I recently read a post by Jeff Attwood in his Coding Horror blog. He wrote thirteen blog cliches that he doesn’t like seeing in blogs - it is like a list of what not to do for a good blog, and was quite an interesting read.

While his post stands as is, some of his points particularly stood out to me so I will discuss them in my blog

One that I very much agree with is his point 5 - the big blogroll. He writes about the waste of listing many blogs in your blog roll, and wrote “It feels artificial and insincere.” Personally, a selective blogroll is a value-add; a long blogroll is ignored.

So what is wrong with listing so many blogs? For starters, a long list doesn’t give any sense of referral or recommendation to the listed blogs, compared to a select listing is likely to be meaningful. It is also hard to find anything from a long list - so at least break the list in to sub-lists to make it more user friendly.

A particularly long list can also distort the look of a page, especially for short posts.

Having said that, what are the advantages of including some blogs in your blogroll? For starters, it builds the blogging community to link and refer to each other. A crafted blogroll can also help your readers find more information on relevant topics, which they will appreciate.

Links to and from your blog can help with your traffic and search engine rankings, so that in itself makes a blogroll and reciprocal links worth considering. But remember that links within your posts are also effective for rankings and readers, so a minimalist blogroll doesn’t mean you can’t link to additional blogs.

What do you think? Are you impressed by a long blogroll when you visit a blog?

Happy writing!

Looking through some blogs recently, I have discovered some unusual interpretations of what a review is…

The online Oxford Dictionarydefines it as a formal assessment of something; a critical appraisal of a work; or a report after the event.

It seems simple - a review is a report about a book, course, website, blog or whatever to help others decide if the work is of potential use/interest/value to them. A review is not an ad (”this product has these features and is available only from us”) or a list of facts (”this website has 10 pages about getting fit”).

If you are writing a review, the following points may help:

• include all relevant details so someone can find the item easily if they want to. This includes the author and publisher for a book, product name and supplier/manufacturer for a product,  name and URL for a website or blog, and so on
• give a summary of the item so the reader understands what you are reviewing, but don’t try to include everything - remember, no one wants to hear the punchline before the joke.
• be honest - that doesn’t mean only list bad things or be nasty, but don’t say it is wonderful if it has some faults or problems. If I write a negative review, I always try to include something positive as well
• give an assessment, such as ‘thoroughly recommend this book’, ‘great value for money’ or ‘not as good as their previous model’. This helps the reader decide whether they want to know more or not.
• qualify the work if required. For instance, a book or movie review may state ‘entertaining for the under 10s but tedious for adults’ or ‘thought-provoking but not suitable for teenagers’ so parents can choose not to allow children to read/see it
• be impartial or upfront about any connections as this builds trust and your credibility - a rave review about something you profit from may damage your reputation

Reviews are a great way to give value to others, but only if people can trust you to give honest, genuine reviews.

Happy writing!

I often mention checking the details, expression and grammar of your business communications. It is also very important to check the presentation as well as that is one of the first things people notice before they even read a word.

Checking means in the final form as well as in drafts, too.

I know I have prepared something carefully on my computer, checked everything carefully and then uploaded it the internet to find it does not present properly live. Sometimes it was something simple like a bad image reference, but other times I couldn’t find a fault, only a solution!

This is why good printers and designers will provide you with proofs before printing starts, just to be sure nothing has moved or changed colour during the preparation process. When checking proofs, you have to be very focused and detail orientated.

I followed a link to a website recently. The entire site was a blog (and we’ll leave having a blog as your business website for another discussion) and I read through a few pages of it. One page was an article listing 10 points that literally looked like:

1. 1. this is our first point
2. 2. and our second point…
3. 3. and so on…
   11. closing paragraph one
   12. closing paragraph two

To give her the benefit of the doubt, I assume she had the article written elsewhere with one set of numbers, added it to her blog and selected numbered list again. Human error, probably; carelessness to not check the final result, definitely.

What is possibly worse are the sites you visit to find little red crosses instead of images, even when you visit again months later. It certainly gives the impression that they never look at their own site or pay attention to details - which is probably not a good impression to give prospective clients.

In my next post, I will cover some of the details I always check for in a final presentation draft.

