Part of the
Kenno's Blog series.
By Ken Brown
Editor, You Can Learn Series
Updated: November 28, 2007
I will be honest with you. I stole
this concept from an Extreme programming book. The book is Extreme Programming
Explained: Embrace Change by Kent Beck. In the original book he talks
about things XP programmers do: coding, testing, listening and designing. This
article has taken the original concept and applied it to blogging. If you
follow these four concepts then you will become an excellent blogger.
As you sit in front of your favorite computer each day to put words onto the
internet, make these steps a lifelong habit. Blogging is more than just
spitting out words onto a computer screen. You need to communicate ideas that
are important to you. You cannot just sit in your ivory tower issuing orders
from on high. You need to be concise in your writing, you need to be simple.
Have you ever been to a blog and then left after the first two paragraphs
because you just didn't get it? You need to have courage in your writing.
Courage to write what you feel and not be threatened by people who disagree
with you. Courage to step out of your comfort zone and really write the truth
as you know it.
Here are the four major things you must do to make your blog excellent.
Blog - You blog because if you don't blog, you haven't done anything. If you
didn't blog then nothing happened.
When you wake each morning your first thought should begin to consume you. What
will I write about today? What will interest my readers? What major thing
happened in my life that my readers must know about? What did I read yesterday
or today that I disagree with? What did I read that would truly benefit my blog
visitors? What can I add to the article that would enhance it?
If you write a blog then you are expected to blog on a regular basis. If you
don't write then you haven't done anything. You haven't informed anyone. You
haven't challenged anyone. You have not made an impact on the world, today.
That is such an important word, today. It is soooo easy to sit at the
computer and just say, "I can't think of anything to write about today." And
your keyboard is silent. You need to crave the little tap, tap, tap of your
computer's keys as you type. You need to want to share your knowledge with
humanity. You need to do it today.
Nobody has the experience you have. No one has your unique voice. No other
human being has the history and intelligence you have. When you speak through
your blog you are writing words in a way that no other human has done before.
Your blog is unique. Even if you agree with someone about an issue, you still
will take a slightly different slant than the other person. You see it from a
different perspective. You can add metaphors and stories from your life
experience that no one else can share.
Listen - You listen because if you don't listen, you don't know what to blog
Where do you go to get writing ideas? You need to listen. Who do you listen to?
This will actually be different for every blogger. You listen to TV, to the
radio, to articles in the newspapers, to experts in your field of interest, to
other bloggers, to articles on the web, to websites you stumble upon and to
your neighbor.
What do you write about? Is it about sewing and you need to listen to other
people that sew? Do you write about world events? Should you be listening to
the BBC or news from India or news from the United Nations? Do you write about
the internet? What is the latest tech gadget or newest social media or some
other new idea that is causing a stir in the world wide web? If your interest
is in the internet you need to listen to many different voices. If you only
have one source of information your blog will not be as strong as if you had
five, ten or twenty different sources. The more sources you listen to the
better your writing.
When do you listen? As soon as you wake up. Your one year old baby may give you
more inspiration for articles than the CEO of your company. You wake up and you
listen to your children, especially in the 8 to 14 year old range. This range
of child seems to have the most exciting things happening to them. Let's face
it, your high schoolers probably don't even talk to you, so it's hard to listen
to them. But, when you walk out the door you listen to the guy at the gas
station when you purchase your lotto tickets. You listen to your barber. You
listen to people at the check out line at the store. You listen to the person
in the cubes at work around you. You listen at lunch. Are you seeing a pattern
here? You listen to your spouse at dinner time and then the next morning you
start all over again.
Why do you listen? An informed blogger will be a better blogger. If you have
multiple sources for an article the daily blog is easy to write. You won't
dread it. You won't find excuses. You will wake up with an enthusiasm to write
today!
Feedback - If you don't get feedback you haven't grown and your blog is
stagnant
You need some kind of feedback mechanism on your blog. If you don't have one
then find a way to put one on your site. It will require more work on your
part, but it is well worth the effort. I just implemented a commenting section
on the blog portion of my web pages. If that works out I may implement it on
other areas of the web site.
Why do I insist you get feedback? Because, you will grow as a person and more
importantly as a blogger with feedback. When we start blogging we are like
little children. We do some things right and we do some things wrong. Then when
we get feedback we can begin to change. Or maybe more importantly we can stand
firm in our beliefs and can change others. But, if you are not getting
feedback, how do you know what your audience is thinking?
Without feedback you are writing in a vacuum. You are just putting words on
paper. (ok on a virtual screen.) You will be more interesting as a person and
blogger if you have to back up your comments. What do you do when someone tells
you that you are wrong? Do you back down and don't write for a few days or do
you get more feedback, listen a little more and then challenge that person with
more information? Your blog will actually become more dynamic. Many people
commenting and adding to your original article.
I am one of those people that will read the article and then will read the
comments. I love the comments people leave. Some of your readers will have more
or varied experiences from your own. How did they handle that specific problem
that you tried to deal with? What was their solution? Where did they go to
resolve the situation or to get more information? Who else did they discuss the
issue with? What were their reactions? Feedback creates a community not just a
blog. You will get readers coming back again and again expressing their
opinions and supporting your beliefs and even, Oh My Goodness, disagreeing with
you.
Welcome feedback. It makes you stronger and makes your blog more interesting
and exciting.
Think - Because if you don't think, then your blog is not worth reading.
Sometimes it is so easy to come up with an article. Especially when you have
read another blogger and disagree with them. But, other times I challenge you
to read an article and to try to answer these questions.
How did this article make me feel? What did the writer leave out? Why didn't
the blogger go further? What other directions can make this article more
exciting? Who might be affected by this article and what are their opinions
about the situation? Where else can you get more information about this
subject?
Once you ask the questions then sit down and try to answer them. Not with one
answer or comment. But, with 20 answers for each question. The first 3 to 5
answers are easy. The next 5 to 10 answers will challenge you. But, when you
reach for numbers 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20, then you have fodder for a great
blog article yourself. Now all of a sudden you have thought about the views of
the people that support your opinion, you have pondered the other side of the
argument and you might even have wondered about the poor people that don't have
an opinion on the subject. Why don't they care about this issue? What can you
do to help motivate them to have an opinion?
Thinking is really very difficult. Any good actor can memorize lines and repeat
them. We can all admonish our children using the same lines our parents used on
us. But, can you think? Can you open the box, jump up to the top, hold on tight
and peer outside? What do you see? Is it different than what you thought it
would be? Is there more color? More darkness? Is it a positive place to be or
do you just want to drop back down inside the box?
You can't get a feel for these other thoughts just reacting to comments. You
have to sit quietly and think. Don't watch tv while you are doing this process.
Just sit and think. Take notes to keep your focus. Your blog will never be the
same again and the traffic to your site will be amazing.
You blog, listen, get feedback and think, then you can blog all over again.
Wow, you read this article this far and you are ready to blog again. But, don't
do this process just once. Do it everyday or at least every blogging day. This
needs to become a habit or continuous cycle for you. Follow the cycle once
doesn't get you very far. But, if you cycle everyday you grow, you get stronger
and low and behold people begin to follow you.
Print this out and follow it everyday.
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Blog - You blog because if you don't blog, you haven't done anything. If you
didn't blog then nothing happened.
-
Listen - You listen because if you don't listen, you don't know what to blog
-
Feedback - If you don't get feedback you haven't grown and your blog is
stagnant
-
Think - Because if you don't think then your blog is not worth reading.
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You blog, listen, get feedback and think, then you can blog all over again.
I truly hope this inspires you and helps you to grow. Let me know what you
think. I would love to hear your comments.
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