5 Out-of-the-Box Blogging Rules We Love

Writing for the web – including blogging – is different than most other types of writing, such as newspapers and magazines or literature. There are a few reasons we love blogging and here are a few out of the box ones.

1. If at first you don’t succeed; try, try again

Picture it: you’ve meticulously put together the perfect blogpost. You’ve done your research. You’ve scrutinized every word, every semicolon.

You’ve expertly balanced the amount of need-to-know information with enough wit and charm that will keep readers interested throughout the entire post. Then you hit publish and wait expectantly while the visitors and comments start flooding in. Maybe they do. But maybe…they don’t.

And here’s the good news: with a blog, that’s ok!!!

Follow up with your posts in your Analytics to see how much traction each one gained. Keep doing what’s working and stop doing what’s not. Or, take a different approach: try the same subject, but do a different take on it!

2. It’s OK if things overlap

Don’t think of a blogpost as having to be a completely new thought or idea. (Because really, how many “new” ideas are really new?)

Also, blogposts are individual pages – so remember that not every single person is going to see every single post. So, let’s say you write a post on “10 Ways to Better Organize Your Home Office”. You could easily later write a post about “Organizing Your Home Office: 5 Dos and Don’ts”. Is it the same subject? Sure! Might some things overlap? Sure! But it’s a new take on it.

3. It’s OK to recycle

New and fresh ideas? Sure, blog about it! But what about a new take on an old subject? That’s great too. How about a culmination of similar ideas? Fantastic. Or how about a simple mashup of other blogposts? No problem.

A blog is just about one of the only places where it’s ok to recycle.

4. Variety is the spice of life

If you love posting images on your blog, great. If posting videos is your thing, awesome. If “how to’s” are your bread and butter, more power to you.

But what do the most successful blogs do? Include a variety of all types of blogposts. Not only are you targeting multiple audiences, but it’s a great way to keep interest in your blog. No one likes the same old thing over and over…so changing things up is an aspect very unique to blogs.

5. Don’t be too specific

Just because your blog is for a hotel website, let’s say, doesn’t mean that you have to consistently write about how great your rooms are and all the wonderful amenities the hotel has to offer.

Think about what your audience would be interested in: local attractions, what the best restaurants are, where the best shopping is, why your city is the most awesome, and so on.

In other words, explore all you can about your industry. Don’t get tunnel vision by focusing in too hard on your particular niche!