Blogging Tips & Best Practices

Blog1. Choose a Platform
Decide which blogging platform to use. Try different blogging tools to find the one that is right for you. You can always export your content later and move to another platform. Recommended platforms are WordPress.com and WordPress.org.

2. How Often Should You Blog?
The answer to this is dependent on a few things. First, how much time do you have to devote to blogging? If your time is limited, then trying to blog every day may be too much. If you have more time, then blogging more frequently will help your readers to become accustomed to hearing from you on a regular basis. Decide for yourself how much time you can dedicate to blogging. A good rule of thumb when starting out is to try blogging a couple of times per week. If, after a few weeks, you decide it’s too much, then go to once per week. If you are able to do more, move to three times per week.

3. How long should my posts be?
Again, it depends. The average blog post should be able to be read within a few minutes, so 300-500 words is a good rule of thumb. However, it’s okay to have an 800 or 1000 word post if you want to dive deeper into a topic. Consider breaking your post up into parts and release Part 1 and Part 2 on different days. This keeps your readers coming back for more.

4. Build a Content/Editorial Calendar
One of the main reasons many blogs fail is because they don’t use an editorial calendar. Once you’ve decided how often you want to blog, put it into a calendar. If you are going to release new posts every Tuesday and Thursday, write them in your calendar. Then, as you come up with ideas on what to write about, schedule the post topics into your calendar too. This way, you’ll always have an at-a-glance view of what is upcoming, and you can plan your writing time accordingly. Blogging tools let you schedule your posts in advance, so you can get a few posts “in the can” and schedule them on certain days according to your calendar.

5. Use Headings
Use headings and sub-headings in your posts to help break up the text. Headings also help search engines to find your content more easily, especially when you include relevant keywords in the heading text. Make sure you format your headings using the blog tool’s formatting tools (i.e. make your headings “Heading 1”, or “Heading 2” styles).

6. Use Links
Use links whenever possible to link readers to additional information. You can link them to other college resources, or supplementary information.

7. Use Images
Images add a lot of visual appeal to your blog posts and grab readers’ attention when blog post links are shared on platforms like Facebook. Just ensure that you have permission to use any photos you include in your blog posts.

8. Promote Your Posts
The best blog post in the world won’t be effective if nobody knows it exists. When you post something new to your blog, promote your post on your social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. And don’t just put a link — write a catchy tag line to help get attention and encourage people to click the link. Social media tools are one of the best ways to promote your content and if your blog post is compelling, others will be inclined to share it too!