Blogging for Boneheads (part 2) Scratching Your Niche

Blogging for Boneheads (part 2)

by James Fowler
www.mywebsource1.com

Also see: Blogging for Boneheads (part 1)

The Niche
A niche is a special place within a scheme of things. It denotes the function or position of a thing within a structure. A “niche” is “your thing”. It is what you know and what you are good at. Finding your niche is the next step you need to follow while creating a successful blog.

As with any successful marketing endeavor, focus is the key element to long-standing success. Most entrepreneurs wish to be all things to all people. While this may sound like the right thing to do, it actually hurts your efforts in the long run. You spread the focus too thin and you accomplish nothing. People are comfortable if they realize that you an expert in your niche. It is that niche they are looking for and if you can provide updated and vital information, you will have their support.

In blogging, your niche is comprised of a series of keywords that become popular searches in the “blogosphere”. Your topic doesn’t have to be popular, but a select group of people should be able to find you.
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Writing Your Blog
You now have your purpose and your focus. It is time to start writing! Different blogging sites work differently, so I will generalize one important rule: Do not write directly into the body of the blog. Type your blog up in Microsoft Word or any word processing program that allows for text formatting. This allows you to spell check your blog and you have a copy of your work should something happen to your internet connection while you are writing. You are also able to format your blog easier with hyperlinks and so forth which can be troublesome if you do not know HTML.

Other important etiquette factors to remember while writing your blog:

• Do not timestamp your blog for a later date. While this helps keep your blog fresh for a longer period of time, it is considered rude by those who subscribe to your blog or wish to view your writing.
• Do not use profanity in your subject lines if you want to have your blog posted throughout the internet. This is a red flag for those trying to place your blog in a higher ranking. Profanity will get your blog pulled down quickly.
• On the subject of Subject Lines, DO NOT write a title. Who wants to read something like, “What I did today at work.”? A catching title might read “Coffee Stains, Broken Heels, and the Exploding Copier” This is something that may grab people’s attention. Use your imagination, and don’t curse.
• Do not choose a color scheme to burn the retinas off of your readers. No one wants to look at tiny yellow print on a bright orange background. Black text on white or light blue is very good.
• Do not put a background behind your text that distracts the reader. Pictures of your favorite rock star, flower arrangement or pet look cute, but make everything very difficult to read. Don’t do it.
• Do not use a font that looks like you etched it into the screen with a spoon. Your font should be legible and clear. The reader should not need a microscope to read your blog. Do not use strikethrough text. This is annoying and makes the font hard to read. Just think about how you would want to read something and do that.
• Do not make all of your text italic. It is a proven fact that the use of italic causes your readers to become agitated and angry after only 35 consecutive words. Also, do not bold all of your type nor use tHIS aNNOYING wAY oF wRITING. This is sophomoric and unprofessional.

One more thing that should be mentioned now that you are writing your blog is that you need to update daily. This can be very hard to do. Daily life can get in the way, but by keeping your blog fresh, you will attract more people and keep their interest. Put aside a couple of hours a day to write and you will soon find that it is easy to keep your blog updated.

In part three we will examine ways to promote your blog and increase traffic. This is probably the most-requested question for businesses starting a blog.