Don’t forget the simple rule when blogging!

Posted on September 4, 2010 by madcontent.com

Blogging is great, blogging is cool, but if it lacks information it falls flat. That’s right! One simple rule to blogging is ‘offer something useful to your readers’. If you follow this rule, it can take you places, quite literally! Blogging started off as a hobby for many people but what made it so popular is its ability to bring about a change through words, however small the change is. Words have the power to move the world and blogging is a testament to this fact. Now you may be wondering if you want to maintain a blog to let your family and friends know what is going on in your life, how you can offer something useful with that. Useful does not necessarily mean information in the form of data, numbers, headlines or anything of that sort.

To illustrate this better, let us say you posted on your blog that you baked a cake for the first time and it was a very proud moment for you. What your readers can gather from this is nothing much but just that you baked a cake, it is not information that they can make use of but instead if you say you baked a cake and also post details about the recipe, that makes the proposition interesting, interactive and also adheres to the rule we talked about earlier. Another aspect where bloggers usually lose track of what they are trying to say is by subjecting their audience to information overload. For many readers, reading blog posts is a way to bust stress; but instead if your blog seems to crowd their thoughts, then the purpose is defeated.

This rule is actually an extension to the former and that is ‘offer something useful in a crisp manner’. Create an environment where your audience enjoys your posts and not dread reading them. Keep your content to the point as doing so not only makes your readers feel at ease but it is actually a great way to help them retain information.

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When’s the Best Time to Publish Blog Posts?

Posted on August 25, 2010 by madcontent.com

When’s the Best Time to Publish Blog Posts? This question is actually case dependent. Before we attempt to answer it, there are some factors that have to be considered. First and foremost, the timing has a lot to do with your target audience. Essentially a proper study of the demographic profile of your target readers will give a lot of insight into what time to choose to post the blog. For instance, if your audience comprises of college students i.e. if your intention is to create a sense of urgency for students to buy tickets for a rock concert, the best time would be sometime in the weekend. People check blog posts for information regarding shows, concerts and events because weekend is the perfect time to indulge in entertainment. That said, if your rock concert is scheduled to take place this weekend, the blog post should have gone live last weekend.

Similarly the timing also depends on the subject matter of your blog. For example if your blog is like your personal journal, chances are your target audience would like to go through it either early in the mornings or late at nights because in between they will be busy with their own schedule. It therefore makes sense if you time your blog posts to go live in any one of the time slots mentioned above. Another case where the time depends on subject matter is when your blog post is expected to be thought provoking, something that will make your reader stop and take notice – in short, content that has a lot to do with exercising one’s grey cells. Then, the timing should be somewhere in the mid week and the reason is once your reader goes through the post, he or she would need time to react. So, if they stumble upon your post sometime during the week, they will comment on your post towards the weekend when they have the time to think and write.

There is no one particular hour or particular day of the week that every blogger should target. Perfect timing has a lot to do with the why, what and how of blogging.

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Writing a Post a Day for 30 Days?

Posted on August 19, 2010 by madcontent.com

As you know by now, your blog is like an online journal that you maintain to share information with friends, families, business associates etc. The idea of maintaining a journal makes sense only when you take time to write every day, the same is the case with a blog. There are two ways of looking at the advantages of writing a post each day. First let us see what this approach can do for a newbie. Blogging can benefit you immensely only when you take it seriously. It is a form of art and also has logic to it. It takes a lot of planning, pruning writing skills, and most of all dedication. For all those who thought blogging is just a hobby, then you are living in your world! Contributing everyday to your blog is the best way to not lose focus. Obviously you have started your blog with a purpose and so the plan is to fulfill the purpose. If you are not sure why you are doing it, then it is better you use your time doing something else.

This often happens with bloggers and that is, one day there is a burst of excitement and they end up writing a lot; and one day, they just don’t feel like it. Creativity is something that flows out from within. But remember, just like everything else, it is a skill that needs to be sharpened and you have to make conscious efforts to keep the creative juices flowing. Once you take up blogging religiously you will see yourself getting better at it and this is a never ending process. Nothing seems to be good enough and you keep challenging yourself, which is a very healthy way to grow as a writer.

And now coming to the second part, one post a day tells people reading your blog that you are serious about it. They don’t write you off as someone who woke up one day and realized he wants to blog and forgot about it later. They visit your blog everyday expecting to see something new and this makes way for your own base of loyal readers.

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Write with a personal touch

Posted on August 12, 2010 by madcontent.com

Blogging gives you an opportunity to communicate with the world at a more personal level. Writing that inspires or writing that strikes a chord is never full of bombarding and flamboyant words. It is actually very simple, crisp and does not need to have any pompousness about it. It is therefore important that as a blogger you maintain a conversational tone. This approach will make the reader believe in what you are saying. It is very easy to come up with carefully scripted content whereas to come up with something original takes a lot of time and effort. And as a blogger when you harp on originality, people will respect your writing.

Blogging started off as hobby for many people but now it has become a platform to express your opinions, concerns, support and lot of other emotions. It is also finding firm ground in the professional context as a way to reach out to customers, partners and suppliers. Through a blog a company can connect with its customers and understand their needs very closely. This gives the company enough material to develop customer specific marketing campaigns.

The idea to add a personal touch to blogging offers benefits at various levels. When you are beginner, original content gives you an edge over other bloggers. When you are at a stage where your blog is being liked by your readers, it is the personal angle that helps garner loyalty among readers. And when you are at the top of the game, maintaining your unique and novel writing flair is what will keep the ball rolling.

Keeping it hundred per cent ‘you’ will help a lot during the course of blogging but there are some aspects that you should keep in mind to get better and better at blogging. Readers always look for something that will help them, in other words their connection with your blog will be enhanced when you have something useful to offer. As you keep writing, you will understand this and then you have to modify content to suit your readers’ psyche. In the long run this will help you learn about your own potential to write.

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What is Copywriting all about and Why do You Need This?

Posted on August 6, 2010 by admin

Copywriting is the art of using written words to get the reader to carry out a precise action. Online this is usually to buy a product, or sometimes to subscribe to a newsletter or other service.

Although the word is sometimes misused, and replaced for describing general content writers, copywriting is a highly skilled art that usually takes years to perfect.

You can have the best product in the marketplace, but without skilled copy you are unlikely to achieve your desired sales.

A copywriter will usually work for an ad agency, (think Madison Avenue) or a marketing firm. More rarely some work exclusively for one company and many others freelance – working on a project for one company or business before moving on to the next client.

Although hiring a good copy writer is certainly possible, the top players in the field are usually booked for months in advance, and will charge you a small fortune for their services.

Most product vendors are not in a position to hire a top copywriter, and therefore have two other options available. They can hire a cheaper less skilled writer, or do the job themselves.

Many excellent and effective sales letters are often the combined result of both of these options – a copywriter will be able to write you a good basic sales template, and you can fill the areas of describing the benefits of your product in yourself, as after all, nobody knows the great advantages of owning your product quite as well as you!

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