When writing, especially if it is an article or blog post, it isn’t hard to get distracted by related topics and ideas. But if someone has chosen to read about a certain topic, that is what they expect to read about.

Changing topics within a piece of business writing can confuse your readers and reduce your ‘expert’ status. This is especially the case if you are presenting a number of points about a topic (such as ‘10 ways to save money’ or ‘tips for reducing water waste in your office’.)

As an example, I recently read an article listing various ways to sell a product. It started with market stalls, direct sales and wholesaling, but then went onto networking and advertising which are not sales methods although they can increase the number of sales made.

If you do want to include points that are not part of your original topic, change the topic to indicate the scope of the writing. Alternatively, write two or more pieces, each about a separate although related topic, instead of one piece on different topics.

When writing for your business, it is critical that you grab people’s attention quickly - there are too many websites, blogs, newsletters, direct mail letters and emails for any of us to read them all just in case they hold something good further down the page.

Having said that, you need to grab their attention in the right way or it can actually be damaging rather than a marketing opportunity.

What is the right way? Well, it varies according to the situation of course, but when preparing an opening to a document/webpage/newsletter consider:

• make it relevant - no point grabbing the attention of people interested in retirement villages if you sell motor bikes
• keep it honest - don’t promise a discount unless one is really on offer
• keep it appropriate - swearing, sexual references, hateful comments and so on are not necessary and are unlikely to win you good customers
• keep it as short and/or visual as possible - a half page paragraph is not going to grab like a 6 word word heading
• aim it at what your customers want to hear, not what you want to say - I recently read an email which started by saying how great their two organisations were - the final paragraph was about a competition they were running. It would have been much more effective to start with the competition to grab my attention.
• be realistic - or so far over the top that is obviously humour. An almost believable claim probably won’t build trust so people will move on
• be sparing with bad (or gimicky) spelling - preferably stick to good spelling altogether and be as grammatically correct as possible
• make it interesting or ask a question - or ask an interesting question!

I just read a blog post about writing online as a great career. Don’t get me wrong - I think writing is a great career! But I did not like this blog post.

However, the author of that  particular post (and I won’t link to it as I don’t want to been seen as supporting their site!) wrote about how the only writing worth doing is online writing (not business writing mind you, although he also referred to business writing being good) and that anyone can do it.

The standard of writing in the post itself was not particularly high and he was offering writing work to others even if you hate writing essays and just know a few advertising principles.

In response, I want to say that writing is a great career but not everyone has the language skills and knowledge to do it. It also requires some business ability in order to get enough clients and succeed.

As a professional in any industry, why would anyone downgrade the skills of that industry? By saying ‘anyone can write’ he is downgrading his own employees and business - and is not building up a trust in their abilities for prospective clients. And downgrading the industry in that way could also decrease accepted price ranges for the industry, too, therefore he is not helping his employees either.

As a blog writer, the other lesson from this person’s post is - don’t make your blog posts ads. There is no useful information in his post - it effectively says (in 5 or 6 paragraphs) that writing online is a great job so apply with him now.

Reading an ad instead of an informative post is not going to entice many people back to read another post. People want ads they can go anywhere - blogs are for information of some sort.

I have just read a blog post by Melissa which gave me a recommendation for newsletter tips - thanks Melissa!

Reading her post made me wonder if there is a need for me to give more newsletter related tips, so I thought I’d put the question out for everyone to think about.

Would you be interested in more tips about newsletters, specifically newsletter content? The same thing could be asked for blog content, too. As many of the content issues are the same, tips for one would often be useful for the other anyway!

In the meantime, the following list of newsletter/blog content tips in my blog may help you…

• What to write in a blog
• SMS shorthand
• Online magazine or newsletter?
• Newsletter or blog?
• Answering negative comments (in a blog)
• Blogging endings (also applies to newsletters)
• Blogging skills

Plus all the general writing tips in my grammar & details and writing categories.

Happy writing!

Many small businesses find it challenging to fill a monthly (or weekly) newsletter, so adding a blog to their to do list makes them question the value of having both.

Although the value of each will vary with each business according to its client base and product/service range, the following points may help you decide whether a blog, a newsletter or both is the best solution for you.

