Here is a link to the article.

On social media or messengers, the title & featured image catches the eye first. It is hence vital to convert a visitor to a reader by creating a catchy blog post title. There are a few ways to frame an article title. Let us take example of the link above.

Wikipedia or Google Maps way – In this type title is simply written as the official name of the place as mentioned in Wiki or Google Maps. Since it is the official name, there are possible chances that google will pick up the article. But it is not the case always. Official sounding titles are good for official use only. The above place is written as “Ashokan Edicts in Delhi” and just “Ashokan Edict” on Google Maps. The title in official manner is simply “Ashokan Rock Edict, Delhi” or for a longer title, the name of locality can be included “Ashokan Rock Edict, East of Kailash, Delhi”. This type of naming for a blog article is not recommended.

Academic or the boring way – Most of the bloggers make the mistake of creating academic titles. Popular examples would be “What is India Gate” or “What is Decoupage” or “Do you want to look pretty?”. The probability of figuring in Google Search with Academic titles, especially for popular search terms is way out of question. Such kind of title might be justified if you are covering a topic for the first time. This title also sounds preaching or informative in nature. Not all readers appreciate being taught something new. This option too is not recommended for bloggers.

Moderately catchy titles (non controversial) – Pretty straightforward but interesting. All ‘How to”s, reviews, recipes, tutorials and so on come under this category. Examples can be “How to do Decoupage“, “How to enable the blue light filter on smartphone“, “How to reach New Delhi Railway Station” or “How to Maggi in Two Minutes”. Yes, these titles do catch the attention of readers at first glance. But they are still not fully effective for social media.

Controversial and Catchy, Hit those sentiments hard – With just the title and featured image and attention time span of just a few second, a blogger cannot afford to lose valuable views on Social Media. Not only the title has to give a summary of what is to come, but also evoke a sentiment hitting the right emotional chord with the readers. The title and first few lines will help cement the bond and pave the way for further reading. It will also set the suspense for the reader to reach the end of the article.

Let us see what the most upcoming SEO Plugin on WordPress RankMath has to say about article title.

• Focus Keyword or Focus Key Phrase should come at the beginning of the title. Choose a keyword so that it fits in the beginning. So for example in the title “How to reach New Delhi Railway Station” if “New Delhi” is the Key Word, it is not the correct SEO way.
• Title should have a strong positive or negative sentiment – This is a surest way to get the attention of any reader. “Why do people forget their seat-belts despite the high accidental deaths”. Strong enough negative sentiment but the title sounds general. Try mixing up positive sentiments with curiosity. “Have you been to the newly Inaugurated Police Memorial in Delhi”
• Title needs a power word – A power word as the name suggests packs a punch, it evokes curiosity and interest. If you are going to post the picture shown below, the appropriate title could be “This gigantic post box in Delhi is the largest in the world!” or “Massive size and functional post box in Delhi”.
• Quote a number – Not always possible but putting a number to a title will make a big difference. Eg “How to reach New Delhi Railway Station” can become “Three painless ways to reach New Delhi Railway Station in time”

Other points to note

Take care of length of article title, since anything longer will spill over the view-port and will not be visible to the reader. A title will also indicate whether it is a paid promotion of a product or place. This aspect is specially looked into by Google. If it is a paid review, it is better to declare it at the beginning of the article as a note. A title should just be a preview, do not give away the suspense.

The post How to create an engaging post title appeared first on Start Blog Writing.

Define blog niche

Lifestyle blogs can cover just about anything. But besides that, you have to define your niche. Even a broad based category like photography or travel may not work. This is the age of micro niche. Agreed that many people are good at everything. However writing about specific topics will help you to focus. If you are on a writing assignment, understand the blog niche for which you are writing. Many times the blog owner will not clear before giving you an assignment. If required, ask questions.

Choose the right topic

Get the topic right. As a start point it will matter whether your prospective reader will start reading your article or not. Title should be long, it can have numbers and it can be a question also. Too long topics have problem with visibility when shared on messengers or social media. Your SEO plugin will warn you if the topic is too long or if there are any problems. The bottom line to understand is that topic should be clear, to the point and should contain your keyword.

