Apathy

One of your greatest informational foes will be apathy.

This can come from site visitors.

Whether due to excessive information
- or lack of apparent relevance -
you can most-easily lose viewers through their lack of interest.

Likewise, this can come from YOU.

There will always be moments when you

• don't wish to contribute
• no longer care about your niche
• find other things more important

Your single-greatest asset is regular, genuine, fresh content.
Your voice is created, daily, through your shared thoughts.

Choose never to be apathetic!

Sing

Today's source of inspiration is singing!

One of most common ways to improve one's writing is simply to write.

Another, not often disclosed, is to speak.

This is because most of us write similarly to how we speak.

The better we speak, the better we write!

That is where singing comes in:

singing draws out the ability to speak and naturally engages ones passions.

Singing has been long known to help people who stutter.

Some, who are unable to simply speak, can sing melodiously.

Breaking out in song can help draw out your creative spark.

Sing!

Hide

Take a look at the image above; then look again.

See the "hidden" man near the center.

A key component to a well-written blog is shown above:

Get out of the way of your niche!

One of the most-effective ways of destroying your own credibility and relevance is ego.

As much as you are able:
* ensure each posts adds distinctive value

* be comfortable drawing attention to your niche instead of yourself

Note:

Full credit for the photo goes to this site:
http://www.graphicdesignblog.org/photos-of-invisible-man/

Sticky

One of the words mentioned throughout numerous posts is "sticky".

I first ran across the term in the book above.
It may be purchased by clicking the image or [this] link.

Being sticky is that elusive character that makes something memorable.
It is why urban legends survive but your remembered grocery list is incomplete.

It is an effective means of ensuring your core message is remembered

• by your customers
• by your staff

And clearly this is what makes branding and product-placement work millions.

Make your posts sticky!

Awesome

The following link is an excellent example of a great graphic:
http://www.syfy.com/scifiction/classics/classics_archive/heinlein/heinlein1.html

This is a placeholder for other points; but the message is important:

well-designed blogs have excellent graphics.

Enjoy the link!

~ Jason

Content

As mentioned previously, blogs are all about dynamic content.
If you've taken the trouble to ensure your blog has a focus, content should follow.

Content comes in several categories:
New:

     Most-rare, this is information simply unavailable elsewhere.
     This is blog-gold.
     This is usually the hardest to make sticky.

Extended:

     This is repackaged information that is found elsewhere.
     It is how genuinely useful information stays atop the pile.
     It is also a way to ensure your own relevance.
     This is also the easiest to make sticky.
     Often this includes linking to other sites.

Referral:

     This refers to information predominantly provided by another source.
     Excellent for relevant points that do not directly tie to your blog's focus.

One last content note:
All blogs have a voice; selecting a focus for your blog gives it that voice.
Be sure to include this voice in each post (and for all content types).

Focus

The core to a well-crafted blog is focus.

The blog itself should have an over-arching theme (a meta-focus, if you will).

Each post should also have a specific focus (though it can be comprised of different elements).

In addition to focus, posts should:

• be recurring (providing regular content adds highly-desirable value)
• have your voice (people visit YOU, not your posts; so put YOU into it)
• have an occasional call to action (powerful engagement of readers is powerful)
• be sticky (this helps readers retain information)