Creating the Perfect Blog Post
There has been many articles written about how to write articles in terms of features. You probably have encountered advice on using pictures, bullet points and controversy to make your blog more readable and interesting.
Though there is validity in this approach, many fail to take into account the important person in the equation: The reader.
At all times and no matter what kind of writing you are doing, you should always keep the reader in mind. Blog tips such as pictures and bullet points, are just minor aspects in creating quality blog posts. Ultimately, your blog will be judged on its content and your writing style.
Before you start to write an article, think about the following :
Who your article is aimed at?
Through identifying and discovering who your readers are, you will discover the correct tone of voice for your blog, and in turn your style as a writer will develop and you will create better and more relevant writing.
Would a reader find the article you are planning to write interesting?
If not, there is no value to writing the article.
Identify what your readers want. The show business adage of giving the people what they want is true in the world of web writing. If they want more articles on one aspect of your blog but less on others, I would advise you succumb to their wishes. As writers, we feel we have a good idea of what people would like to read from our blogs. If you have been employed to write copy for someone else, then you will know that this is untrue. Take a look at what you are writing, put yourself in your readers shoes and see if the two match. If you have not done this before, I'll be surprised if they do. Write what readers want to read.
Would you like to read what you have just written?
If the answer is no, then alter it until you do. Try to get out of the habit of publishing something just because you have written it. It can harm your reputation as a writer if you publish poor quality work.
Don't be afraid.
If you are writing a potentially explosive piece do not be afraid to follow it through. This is what writing is all about and has been challenging views and perceptions since before Shakespeare. Be bold, be comprehensive, and explain your views well. There is a risk you could be wrong, but it is better to state how you feel rather then not to publish. You may well be right, and not publishing through fear just to learn you were right in the first place is worse than vise versa.
I will add this to post as and when the need takes me. For the time being, always think about the reader, and you will find everything else will fall into place.
Best of luck!
Read all about it, website news from Teahon…
Welcome friends and thanks for tuning in! OK, I know Chris Evans uses it to
open his radio programme, but I've always liked it and I've just written it down. It's tough at the top what can I say.
First, let me apologise for the lack of postings, it's been a busy few weeks with collapsing house moves, stressful yet fruitful redesign of Link-optimise, and the domain for playgameshavefun.com, finally up and running. Coupled with some serious writing work, which may see me turn a corner in my quest to become a full-time freelance writer, and all this results in not much time to update my personal space. A tragedy I'm sure you'll agree. Never fear, tissues are at hand, and as you can see, I've taken time out of my busy schedule to update you, because like L'oreal beauty products, you deserve it.
Link-optimise's redesign is looking inspired. Phil's idea of creating one SEO site that branches in two directions is really taking fruition. The colours, the robot, and dare I say my contribution - the copy, are like its predecessor, really taking shape. The difference being, that the site has a clearer direction, and a much refined and easier to understand packages section. This was the real weak point with Link-optimise's first site.
The resources have also taken shape, with clearer headings and better navigation. Phil's designs go from strength to strength.

Playgameshavefun.com, is just really a URL. I'm planning to upload some articles to it soon. This will will hopefully be up and running with a cool design by December. Like, link-optimise, we have high hopes for this site.
Writing wise, I have two new clients, and an old one has just commissioned me to write 20 articles for a new site. I am beginning to wonder if I should do this full-time. All decisions of that type though will be made after Christmas.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for tuning in.
photo credit: gnuckx cc0
The amazing adventures of Teahon.co.uk/wordpress
Over the last few days I have discovered the beauty of plugins and sidebars. After a little experimentation I have managed to link this blog with Google Analytics, and webmaster tools. Make it more SEO friendly, and worked out a few work around to use pages more effectively. I have also managed to put ads on the site, apologies if they are a little in your face at the moment, I am working on it.
Also, the widget bar has been used more effectively, with social networking profiles on display along with link-optimise blog posts on the site to. All very clever. Apart from a little mishap that happened after I upgraded the theme to the to a more advanced version of WordPress that I use, all has gone remarkably well. It is quite amazing how easy it is to add and take away plugins that either do not work, or are actually of very little use.
The site too, has increased up the search engine ranks, it now sits at page 22 on Google pages for the UK. This is either down to the Link-campaign, the activity on the site, or the Platinum SEO plugin, or indeed all three. Either way, it is very good news for me and the site.
Writing wise, everything is ticking over, and it feels good to invest in this blog once again, now the SEO one is up and running.
It’s nice to get a job done when you’re a freelance writer, come SEO guru!
Well I know I have spoke about this before, but it is nice to get a job under your belt. Tonight, I have managed to get two jobs done, and for this freelance writer, that can only be a good thing. The first was a quotation for link-optimise. It has to be said that Phil's analysis of the site was first class, and providing facts and figures about keyword density and poor meta tags, made the quotation seem that much more professional.