Keyword research

At this point writers should come to terms with the fact that in today’s digital publishing, there is no job for a pure writer. Isolating yourself and then expecting that people will read you stuff, those days are gone. As a writer you should be updated with the latest trends of social media, understand the technical aspects of topic selected and should be able to post the article on any platform. That is just the basic. Anything more will surely get you to the top of the food chain. But first let us understand what is keyword research. For writing an article which are the term that your readers will expect in the article, which concepts you need to explain, what will interest them. All this comes under keyword research. If you are just writing for your blog, then keyword research is an ongoing process. But even if you are writing for some other website, you still need to do keyword research. Sometimes you might get even less than a day to submit the article. That is why selecting a niche is important because then you can keep track of just your niche and become an expert on that subject.

Master the SEO plugin

Whichever WordPress plugin you are using for SEO, it has a technical part and a writing part. Understand both and get maximum scores for your article. As a writer one does find hesitation and difficulty in the technical aspects of blogging and vice-versa for SEO and Digital Marketing experts. But as a single person webmaster or blogger, you have to don both the roles. The SEO plugin will give you a fair insight into your writing skills as well.

Master the language

Few years back, English was the primary language of the internet and content writers were grammar junkies. But now thanks to the penetration of smartphones all over the world, the three primary languages are become Hindi, Chinese and Arabic. Bloggers need to have a good command over the written language. Be grammatically correct and keep sentences to the point. Use simple words and break down long sentences into shorter ones. Do not use too many clichés.

300 words or 600 words

Two most popular SEO plugins on WordPress gives an article a minimum of 300 to 600 words. Rank Math SEO plugin asks us to write a 600 word article. Authors then report to filling up the article with unnecessary sentences. The paragraph goes on and on. If readers lost interest, they will simply close the page and leading to an increase in bounce rate. In classical terms it is called beating around the bush. If a post is just an announcement or some news to share, it can be less than 100 words too. Just don’t over do it for the sake of SEO compliance.

Structure the article

A post should be like a full size burger. Introduction like the top bun, lustrous and sprinkled with sesame seeds. One look at the introduction should entice anyone reading it to go on. Next comes the fresh and crunchy veggies. Bring out something interesting. A fact or two which no one is aware. Some unique points or even controversial points can do. Next comes the meat and cheese or the patty. Put all details here and break it down to minor points if required. Finally the bottom bun which supports the whole thing and finishes the structure. In case of a restaurant review it can include points like would you visit again or what will be the lasting memories of the place.

Make use of sufficient headings and sub headings. If the article is too long, use table of contents. Use references only if necessary. Use bold and italics as you feel fit. And do not forget to add relevant images wherever necessary. Give credits wherever due and use stock images if you do not want to click them.

The post How to write posts for a blog appeared first on Start Blog Writing.

• Get big on social media, start with Facebook
• Use the WordPress app
• Have a presence on LinkedIn
• Use posts on Google My Business
• Answer questions on Quora
• Email marketing is not dead
• Guest posts
• Submit to online directories
• Write for reputed websites
• Do what Google likes

Get big on social media, start with Facebook

Facebook is the largest social network. Be present in your dual role as a webmaster and author. Just by posting your article link on your time line will get you enough views to begin with. But for that make sure you have relevant friends and followers. Increase your social circle. It is a good idea to open a Facebook Page for your Website or brand. If you are on WordPress, link your website/blog to a Facebook page for auto-post to the page. Build followers on your page. Connect with potential readers. Join groups to promote your work. On the other hand, note that reckless posting of links is not liked by most groups. You will be reported and banned.

Follow just about the same for any other social media accounts you might open. Ensure the accounts profile is complete and uniform across all accounts. Make sure website link is inserted in the about section of profile. Social media networks like Tumblr and Twitter allow for direct posting of links. So these should be on the top of your priority list. There are far too many options of social media. Be careful that you do not over exert with your link posting.

Use the WordPress App

WordPress has two options, a self hosted version and wordpress.com. The WordPress smartphone app is designed for both. It is the only app of its kind which brings together all WordPress users on a single platform. On a selfhosted WordPress website you need to connect with Jetpack plugin and enable the like and follow button. Use the app to build up an audience and network. Even a new blog or website can easily get views this way. The app is still buggy and will give some tense moments before working smoothly.

