RSS subscribers.
? Don??t Shout
Using ALL CAPS for emphasis is paramount to shouting in print. If you??re not prone to shouting at people when you talk ?? face it, it isn??t exactly the best way to get through to someone ?? why do it in your writing? It??s hard enough to appeal to and engage your readers. And so much can be taken out of context without the benefit of body language. KEEP THAT IN MIND WHEN IF YOU CHOOSE TO SHOUT. (See my point?)
As newsreaders get loaded up and your readers become more and more immersed in the blogosphere, you??ve got to give them every reason to keep reading your opinions. All in all, I really believe that this means being open, authentic, accessible, and truthful in every way possible. It??s a challenge, but one well worth meeting.
Related stuff:
? Above are some of the negatives to avoid. Here are some of the positives you can expect to take out of blogging. (Read the comments or look for the PDF on the left.)
? You should also consider what Hugh has to say.
? Feedster gives you more reasons to publish full text feeds.
? Amit Agarwal provides logical reasons why to publish full text feeds.
? About offers their top 10 Weblog Ethics and Etiquette tips.
? If blogging is a two-way relationship between writer and reader, then there is a proper way for a reader to email a blogger.
? After one year of blogging, Easton Ellsworth gives you 20 tips.
UPDATE: More related stuff:
? Problogger answers: Does Blog Design Matter in an Age of Feed Readers?