Newsletter

• it reaches people’s inbox so they are reminded of you without any extra effort on their part
• most people know about email but a lot don’t know about or like blogs
• maintain consistency if you have had a newsletter for some time
• it can seem more personal and intimate as it is not generally available online; it is a one-to-one relationship between you and many people
• can be quite short and link to articles/products/news on your site or in your blog
• can attract advertising revenue - advertising on blogs is less common
• can be passed onto to other people - they may well read a newsletter but may not get around to clicking on a link for a blog

Blog

• easy to include up-to-date information
• entries can be very short or as long as you like - variety in length is good but a variety in newsletter length may not be so positive
• if on your domain name, it can greatly impact on your site’s traffic and ranking
• people can access older posts easily
• people can comment and give you feedback; you can build a community
• individual posts can be linked to by other sites and other pages within your blog/site
• a younger demographic may relate well to a blog

If you decide to run your own blog and newsletter, you can save yourself some time by

• using information from one to fill the other - for example, your newsletter can refer to a blog post. However, don’t overdo the repetition as some people will read both
• using articles from Word Constructions or article directories such as The Repozitory or Evan Carmichael (not all Australian)
• inviting guest bloggers to write for you
• write things in advance - fill newsletters or pre-date blog posts so that you aren’t faced with thinking of a topic and writing it the day it is due out

I have just found out that Simpleology is running a course on blogging (how to get one started and working well I believe.) What’s more, you can download a copy for free if you’re willing to blog about it yourself

So, here is the info from them:

Here’s a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they’re letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

Someone has posted something negative on your blog. You’ve decided to keep their comment live on the blog, so now you need to answer the comment with one of your own.

You could:

• be negative or even abusive back
• ignore the negative aspects of their comment
• be upset and cry ‘unfair’
• be extremely humble and apologetic
• agree to disagree
• agree with them in parts
• agree with them and indicate how you will deal with the issue

So which is the best option?

Well, attacking back isn’t a good idea - it may help you feel better immediately, but it is unprofessional and will be remembered more than the original comment. It also doesn’t solve anything.

Ignoring the negative bits. If the comment is mostly ok and just has some negative bit, you may be able to just answer the main part of the comment and get away with it. But ignoring the negative part looks like you are avoiding it, doesn’t make the commenter feel heard, doesn’t help your business grow and doesn’t stop people believing the negative comment.

You may well feel upset by something in a comment, but posting in that way doesn’t look professional or constructive.

Humble is good and an apology where warranted is a must, but don’t go overboard with it. Being too apologetic and humble removes your credibility and is unlikely to earn you more clients. A simple “I’m sorry you feel that way,” ”Sorry - I made a mistake” or “I think I mucked that up - let me try again” is usually enough.

If the comment is just negative because they disagree with you - that’s great! It is an opportunity for discussion (and isn’t that what a blog is for?) and for you to learn. You may never agree with the comment, but reading it and considering it may give you a new perspective.

A response that acknowledges the others person’s opinion shows respect and an open mind - it doesn’t mean you have to lie and agree with everything they write, just be polite and find a positive aspect to their opinion. You can respond with comments such as

• “I can see where you are coming from but I still like my logo”
• “That’s an interesting idea. Personally, I don’t like pumpkin but it would add great colour to the dish”
• “I prefer brand X but it’s good to hear how it has worked for other people”
• “You are probably right about the rules, but I still think this is safer”
• “Mary thinks long domain names are great, I prefer short ones - what do you think?”
• “I agree that Christmas preparations can start in July but I don’t like decorations in shops in October”
• “I had never thought about it like that before.”
• “I think you’re right - that article is too long. But it would be incomplete if I cut out the examples”

If the negative comment is actually constructive feedback, the best thing you can do is act on it. You may give an initial response in your blog thanking them for their feedback and noting that you are looking into the issue - and don’t forget to come back and post about the fix once it is in place. This is a powerful process. You will show you are listening to your readers/clients, you respect their opinions and you will admit mistakes in order to improve your service/products. The person making the comment will appreciate being heard and may turn into a supporter; other readers will admire and remember your willingness to change.

So the best option to respond to a negative comment partially depends on the nature of the comment. But always respond with respect in a polite way and acknowledge their point of view. Agree, disagree or make amends as the situation calls for.

Consider negative comments as a way of showing your professionalism and building true relationships with your blog readers and clients, and the comments won’t seem so difficult or painful anymore.