Have a presence on LinkedIn

Once logged in, go to Profile in the Posts and Activity section. Here you can directly post a link to your article. WordPress supports auto-sharing of article links to your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is your online resume. It works on profile building and connections. Connect with, like minded people and potential audience. An investment of building connection even for a few minutes in a day will help build a strong network.

Use posts on Google My Business

Google My Business is on its way becoming a social media and networking platform. It allows posting of products and services and posts on your map marking. These posts can be linked to any URL or link. Bloggers can make an entry on maps without making their location public. First time visitors who reach your location from Google Maps should be able to get an idea of you blog based on the posts on Google Maps. Also make sure that all information is filled up and upto date on your map marking.

Answer questions on Quora

Quora has become one of the most popular platform for people asking questions. Why not, research on what questions people are asking the most. While answering question, you are allowed to post a link to your article. Happy answering. Quora began as a simple question answer website. Today they have grown the scope of their activities and given more tools for visitors and viewers. But the novel idea of asking simple questions and many people answering is simply great.

Email marketing is not dead

All apps and platforms have a way to place subscribe option on your own page. In addition you can build your own email mailing list. Make catchy newsletters and give links to your articles. Make sure the articles have a high readability value. WordPress users make sure you have the JetPack plugin installed which places a subscribe button on your pages. If you are into offers of products or services, email is one of the safest ways to reach out to your potential customers.

Guest Post

A guest post was the best way to build connections with confidence. Till Google clamped down on its abuse. Google never banned the use of a guest post. It always wanted to filter out the paid content from genuine articles. So if you are marking paid or promotional posts with the nofollow tag, all is well with Google. Despite the negative aura around it, guest post is still a great idea. Get hold of relevant people to invite them to write on your blog.

Submit to online directories

Just like guest posts, website directories also faced the music of Google penalty. A well maintained directory however will drive enough traffic to your website articles. Choose your directories well. Forums also work the same way.

Write to reputed websites

Get in touch with webmasters and editors of news websites and those catering for your niche. Impress upon them to post an article written by you. It is much easy to approach them now, unlike the old days of printed word where you had to deal with pesky publishers. Start small and grow big. Along the way, do advertise your own website. It is also easier in case of single admin websites, they do look for guest posts from time to time. If writing for free, negotiate your terms and conditions well.

Do what Google likes

Above nine points pretty much will give you a good head start. But do not forget the one thing that matters, SEO. Google from time to time advertises what it wants out of webmasters and publishers. Few of those guidelines are hazy as always. But keep yourself posted and updated with regards to what Google wants. Few of the evergreen stuff is good website design, fast servers, great content, well researched key words and scores of other things. Follow the blog or tweets of those who matter. With all these things taken care of, most of the hard work of reaching the audience will be done by Google.

The post How to increase traffic and visitors to your blog/website appeared first on Start Blog Writing.

Earlier we had seen the first essential page from a blogger point of view.

http://startblogwriting.com/essential-pages-blogger-privacy-policy/

Using Jetpack Plugin for creating a Contact Us page

WordPress users install Jetpack plugin for the variety of features and performance that it provides. Jetpack also provides a Contact Form that making a Contact Us page a breeze. Enable the Contact Form in Jetpack Settings under Writing Tab.

A detailed explanation of Contact Form can be found at the following URL.

As seen from the above, the Contact Form option needs to be toggled and turn on bright blue. Once on, a Contact Form button is visible above the text editor.

Jetpack uses a shortcode to insert a contact form on a page or a post. This form can be customized to add more fields. Once customization is over, the contact form shortcode is displayed in the text area.

Contact page for Blogger by Google

Blogger platform by Google uses gadgets to add a contact widget on your blog. The option is available in Layout. Where ever you want to place the gadget click on the Add a Gadget button.

Blogger gadget does not have any customization options.

Of course you can always use a html code to insert a contact link to your email.

The post Five Essential Pages for a Blogger : Contact Us appeared first on Start Blog Writing.

