Thompson Rivers University South Africa Tourist Spots Hotel and Itinerary Paper
Question Description
Who is your audience?
Your headline should make your topic sound just delicious.
Dont be too broad; you should deliver on what you promise.
Your headline is a guide to your reader. Narrow down your topic and be as specific as you can.
How to
Steps Guide List
Appeal to the senses: 5 Steps to Take When a Migraine Hits is less engaging than 5 Ways to Soothe Pounding and Blinding Migraines. But I might cut wordiness by editing out either pounding or blinding.
Tease, dont reveal. Best Guide to Exploring Sagrada Familia is not going to intrigue the reader as much as Best Guide to Experiencing Gaudis Barcelona.
Dont use idioms that not everyone will understand. Sun Peaks Mountain Resort: The Apple of My Eye vs How to Discover the BC Interiors Best Mountain Experience.
Length of headline: imagine yourself using a search engine about a general topic. What drives you to a site? Its the headline. Keep it to around 60 characters so that Google will not cut off the headline.
Work with empathy. Put yourself in the readers shoes. Why did they go to your blog? Because of your headline. So your task is to grab the reader. You know online how easily people leave a site. You can appeal to their emotions, or tell a powerful story.
Open with a short sentence or question. Are you longing for the silky feel of powder? Can your legs already feel the crunch of fresh corduroy? Add an arresting photo. Always caption.
Dont be afraid to slash your first draft. Drafts are vital. Try to cut it by half! Short sentences, not overly long paragraphs. Make sure the last sentence in a para leads to the first sentence in the next.
Make them beg! But dont delay too long. This will keep them going.
Your intro sets the stage for your main blog topic.
Try writing two completely different introductions.
Now you deliver on your promise.
Use subheadings every few paragraphs. Break up your content; if you are doing a guide, break it down. Steps, break them down.
Readers use subheadings to scanmake them interesting so that they seduce the reader into reading them.
Think about the order of things. If I am doing a guide to Sun Peaks, for example, I may be tempted to organize chronologically. But I also shouldnt start with directionsnot exactly the most exciting topic. Think about your audience. I might start with The Sun Peaks Experience: The Best of the Interior Winter.
Start strong and end strong. Start with your strongest point and end with your second strongest.
Make sure your subheadings align with your title to keep the reader following you.
Be consistent in your formatstart with the same part of speech. If you have a list, do numbers.
Make sure your subheading sections are basically the same size.
Tryto have a unique voice; not over-the-top, but there are lots of blogs out there. What can you add? Are you a local? Been there? Can you identify with the reader better than other bloggers?
Give lots of information; be generous.
Each section should have a photo. Think about what your reader would like to see and what would be helpful.
Video or videosmake sure there is something helpful in your video. Why would this video interest your reader? Fairly short.
Make sure you caption every video and photo. Make them relevant to the reader and especially YOUR TOPIC.
Your links should flow naturally, as you mention places/people/agencies/institutions.
Tag, tag, tag.
Peppy.
Call to action.
Make sure you echo your introwhatever idea you used to lure in your readers.
Take a Knife to It. Slash all unnecessary words, sentences, paragraphs, stories, etc. Include only what is absolutely essential to convey your message. Nothing more.
Motivate, Dont Lecture. Tweak any statements that hint of being the condescending professor. Make readers feel like youre on their side and dedicated to their success (because you are).
Add Emotion. Infuse your writing with passion, energy, and enthusiasm. If youre bored by your blog topic, readers will be too.
Make it Easy on the Eye. Break up any large paragraphs (25 sentences maximum is your goal) and run-on sentences.
Break it Down. Clarify overly complicated wording. If you cant say it simply, dont write it. You dont want to confuse your readers.
Speak Their Language. Add examples or metaphors to make complex ideas feel more tangible and easier to digest.
Check Yourself. Remove any contradictory statements or repetitive ideas (trust me, theyre there).
Dont Yo-Yo. Ensure each sentence, paragraph and section drives the post forward toward the destination promised by the headline (no side routes or backtracking).
Be Smooth. Make each sentence and paragraph flow seamlessly into the next. Each sentence should be completely dependent on the ones before and after it or the transitions will feel choppy.
Avoid Sharp Turns. Adjust any abrupt changes in topic. Theyre jarring to readers.
Keep It Real. Dont mimic styles that dont come naturally to you. The more you write, the more youll find your authentic writing voice.
Add Highlights. Use bold and italics to add stress where appropriate (but do so sparingly).
Shoot Bullets. Use bullet points to group related topic ideas and make them more digestible.
Spark the Senses. Be specific and concrete (describe things readers can see, feel, hear, smell or taste). Avoid abstract statements.
Be Firm. Avoid words like might, may, possibly and perhaps when delivering your advice. Give Some Eye Candy. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Add relevant images, screenshots, and infographics to your blog content.
Be Consistent. Make sure all points in a list belong to the same category; a list of steps should only list steps, a list of things should only list things, etc. This might sound like common sense, but this rule gets broken often.
Dont Be Lazy. Ensure all the necessary information is contained within the post itself. (External links should only provide supplemental information. A reader shouldnt have to click a link to comprehend your post.)
Kill the Weak. Eliminate weak and flabby words. Replace weak verbs (e.g., she went) with more concrete, visceral verbs (she walked), replace passive voice (e.g., he was pushing) with active voice (e.g., he pushed) and replace weak adjectives (e.g., good) with strong adjectives (e.g., wonderful).
Feel the Beat. Be mindful of the pace and rhythm of each section. Speed things up or add some punch with crisp, short sentences. Slow things down with longer explanations.
Do the Obvious. Fix any typos, spelling mistakes, or grammar mistakes.
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