Tips for Blogging

By Megan Wood, Unit Manager, Education Programs and Partnerships, Ohio Historical Society

In the world of written communication, blogs are a different kind of beast than writing for newsletters, press releases, or even web sites. Here are a few tips to keep in mind for blogging.

1. Read and follow other blogs in your area of interest. When writing blog posts, make links to those blogs when applicable. Reading other blogs will help with writing style and connecting to other blogs will help your blog get more readers.

2. Keep the tone conversational. Editing for spelling and grammar is preferable, but don’t overdo it. Reading a blog should feel like talking to a friend. Don’t over-edit or it may lose its casual tone.

3. Use images when possible to illustrate ideas.

4. Keep each post short. It is ideal not to scroll during an individual blog post. It also makes the blog seem more appealing to read.

5. When it is possible, link to web sites that provide more information about the topic.

6. Make real world connections to your virtual musing. Using a blog as a way to follow up after meetings, presentations, or conferences drives those audiences to your blog and makes those stakeholders feel connected. After school visits I tell students to read the blog and when they go there they’ll see that the “History Day Expert” mentions their school.

7. Update the content frequently. Make a point to post at least once a week so there’s a reason for readers to keep coming back to the blog.

 
While there is definitely lots of other advice about blogs on the web, these are my main tips based on experience with blogging over the last three years!