Do all bloggers need a Privacy Policy

Ideally yes. You might be running a blog which writes an article or posts a photograph and allows users or readers comments. Apart from this there is no other activity allowed on your blog. Even in this scenario, your comment system will collect the IP address, Email address and Website name of the commenters. This information is stored somewhere. It can be used by you or someone else or might be shared with someone intentionally or otherwise.

Other than a simple blog, you might have a website allows membership. You send out newsletters and hold contests. There might even be a forum or a social networking website using the BuddyPress WordPress Plugin. In all such scenarios, you must have a well defined Privacy Policy.

Every blogging platform has some mechanism to track visitors. In addition the blog is submitted to tracking apps like Google Analytics. It is a good idea to let your visitors know about this in details.

How to make a Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy is a legally worded document. There are three primary ways to make a privacy policy page.

• Write it down on your own
• Use a plugin for WordPress
• Use an online privacy policy generator

or for WordPress Users, copy the Privacy Policy of Automattic, the creators of WordPress. Yes, it is permitted and one WordPress plugin actually does that.

Use of WordPress Plugins to generate privacy policy

WordPress Plugins make life so simpler. But bloggers who are concerned about site speeds should avoid this route as another plugin on your blog will create an overhead. One of the most popular WordPress plugin is Auto Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. This makes a copy of Automattic policy page and amends it for your blog.

Other notable WordPress Plugins are

Guerrilla’s Legal Pages

https://wordpress.org/plugins/guerrillas-legal-pages/

and

Legull

Use an online privacy policy generator

A Google search gives lots of options who generate a free policy online. One such website URL is as follows

https://www.freeprivacypolicy.com/

It features high in Google search results and the presentation is professional enough. They track each act passed by govt and corporations.

Writing down your own policy

Penning down your own policy is actually lots of fun. You can junk the legal tone and write down your thoughts in plain English. Easy enough for most of us to understand. Your policy should primarily cover the following aspects clearly.

• Which visitor info is collected by your website and how
• Who all has access to this info and how they may use it
• If your website has members, the privacy of their personal information
• Info on advertisements on your website and what info they collect
• A link to your website cookie policy
• A link to Contact Us Page

Cover each part in minute details. It is a good idea to read site policy of other websites.

There is only one problem in this approach. There is always a possibility that you must have missed something.

The post Five Essential Pages for a Blogger : Privacy Policy appeared first on Start Blog Writing.

Getting Started with Blogger

If you already have an account with Google, either by Gmail or YouTube or Google Plus, you are good to begin. If not you need to open an account with any of the Google Services. You can also straightway begin with Blogger and open a Google account from there.

Look for the yellow colored Blogger icon after expanding the nine small boxes on the top right of your screen.

Once you click on Blogger, the linking process of your Blog with Google account and creation of a new blog begins.

At this time please note that it is highly recommended that you already have a Google Plus profile in place. Google Plus is the social networking arm of Google. It has not taken on the social networking scene as Google would have hoped it to, but still it is a formidable platform and an integration with your blog always helps.

Once your profile is confirmed, you can continue to Blogger.

Starting a New Blog in Blogger

Look for the New Blog button on the left side of the screen.

Click on the button to open the New Blog interface.

There are three things to be chosen here

• Your Blog title
• The address of your blog
• Template of your blog

The blog title will appear in the Title Bar of your web browser and on the top portion of your blog. The address of your blog is what will appear in the address bar. It is a sub domain of blogger, and it is always in the form of

something.blogspot.com

where ‘something’ is what you get to choose.

Be very careful of what you choose for the Blog Address. Once chosen it cannot be changed or transferred. There are some work around and some tricks but they are basic at best.  You can of course use a TLD as your blog address too. This part will be covered later in a separate article.

A template is what defines your blog design. Google has been very slow on providing options for users. Third party templates are available which help bloggers a lot. But at this time, design options are far far limited for Blogger.

Once you have finalized all three options, click on the Create Blog! button.

Writing your first post

Blogger works out of the box. So after your blog is ready, instead of navigating the options it is best to write a new post for your blog and then check how it looks.

For that locate the New Post button on the top left and click it.

Once you click on the new post button, it opens up the writing interface.

