It’s the fourth week of the Summer 2015 Online Writing Group!

We’re all in different spots, but we’re all continuing to think about and work on our projects, which is the ultimate goal. So keep it up, everyone!

Here are Everyone’s Week Four Updates & New Goals:

• Anne: This week I want to continue my journal and see where that takes me. I’m hoping to record further research in my journal as well as looking at new and interesting words and their definitions, and hopefully that exercise will help me in finding material for my story ideas. I do have paragraphs of ideas written, and whether or not they will ever leave my journal is yet to be determined. I’m hoping to get something typed but I don’t want to set a specific page goal. I am just going with it this week and I will see what happens. 
• Anuar: My goals for week four are to add two more chapters to my book; and my writing has been going well so far. 
  
• Bev: This week, I’m going to do a blog post, continue research on agents, and spend a couple pomodoros on the second letter in the queue. Oh, and finish the final draft of the first letter and get it ready for duplication and mailing.
• Bonnie: Where you at, Bonnie?
  
• Curt: What’s happening, Curt?
  
• Donna: How you doing, Donna?
• Laura: I didn’t get as far into my story as I’d wanted this week, but it’s still moving along. This week I’ll continue to work on it and write two blog posts (this one doesn’t count).
• Lisa: I got through two pages and I’m trudging forward slowly. I’ll be away at a conference this week, so if I get anything written (two pages), I’d be really happy.  🙂
• Mary: I had a terrible couple of weeks in regards to this writing group but I did finally post something last week. I’ve decided to revamp my goals and just take them week by week. Since I have something in mind to write about, my goal for week four is to get a post written and published. I’m shooting for earlier in the week rather than later. That way I can get myself set up for another post in week five.
• Mary Margaret: Are you blogging, Mary Margaret?
• Matthew: Bust through any writer’s block, Matthew?
  
• Mike: For this coming week, I plan to add more detail to the last third of the outline (which he made progress on!), write/rewrite draft versions of the story represented in the first two sections of the outline and write two new posts for my blog.
• Robert: Robert is still traveling, so he’s got a pass and will pick up when he returns!
• Samantha: This week I’m going to start rewriting the second chunk of the story, fleshing it out and improving upon it.
• Steve: How’s the Mendelssohn paper going, Steve?

Since many of us are working on blogs, I thought I’d focus on crafting a blog post. I started my first blog, Archipelago, in January of 2006. At my height I’d get about one hundred hits/views a day, which, compared to really successful bloggers getting daily hits in the thousands, isn’t a lot. But since I was primarily writing the blog for my family and friends, I felt good about my readership.

The longer I continued my blog and started reading other blogs, I got an understanding of how to craft something that would be easier to read and more popular than my usual blatherings about our dog, my affinity for sandwiches, or our Door County vacations. Now, I really like writing about our dog, sandwiches, and Door County vacations (which is probably why I’ll never really be a thousand-hits-per-day blogger), but now I can do it better.

If you want real readership for your blog, the first thing you need is a niche — a place in the blog-o-sphere where you can write about what you know and where people will want to come to you for your expertise (and, of course, for your good writing). My friend Jeanette at Tiny Rotten Peanuts organizes her site around arts and crafts projects to do with your kids (or just for you, because art is cool). She has a wide reader base of moms: she gets them in with unique and interesting art project tutorials and keeps them reading with her smart and silly writing style. And when she deviates from posts on arts & crafts to write about her kids, husband, or booze, it doesn’t matter because she’s still focused on her story of being a mom, doing art with her kids, and drinking a lot of iced tea.

If you’re not a parent or artist, maybe you’re a foodie, a fashion plate, or a female Canadian academic. Whatever your niche and your audience, find them and write to them.

Once you’re focused, keep your posts frequent, easy to read, and visually interesting.

Keep Posts Frequent

A good rule of thumb for bloggers is to post something new every few days. This means that you’ll need a lot of ideas and you’ll need to keep yourself on a schedule. Luckily, that’s what this online writing group is supposed to help with! Since writing a new post every few days is quite a bit of work, you can compromise by writing one short post and one long post each week. Your short post can include an image and short anecdote or update; your longer post can be something meatier, thoughtful, and something you work on a bit each day.

Keep Posts Easy to Read

In this world of BuzzFeed lists, clickbait, and Reddit, readers are looking for something easy to read and digest. That usually means short and easily scan-able. Write in short paragraphs (nothing is easier to avoid than a big block of text) and make sure your post is organized logically. Sometimes that means making a list-style post, giving directions or instructions, or telling a story in chronological order.

Keep Posts Visually Interesting

Readers want images. Period. This means you should start taking pictures to use in your blog posts, or find appropriate images using Flickr Creative Commons or a similar site. Your images should reflect your post’s content, though it can be straight or sarcastic. Remember Matthew’s post about busting writer’s block? His image of “matches,” a bottle of “gin” and “Taylor Swift” wasn’t exactly…accurate. But it was funny and worked with his tone.

Images aren’t the only way to keep posts visually interesting; you can also use headings, numbered or bulleted lists, or italics or bold font. Don’t overuse any of these, though. If you have a bunch of different lists with a bunch of bold-face words, no reader will understand what’s really important.

Read other blogs to see what works well and what doesn’t. Remember that blog posts don’t have to be long, but following the above mentioned tips will at least ensure good organization and audience appeal. And share your blog posts on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn to promote your work and to find interested readers.

What else do you think about when writing for your blog? Share in the Comments below to keep the conversation going!