The second job was my first ten articles for delegate2. They have all been about stag parties, and hopefully these will be accepted. I am hoping delegate2 will become a good provider of freelance writing work in the future, as they pay fairly well and so far the work has been fairly easy to turnaround. Fingers crossed.
This freelance writer has had three good days both in and out of the freelance writing world. That can only be a good freelance writing thing.
Ready to run and jump
Hey folks! Well over the last few days a few things have happened that I feel are worth mentioning. I finally managed to get in touch with John at Dreamtemplate, and he has paid for 30 more blogs for both his sites. This is all very welcome, as we had a good chat about the direction of the blogs, and I feel we have reached a place that is good for the both of us.
Link-optimise.com, has had the home page rewritten and made more SEO friendly. This is welcome news to me, as I have been itching to get my hands on it for some time. Also, we may just have our first customer. Fingers crossed.
Tonight I am going to be writing about stag nights and the ultimate Internet marketing strategy. Groovy!
The madness of freelance writing work.
Freelance writing has really made a major impact on my life. My nights are largely filled by tapping away at my computer, writing about gambling, dating, wordpress, web design, and SEO. Before it all started coming in I would think yeah I would do this, yeah I would do that. It was easy to say it when I did not have to do anything about it. Now I know what is involved there are some nights where I wish I could take a night off and watch Batman:The Dark Knight. When I do take a night off I have to prepare for it by doing extra work. It's crazy really.
Before I longed for work, now I long for time. Too many things are coming up in the pipeline for me to quit the day job, and too much expenditure, but the day will come soon. I can feel it
Fate and freelance writing…
Well things have become a little easier of late, as Precise-English, have lessened the articles they need on a weekly basis to 18, from 24. At one point I was writing 33 a week for them. This is very good for me right now, as it leaves me time to concentrate on my two other big projects, one of which, link-optimise.com, is up and running, the other, a children's website, should hit the servers soon.
If you believe in fate, and I do to a degree, then the timing of Precise-English coincides with something new in relation to one of these projects, hopefully both.
Recently, my collaborators in our lottery syndicate took what we had wont to date, and spent it on scratch cards. We had £93 worth to be precise, and over the course of a week we lost every penny. In its own way this is positive, as we had the balls to have a go and, we did not spend money we had not already spent on the Euro-millions lottery. Not one of my collaborators regrets what we did, and we will do the same in a few months time. I just wonder if it is my fate never to be rich? hmm...
What do you feel fate has in store for you?
Freelance writing disappointments
This post my friends, is the fiftyith post, and with it comes a sense of achievement. A few months ago I was writing the first post, and now I am here. A lot has happened: I have made new connections in the form of writers and clients, earned a little bit of money whereby I have written over two hundred articles, experienced poverty, launched a company, and soon will be launching another with my business partner Phil Wood of Odakudesign.co.uk. This has been a good few months.
Sadly, the fiftieth post is also marred by disappointment with my first article rejection. This was particularly profound, given the effort I put into it to source pictures and put the whole thing together. I even got Phil involved to convert it to an HTML file. The rejection came as a complete surprise given that it had been warmly received by the editor, Walter, in draft form. The comments on submitting the article, were in contrast to the ones given on draft submission, and subsequently, the direction and thrust of the article will have to be completely changed. I am not sure if I am going to get the time to do that, so the whole thing will probably be shelved.
The experience is one that I still think about, and I am trying to move on from it. It is a sad way to mark the fiftieth post.
An Impromptu night off.
Last night I had every plan to pitch into some work and get some of it out the way. The idea being that I could repeat the process tonight and effectively be clear tomorrow night. I could get ahead of the curve then.
Sadly, I just could not concentrate and fell asleep. This is how constant work catches up with you.
Tonight, I will do a little bit of work and see how it goes.
Link-optimise, is beginning to make waves on Google, something that can only be good. This is after five days of the site launching. This is fantastic.
I'm off to keep my eyes open
Bye for now.
Soap box and SEO
Following on from my last post, it turns out that only forty percent of the electorate from Norwich North bothered to vote. This is a very sorry state of affairs, for many reasons. People died for us to get a vote, people protested for us to get a vote, so we should vote, there is no question about this. It is not just the lack of choice that puts people off I fear, but the feeling that nothing will ever change. The similaraties between the two main parties is largely the reason why people feel this way. The first past the post system is another. It is all very sad.
On a working note, I effectively took an unplanned day off from writing, and just updated this and the link-optimise blogs. The link-optimise which is our SEO site, gained five extra visitors last night, which is very pleasing. I'm off to see how it ranks when searched for. Fingers crossed.