Like the Blog interface, even the new post interface has got lots of options, but those can be explore later. Right now it would be suffice to say that all the essential tools to blog are packed in here by Google.

Start typing the text of your post in the post area, and once you are satisfied with the post, press the publish button.

How a post is published

If you have a Google Plus profile, the post will prompt you to publish it on your google plus profile so that your friends and followers can view your blog post. Beyond that nothing else is asked from you and your post is published. You can view your post in your blog by clicking on the view blog button.

The scope of the article is to cover the basics of Blogger. Eventually we will see all the options in detail in future articles.

You can also have a look at similar articles from another website dealing with How to start a blog on Blogger by Google.

For a tutorial on how to setup a free blog on WordPress.com check out this article

The post How to start a blog on Blogger by Google appeared first on Start Blog Writing.

A blog can be simply called as an online journal or a diary. So like a journal or a diary, you start making entries on certain dates, daily or otherwise. Now in the earlier days it was a hard coded html website with entries made by amending the code. But now in the days of blogging platforms and Content Management Systems, we have got ready made tools to blog which take care of the code and other issues and leave us to focus on writing.

Who can blog

Anyone with a device to access to Internet can blog. In their own language. And with translators and tools easily available you can reach across a wider audience. You can blog from your PC or a mobile device. You can write an article or just post some photographs or a video clip. Anyone who blogs is called a blogger.

Till about late 1990s it was understood only programmers could blog, people who had the inner knowledge about the functioning of the computers and internet. By about 2010 it was generally agreed that anyone with English as a primary language with a PC and internet can blog. But by 2015 it was clear that smart phones with big screen and going to be the new weapons of blogging and the primary choice of language will be Chinese, Hindi and Arabic with English relegated to the fourth position.

Why the name blog

As per Wikipedia, Jorn Barger coined the term weblog on 17 Dec 1997. The word was further broken up in two parts ‘we blog’ by Peter Merholz. The term or word blog was finally adopted and popularized by Evan Williams at Pyra Labs. Interestingly, Pyra Labs introduced the service of Blogger to the general public free of cost which is the first ever blogging platform. Blogger was later acquired by Google in 2003.

Anyone who blogs is called a blogger and the service or blogging platform offered by Google is also called Blogger.

How can you start your own blog

Navigating though this website by Team SBW will give  you enough pointers on how to do that. The two most popular platform or tools for blogging is Blogger by Google and WordPress. WordPress even allows you to have a self hosted website or blog on your own servers. Blogging is not restricted to words and picture. You can also have an audio blog and video blog. Best example of video blog is YouTube. Instagram is also a photoblog. A new niche is popular for the last few years, that of microblogging. Facebook, Tumblr and similar options are all microblogs.

Start a blog with or without any investment

Opening an account with Blogger by Google or WordPress will allow you to start blogging immediately without any expense. With a well written and maintained blog on Blogger you can apply for ad sense and monetize your blog.

On the other hand if you have some money spare for your blog and want to take a serious plunge, you may buy a hosting package and a domain name. You may also give the running of your blog to an agency for professional help.

Blogging for hobby or money

Blogging has become serious business. A lot of bloggers have left their regular job to go full time blogging. Top brands are targeting bloggers and their audience. But still a large number of bloggers are just doing it as a hobby or pass time. Either way blogging is now a popular activity.

You can have a ad program running advertisements on your blog. You can also review products or work as affiliates. You can also write guest blogs for other websites.

Once you have a blog ready, you can start to reach out to an audience. Patience is the key here, though the job has been made much easier by the plethora of social media available to us. Remember to network with fellow bloggers and connect with people with similar interests.

The last word on What is a blog

Team SBW attempts to put blogging articles and resources together at this place. It is a long and exhaustive process as the world of blogging has grown exponentially in the past few years. You are all welcome to join this journey.

Summary

What is a blog

1. A blog is an online diary or journal.
2. A person who maintains a blog is called a blogger.
3. One can either choose a platform for setting up a blog or setup a self hosted site.
4. Blogging and social networking is similar activity.
5. Use social media to reach a larger audience, connect with bloggers of similar interests and popularize your blog.
6. Once ready look for options for monetizing your blog.

The post What is a blog appeared first on Start Blog Writing.