Finding Your Blogging Voice… Part 6

Welcome back.  In our last issue, I demonstrated a longer article-type of blog posting.  In this issue, we are going to look at a shorter-type of blog posting.

Short Posting

Remember, the key to a successful blog is frequent, other’s-centered posting.  The internet audience world has a very short attention span and if you ‘leave’ them, they will eventually ‘leave’ you. 

Also, people are looking for humanity on the web – a touch.  Talk to your visitors respectfully and warmly.  Also, give them a way to respond back to you.  Most blogs have comment boxes on a particular post, however, you may want to erect a contact form or give an email address – this encourages dialog – a relationship if you will.

Successful blogging, at its core, is relationship building, period.

So let’s talk about the short post.  There is a time and place for a short post.  First of all, a quick note from time to time is perfectly acceptable – even preferable.   Quick notes are reflective of real life – we live at a very hurried pace and people will understand.  The key is to make sure that whatever you put out there benefits them.

Some of the ways that I see short blog posts used:

• Quick Note – to touch base
• Update – an update about an event, etc.
• Ranting about a topic – do this with extreme caution.
• Referral – to a link or event of interest

Let’s give some examples:

Quick Note Post:

Hi all, I just wanted to drop you a quick note to say hey.  Hope all is well with you.  I’m traveling this week – going on a cruise with my family to the Bahamas – awesome.  My wife made me promise that I won’t bring any computer stuff with me during the trip, so I’m going to out until <such and such date>.  Thanks for stopping by – I’ll ‘talk’ to you when I get back.

Update Post:

Hi all, I just wanted to give you an update on the status of the ‘babysitting for dummies’ piece that I’m writing.  I’ve gotten the first couple of chapters completed and I would like for a couple of folks to review them, if they wouldn’t mind.  I can’t afford to pay you for the time, however, I will give you a free copy of the ebook when it’s finished.  If you are interested, please contact me at <contact address>.

Ranting Post:

Caution: Be careful with ranting – make sure that what you are ‘throwing’ out there will not come back to bite you later on.  Make your ranting constructive if you choose to do it.  And make sure that it benefits the audience – if not, don’t do it.

Hi all, I am burned about something.  New legislation has just been passed requiring babysitters to be licensed by the state – this is dangerous over-reach, in my opinion and is utterly ridiculous.  Parents should have the right to entrust their children with whomever they wish. <etc, etc, etc>.

Referral Post:

Hi all, I just ran across a great site called xyzbabysitting.com – wow, you won’t believe the helpful tips that I found there. <etc, etc, etc.>

Caution, be careful about sending your traffic away to other sites that compete directly with yours – you could lose a visitor.

In summary:

Posting short messages to your visitors is a reflection of real life – don’t be afraid to do it, but don’t fall to other extreme either – mix it up a bit.  Variety is the spice of life. 

Just get started, today!