Three Reasons Why I Loved Your Article:
1. It's relevant - we're all busy and we all need ideas about how and what to post.
2. It's well written and includes specific examples.
3. You helped me figure out my next blog posting -- a list!
Thanks so much,
Eliza
I love your suggestions, got to follow it, tnxs for sharing.
5. Lists are fun. Probably the most important reason I write lists is that they are a hoot and stretch me creatively. I challenge myself to come up with obscure topics and then fill the slots on the list. A favorite: “Five Things I Never Thought I’d Say to my Kids.” Want to know what I said? You’ll have to visit my blog to find out!
Recently, I revamped my entire blog and relaunched it as five things entirely focused around the concept of lists. My traffic nearly doubled in the first week! Each day I choose a topic and create a list of (you guessed it!) five things.
I’ve long been a maker and keeper of lists. It’s simply the way I think. I re-created my blog to be more in line with my style of writing and my personal goals; the extra traffic was just a very welcome by-product. Why do I think my readers have responded so well to the new format? Here’s five (of course!) reasons why:
1. Lists are easy to read. All that white space makes list-based posts simple to scan quickly. Just think about the dictionary (basically, a big list!). If it weren’t laid out in columns with lots of bold entries and indentations, it would be impossible to read. Lists offer you that same sort of design, on the screen.
2. Lists are easy to understand. A list of five (or ten, or twenty) items is simple to comprehend for the reader; they intuitively understand the point of your post before you even start. They know what to expect at a glance. If the title says “5 Ways to Make Money from Home,” the reader knows you’re going to provide five concrete suggestions on how to earn bucks, and that you’re not going to go off on a rant about the latest Lindsey Lohan scandal (unless it’s within the context of how to make money from her continued self-embarrassment).
3. Lists are comfortable. We’ve been using lists since we were tiny – lists of spelling words, homework lists, boys we’ve kissed (or is that just me?). Magazines use them (“Five Ways to Fight Flab!” or “The Top Ten Must-Have Accessories This Season!”), and bloggers should, too.
4. Lists are easy to write. One of the most difficult elements of blogging – and writing in general! – is how to structure your posts. Lists do the hard work for you. Instead of agonizing over how to find your way into your next topic, all you have to do is sit down, come up with a catchy intro, and start brainstorming.
One of the reasons I have long admired Prince is he has a notorious vault of thousands of unheard songs that can fill countless albums long after he passes. Prince is so talented and intelligent that he can crank out songs on a whim. But the amazing thing is he has the forethought to store his extra songs in a vault just in case he needs one for inspiration or to finally share with the world.
Oftentimes as bloggers -- like any other writers -- we experience episodes (sometimes severe) of writer's block. After all, our genre of writing requires us to compose a compelling, witty, comment-inducing post nearly every day. Not an easy task!
We should learn a valuable lesson from Prince. When you have free time, use a portion of it to write extra blog posts and then save them as drafts on the back-end of your blog. Or, simply scribble potential ideas for blog posts in a journal and keep it handy precisely for those inevitable days when the only two sentences you can eek out are: "I CANNOT write anything today. I think I won't write anything at all."
-Jennifer James, Editor
Lain Ehmann is the author of "Snippets: Mostly True Tales from the Lighter Side of Scrapbooking" (CKMedia, 2008), and the author of over 2000 articles for magazines ranging from Runner's World to Family Life. A transplanted Californian, she lives with her three children (ages 11, 9 and 5) and husband in Lexington, MA. Visit her online at www.getscraphappy.com.
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Lain, Every thing I needed for life I learned in Kindergarten! Thanks for reminding me.
1.Say your prayers.
2.Brush your teeth.
3.Eat a good breakfeast.
4. Kiss your mom when you leave.
5. Don't miss the bus....