What you Shouldn’t do When Writing a Blog

There are some blogging habits that many people get away with, but which slowly eat away at your traffic. Avoiding these practices can propel you into the top ranks of the bloggers who have a great reputation and a good following

1. Don’t over-post

Blogging is totally different from micro-blogging sites like Twitter or social platforms like Facebook. Your effectiveness is mostly gauged based on the quality of your content. Having a maximum of three posts per week, distributed as writing, video and photo content is a refreshing way to go.

2. Avoid grammar and spelling mistakes

Work hard to polish your copy. Grammar and spelling mistakes take the wind out of your blog reputation sails and may result in some readers leaving your blog never to return. There are now various online spelling and grammar checkers available for free that you can use to avoid this.

3. Watch the word count

There is actually both a lower and upper limit for a blog word count recommended when you pen pieces for the web. 300-500 is preferred.The limits have some logic behind them. Not only are they optimal for ensuring writers get their content wrapped tightly around their keywords or topics, but also, 300 is the optimum word count for search engines, going lower leads to the risk that ones website will not rank well among similar sites.

4. Avoid long paragraphs

The writing practice recommends that one idea be propagated using one paragraph.And that each paragraph have 4-5 sentences, as the maximum, but shorter if possible. This makes reading easier, provides a logical sequence through the article and also keeps the reader’s attention focused.

5. Don’t be Negative

Unless the intention of your blog is to pout or complain or provide a platform for grumbling and grumblers, avoid negative patter. It is always rewarding if your content is lighthearted and positive. You will also achieve a lot in terms of comments when you are funny and positive.

By Dr. Ataollah Etemadi