Create Blog Posts That Are Unique, Interesting and Useful

Photo by: Jim (via Flickr)
It may sound obvious but the secret to a successful blog is writing posts that are unique, interesting and useful. If you write posts that don't really add anything fresh or offer a new perspective then you are likely to lose the readers attention quite quickly.

Interesting, unique and useful information isn't all you need to remember. The way you present the post can also have an effect on whether someone will read what you have written. Imagine when you are looking at an article and you see a page of solid text. You may not feel that inspired to read the article and just move on to another site. So below are a few points to try and remember when writing blog posts:

Be Original and Offer Useful Information

Photo by: Dwayne W

One rule that you also need to remember "is my post original". Original material is important for two reasons. Firstly because search engines recognize and prefer original material. Secondly your readers are more likely to return to your blog if you are offering original information.

It may sound difficult to be original, particularly, when there are so many blogs and websites already in existence. That is one of the reasons why it is important to only blog about topics you understand, are passionate about and have experienced. This, is a bare minimum, will allow you to offer a personal perspective within your blog posts.

Use pictures and graphics to break up your text

Photo by: Heccastudio (via Flickr)

Having pictures and graphics within your posts is a great way to break up big sections of text and also helps to keep to the readers attention. I have found that Flickr is a useful resource as there are a number of Creative Commons photographs. Just remember that if you use these are your blog post you must credit the owner (as you can see on our photo's). If you would like to have a look at some of the Creative Commons images available on Flickr then click here.

Graphics such as putting important words in bold or highlighting sections also helps to draw the reader to certain sections of your post.

Keep your paragraphs short (around 3-4 sentences is a good general rule)

You may think that you will struggle to write more than one paragraph let alone several. However once your creative juices start flowing you may find that you can write and write. However big sections of text can sometimes be off putting to the reader no matter how interesting, unique and useful it may be. Therefore try and keep your paragraphs reasonably short. Three or four sentences is usually a good figure.

When writing you post there is no exact length that you need to write to. However I would say that you would need to aim for a minimum of 250 words. If you write a post that is too long there is a chance that the reader may leave before they have finished the post. Before writing your own blog posts you may want to have a read of other peoples and get an idea of how different posts are presented.

Please note all images were acquired via Flickr under the Creative Commons License. If you would like to reuse or distribute any of the images please ensure you adhere to this license. Click here for more information about the terms of this license.