Blog: Mel's Muse - Related to Blogging

Blogging Simplified: The What, Who, Why & How?

Posted: Saturday, 5th June 2010

What follows is based on a talk I gave to my Writers' Group, to encourage them to be brave and try a new form of writing. ;)

WHAT is a blog?

The word comes from an abbreviation of weblog, and began as a form of online journaling.

WHO can blog?

Well, anyone, of course! Social media such as Twitter, Facebook or even LinkedIn may be better suited to the Extrovert (quick, short, to the point, and instant connection with others). For the Introvert, gratification may come through blogging, where the solitary pursuit of toying with ideas and producing persuasive arguments, might be an end in itself.

Articles on related themes: Brand; Blogging; Article Writing & Blogging

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A Personality Test: Can It Define Blog Brand, Niche & Writing Content?

Posted: Thursday, 13th May 2010

Does it ever occur to you that who you are might define not only your blog brand and niche, but also the content and style of your writing? One of my readers wrote to me recently and, as part of her e-mail, made the following statements:

• Just did the personality test on your website - I'm ESFJ - which was a bit of fun, but distracted me longer than I'd hoped!
• I far prefer having people dictate what I write than have to come up with something myself!

PERSONALITY TEST

Before we look at them point by point, I’d like to give you some general background information.

Articles on related themes: Personal Growth; Content; Brand; Blogging; Article Writing & Blogging

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Blogging: Does Adding Your Credentials Add Or Subtract Followers?

Posted: Sunday, 18th October 2009

Do you ever feel that the more you know, the more you know you don’t know? I, for instance, didn’t know until I wrote that sentence that The More You Know was the title of public service announcements in the USA! Googling the phrase – as you do – brought up the following YouTube spoof.

But the ignorance, or rather uncertainty, that I’m referring to has nothing to do with spoofs, public services or announcements. What I’m confessing to is a genuine insecurity, and I’m hoping you will help me to overcome it.

Articles on related themes: Content; Blogging

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How To Blog To Sell When Writing And Publishing A Book

Posted: Thursday, 15th October 2009

You’re an author and you have a book to sell. Selling in bookshops is one thing; selling online another. You have a question: which is superior, social media or search engines when it comes to promoting your work?

In my last blog post I concluded that, as a reader or researcher, I prefer the latter. It follows, therefore, that from the other side of the coin, as a book author, this is the method I would choose to use to promote my material.

Articles on related themes: Books, Reading & Words; Content; Writing & Publishing A Book; Blogging

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Writing And Publishing: Online Marketing

Posted: Monday, 12th October 2009

I wrote, last week, about the futility of relying solely on book publishing houses to promote your new novel, and the need to think in terms of self-promotion. Publishing a novel is not an end in itself (you want people to read it!) and, sooner or later, the process of creative writing has to be transmuted into that of creative marketing.

METHODS OF ONLINE MARKETING

Methods of online marketing lie primarily within the realms of website, blog and social media. Each of these three techniques has its own distinct features but, to my mind there is little parity between them when it comes to marketing.

Articles on related themes: Writing & Publishing A Book; Blogging

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Know Your Market, Know Your Reader, When Writing An Article

Posted: Wednesday, 20th May 2009

Part 3 of 6 in a Series on Article Writing

Whatever you read about the secrets of article writing, one of the first pieces of advice you’ll be given will be to Know Your Market. In blogging terms that means knowing your Brand – as I alluded to in a previous post (see below). But it’s amazing how often this is overlooked by those hoping for publication. Last week we looked at this crucial element of writing, by seeing what it means from the viewpoint of knowing what personal experience, specialist knowledge, and professional expertise you can draw on.

Articles on related themes: Blogging

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Do Niche Blogs Attract More Readers & Subscribers Than A Scatter-gun Approach?

Posted: Friday, 1st May 2009

Have you ever thought about what makes the best blogging sites so attractive, and why you subscribe to some and not to others? Yes, I asked a similar question in a previous post titled Six Blogging Styles: Which Approach Turns You On? but, today, I want to take that further.

Articles on related themes: Blogging

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Blogging For Beginners: The Use Of Keywords

Posted: Monday, 20th April 2009

21st December, 2009 - This article has been revised, and may now be reproduced, subject to the conditions shown below.

Blogging as a means of driving traffic to your website is a well-documented fact. I’ve written in Essential Blogging Advice For Beginners about the need for beguiling blog branding, tantalising titles, and compelling content for your blog. What I want to write about today is the crucial role of keywords, and how to manage them.

Keywords are imperative in that they are what the search engines pick up on in your articles.

Articles on related themes: Title; Blogging

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Six Blogging Styles: Which Approach Turns You On?

Posted: Monday, 23rd March 2009

Do you write and own a blog? Or are you simply a reader of blogs? If so, what sort of blog most turns you on? What makes you want to subscribe to regular updates? And what urges you to leave a comment?

I’m not asking you to describe the niche for which you’re writing, nor the niche you're reading: whether they’re blogs about marketing; faith; or news.

Articles on related themes: Blogging

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A Passive Voice In Writing A Blog Has Its Place

Posted: Tuesday, 3rd February 2009

I began this article by titling it: There’s A Place For Passive Voice In Writing A Blog – then immediately realised that it was totally contra to what I was about to say in the body of the article! You see! Even when you’ve been at it a while, you still err, because to err is human and it’s human to err! I’ll tell you why I changed the title in a moment.

Articles on related themes: Title; Blogging

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Bring Words of Hope - by Blogging

Posted: Thursday, 7th August 2008

Revised 26th November, 2009

The article that follows was written in August 2008 when I had been blogging for little more than three weeks. For reasons which I’ll explain later (see below) I thought it worth adding to. But first, the article as it was:

A RAY OF HOPE FOR A PERFECTIONIST

Please bear with me. I’ve been an author for more than twenty-five years, but a blogger for little more than twenty-five days. Not only that, I’m a perfectionist. At least, I’m a repentant perfectionist trying hard not to lapse.

Articles on related themes: Brand; Blogging

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