What attracts loyal readers? High quality content.What brings repeat visits to blogs? High quality content.
What separates good blogs from wasted bandwidth? High quality content.
What causes your blog to get recommended to others? You guessed it--high quality content.
Quality Content is the key to a successful blog.
Maybe you think your writing isn’t good enough to be considered “quality.” Good writing is important, but there are several different types of blog posts: pictures, videos, links, news, etc. Whatever direction you take, aim for quality.
Here are a few suggestions to improve the quality of your posts:
Check out other successful blogs. This will give you new ideas for design, content, etc. You can see what other bloggers are writing about. You’ll also be able to see if your posts are original. You might decide to publicly respond to another website/blogger, as I’ve done before.
Research. You can find a wealth of information online—do some research before you write. Become an “expert” at your chosen subject/theme. I have 11 books listed in the “recommended reading” section of Basta LoveLife. I read all of these books after moving to the Philippines—I read them in order to be a better minister to my students. I can think of at least three more relationship books that I’ve read in 2008.
Use word processors. Write your article in Microsoft Word (or a similar program) before posting. Word programs will catch some of the spelling/grammatical problems (but it won’t catch everything—don’t rely completely on the software). Save it, re-read it, and edit it. Sometimes it takes days (or weeks) before I decide an article is ready for posting. This step also keeps you from losing your writing if your browser crashes.
Practice your writing skills. The more you write, the more you’ll improve. Don’t wait until your writing is perfect—it will never happen. I make mistakes all of the time—it is part of learning.
Quote other blogs, books, magazines, etc. As long as it is relevant to your blog’s theme, your readers will appreciate learning about these sources of information. Be sure to give credit!
Watch the comments/feedback. Readers will let you know which posts they particularly enjoyed.
Write down your ideas. I keep my blog ideas on a “sticky note” software here on my computer. Some ideas get abandoned, others get developed, and some are put on hold.