This is a guest post by Alvina from AccreditedOnlineColleges.com
Writing has always been a huge part of my life, so when I enrolled in an English program at my state college as an undergraduate no one was really surprised.
While English courses helped me perfect my grammar and understand the various works of Shakespeare, my English courses didn’t specifically prepare me for blogging.
No, the skills I learned that made me a self-proclaimed blogger extraordinaire naturally occurred while I worked as a part-time journalist for the student newspaper. To find out what lessons I learned from the news room that can help boost your blogging career, continue reading below.
Always Meet Deadlines
First and foremost you need to establish and meet deadlines. In the newspaper world, there is no such thing as not meeting your deadlines—if you don’t, your scary editor will rip you a new one. But of course, in the blogging sphere there is no scary editor and you’re not running a news operation; therefore you don’t need such a quick turnaround. But giving yourself a personal deadline when it comes to blog posts is always recommended.
In fact, this is the easiest way to ensure that your blog continuously has fresh content. Since I was a sophomore in college I was exposed to the benefits of having an editorial calendar: you can see which days each blog post is supposed to go “live” and you can properly organize for the weeks to come. If you know that you’re not going to meet a deadline, then find a guest blogger, like myself, to help fill in the pieces.
Don’t Write “Sensational/Controversial” Blog post Unless you’re Prepared for Backlash
Not everyone is going to agree with what you write about, especially if you are writing about a very “hot topic.” You need to learn how to respect your readers and not attack them if they don’t agree with what you have to say. Acknowledging their comments and thanking them for reading your post is the better way to approach the situation.
But whatever you do don’t censor negative comments on your blog just because you don’t like a reader’s tone; meaning don’t just blatantly erase the comments like they were never there. Of course if the reader writes racist slurs or profanity then by all means ban them from your bog.
Research on Your Own
It’s always a good idea to do extensive research when writing your blog posts—even if something you’re reading gives you “statistics” or “facts.” Be your own fact checker and go back to the original source or study to make sure that whatever you’re reading didn’t get anything wrong or take something out of context.
You want your readers to trust you and know that they can view your blog as an authoritative source. So just take a few minutes before posting your blog post and make sure that everything you say rings true. It’s also a good idea to link back to studies and other areas where you got your sources of information from to boost your credibility.
Quality not Quantity
Last but not least, don’t assume that your articles have to be long to effectively get your message across. News writers have a restricted word count because they have to conserve space, therefore they are forced to write much shorter, punchy articles. But those articles are the most read in the nation.
If your article isn’t as long as you anticipated but it’s still well-written; have the confidence that it will do well—after all, experts say shorter online articles are better received with readers anyway because consumers only have time to “scan” articles.
Nice! great ideas !! Like the way of your approach. Good sync between college life and blogging. As you have worked in a student news paper you know better ways to attract a reader.
Thank you so much to you that you joined a college for being a blogger at this level and came to help us with the full of dedication and now onward you are also a role model for me to track down your pathway to follow the success in blogging industry.
I also need some college guidance for boosting my English because it really sucks as many of my blog readers already commented on my blog posts and also via using an email message, so moving to your blog for getting some tips.
I think too many weblogs try to entice new audiences by creating and bolstering experiences that are not centered actually. That can harm whoever or whatever you are composing about, and can keep you marked as the blogger/writer who fabricates the truth, which can harm your possibilities for achievements….Thank you..
Quality trumps all Alvina. We play an energy game. Not a numbers game.
Put out high energy content. Gain a blogging rep. Prosper.
Thanks for sharing.
RB
Hi Alvina!
college is the best way to writing content or improve your mistake .because in college time we generally touch with these stuff so i think there should not be problem to learn about blogging lesson.i like it.
thanks for joining this blog.
Hi Alvina,
It seems strange at the time we all are in college and still have the passion to make some earning and make that a hobby itself to prosper more.I guess that’s why bloggers are more prone to write good stuffs they are passionate about it,if not about writing some are passionate about money which drags them to write and survive.
I could not agree about the controversial point. I think as a blogger you DO have the right to write on something that may be passe or controversial, but these things HAVE to be backed up by factual evidence and you must have the ability to defend your points. I think too many blogs try to attract new viewers by inventing and inflating stories that are not based in fact. That can hurt whoever or whatever you are writing about, and can leave you labeled as the blogger/writer who fabricates the truth, which can hurt your chances for success.
It’s interesting to read when someone relates the real life lessons with blogging or IM. It’s one of the best ways to quickly gain engagement from the readers.
For me, what I believe to produce quality contents is this: practice writing daily and keep yourself updated with the latest news.
Meeting deadlines has always been my problem. Even though I set them myself. This is really a great article. But I think writing something controversial can only help your blog.
What fantastic insights you gained working in journalism. It does take a lot of self discipline (and maybe even imagining that you do indeed have a scary editor for additional motivation) to continuously keep self-imposed deadlines. I agree that the writing styles should be similar for both news and blogs – concise and, as you said, “punchy.” Thanks for sharing your wisdom!
I think I’ve also learned few things after reading this post. But for a filipino like me, who is not good in English. I think I should go to an English school to learn English and enhance my writing skills.