Six Tips To Blogging Success on Digital Dockyard

"There are millions of blogs in the world - who's going to read mine?". You're right, except that here on the Digital Dockyard you'll have a regular stream of folk who share the same passions, worries and hopes for digital media in the North East as you.
As a Dockyard member you can not only start your own blog (with every post feeding through onto the front page of the whole site) but you can share any blogs you currently have through an RSS feed on your page.

So you can write, but how do you write well, and capture the attention of all those passing eyeballs? Here are some fundamentals, based on a set of blog posts by my former colleague Darcie over on 38minutes. They have worked for me on my own personal blog, and make reading stuff more enjoyable for everyone. Please feel free to share your own gems in the comments below.


Tip 1: Your title should be short and sweet, and tell me what the post is about - avoid things that are too cryptic or a) people's eyes will glaze over and b) Google searchers won't find your gems for years to come. Remember that often it's only the first line or two of your post that people will see before making the decision to stay or move on.

Tip 2: Add a photo. A good photo at the beginning of your blog post, along with any explanatory ones throughout, can help explain the meaning of your words quickly to a time-poor reader.

With Creative Commons licences on other people's pictures, you can find some great images on FlickrCC, other blogs or sites. Remember to check and give credit where credit's due with a link back to the original.

When you insert the image (using the small camera icon on the blog post editor) you can use the "advanced" options to set the picture to the right or left, with the text 'wrapping' around it.

Tip 3: You've got to add tags (keywords) in the field below your post if you want Google or any Dockyard users to find your post when they search for it. You separate tags with commas or put multiple-word tags in quotes, e.g "video games".

Tip 4: Your first paragraph is a bit like the title - you could still lose our interest. Sometimes it's useful to write the post then go back to write the first para, making it a bit like a subheader for your whole post.

Tip 5: Have an opinion. State your view on a topic and stand behind it. People aren't reading your post to read a paraphrase of another blog article. Share stuff you find, but let us know what you think of it so we can have some kind of discussion.

Tip 6: Link out. When you discuss a person or company, it's good for you to provide a quick & simple way for your readers to find the person or brand. When you are discussing a book, film or show link to the main page of it on the web for those who maybe can't place it. When you post something by someone else, link & give them credit.
Don't let linking replace your ideas. If discussing a topic, explain the jist of the idea and your point of view. If you simply link to what your referencing you are increasing your chances of losing readers early/mid post and maybe not coming back.

Anything essential missing? What advice would you give bloggers of all levels for tips in increasing viewers and commentors to their posts?

Main Picture Credit