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Monday, December 15, 2014

Blogging Tips: Part 2

Part 2 of my Blogging Tips is here with several more tips that might help you with your blog.


Plan Ahead
If you are like me, and plan to post on a set schedule, which, for me, is every day, you have to plan ahead. If you want to post something on a certain day at a certain time, or every day, you have to have posts written in advance. Whenever I have some free time and feel like writing a lot, I usually write several posts in a day. Having things written in advance provides you with the ability to post something on days when you do not have time to actually write. Often times, many of my posts may sit around as a draft for months until the time is right. For example, aside from some slight editing and this sentence, I wrote this entire post months ago. Of course, if your blog is more about your current life or you do not have a schedule, planning ahead is not necessary. 

Know Your Audience
If your goal is to appeal to your readers, then knowing your audience is crucial. Some blogs have a very specific topic like Doctor Who or Star Wars, so appealing to your readers is simple and straightforward. However, for a blog like J and J Productions, where the topic is generally everything movie and geek related, knowing when and what to post is important. Since the readers of J and J Productions range from Star Wars fans to Otaku to movie buffs, I usually try to spread out my various types of posts weekly. Of course, it does not always work, but I try my best. 

Comment, Comment, Comment, and Comment!
If you want people to read your blog, the most effective way to get people to read your blog is to comment on other blogs. Of course, you have to have something constructive to say or enjoy doing it, but if you share an interest with someone on another blog or you have something to add to the discussion, comment. For me, reading and writing comments is one of the best and most enjoyable parts of blogging. Ironically, due to my current injury of my arm, I have had to cut down on the commenting and typing in general.


Split-Up Large Posts
Having extremely long posts is often a turn off for some readers. In general, I try to keep my posts under 1500 words, although that is not always the case. If possible, splitting up larger posts that have specific stopping points, like lists, it is often a great way to both post more often and give the reader a more manageable piece of reading.


Writing Comments
In addition to commenting in general, you may need to adjust your writing style depending on the blog that you are commenting on. While this is more blogging etiquette than a tip, when I comment on a serious blog, I usually avoid emoticons, at least until I know what the author uses and prefers. Some people hate emoticons, while others use them all the time. But again, this is more etiquette than a real “tip.” Also, a general note for J and J Productions, you can comment however you want, providing there is no profanity.

Enjoy It
Last, but not least, is enjoying it. As clichéd as it might sound, enjoying what you do is the most important thing to having a successful blog. If you do not enjoy it, then why are you doing it? Blogging is my favorite hobby, and that is why I do it, among various other reasons.

That does it for my Blogging Tips. What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Do you have tips of your own? Please let me know in the comments.



If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

12 comments:

  1. I just went to a blog, and it had an automatic playlist! After what you had said, I couldn't help laughing! Good tips and etiquette! I'm glad some-one is trying to help other people out!
    -Max
    http://gingergraphs.blogspot.com/

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  2. Awesome tips, James! I'll definitely be keeping them in mind! :)
    -Tegan

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  3. Great tips! I definitely agree on the comments! :)

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  4. Planning ahead, its part of a always having regular new content.

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  5. Great second half! I love the Joker picture you used, lol!

    Planning is a big part of blogging and it's something I'm trying to work more on. 60% of the time, though, most of my posts are spontaneous, lol.

    Knowing your audience is really important and it's something I struggle with because my main blog is not themed to anything but me and my interests, lol. I feel lucky to have people stick with my blog for so long, lol.

    COMMENTS. COMMENTS ARE AWESOME--I need to comment more, actually, I've been slacking off on certain blogs. I miss your comments, btw, but it's okay cause I know your arm isn't good and at least we get to Skype as often as we do! XD

    Splitting up large posts is a good one--I would also include splitting up LARGE PARAGRAPHS. I still come across blogs where their writing is set in HUGE blocks and I'm immediately scared off of attempting to read them, lol.

    I had literally never thought of adjusting the way I comment depending on the blog. That's a great point that I'll have to mull over as I blog hop!

    YES, CLICHED ADVICE IS THE BEST ADVICE, lol! But it's so true; if you're not enjoying what you're doing--stop it and do something else! Otherwise, what's the point? :D Again, great post and pointers!

    ~Jamie

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  6. Commenting is definitely key! I try to have at least 1 movie review on back up at any given time!

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  7. Sage advice! I heartily agree. I would add only two things to your list, and these are personal preferences, really.

    1. White writing on a black background is really hard to read, especially for people with glasses. I know it looks cool, but it hurts my eyes, so I don't read blogs that are set up that way.

    2. It's a great idea to have something in your sidebar that lets people access your old posts easily. I prefer both a "labels" section AND a "blog archive" section, as they let me get to know blogs in different ways. If I see a blogger has done 14 posts on The Avengers or Star Wars or LOTR or Shakespeare, or anything else I'm into, I'm going to be really interested in their blog, probably read back through some of their old posts and see if I want to follow them. Or if I can look back through the titles of previous posts and I see lots of those that interest me, same thing. But if the only way I can access a blog's previous posts is to hit a "previous posts" link and see them one page at a time... I'm probably not going to bother. My time is limited, and that's all there is to it.

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  8. Nice list. And I agree about what you said about comments - they're one of my favorite things about blogging.

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  9. I really need to work on planning ahead. It's so not my thing. But I'm working on it. :P Thanks for the great tips, James!

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