Entry #1: Blogging - Do's & Don'ts

Blogs are simply records of an individual or group designed for a purpose. People always question why some blogs are successful and other blogs are not. Personally, I believe any blog can be successful as long as the blogger knows his/her purpose, audience, and tone. Each blog attracts a certain audience. In this post, I will be telling you how to expand your audience with what to do and what not to do.



The official Whole Foods Market blog is an extremely well constructed blog. Although it professional and gets it point it across, it still attracts the audience by connecting with them through holidays or question posts. Despite not being a cook myself, I might read this blog just because some of its posts are so interesting. For example the "Tell Us Your Recipe for Romance" questions viewers what foods can win an individual's heart. Even by blogging about something you love (food), your audience can still consist of other viewers who are not cooks just as long as you find ways to interest them.



Another great blog is The Everywhereist. The blog was created by a woman who travels around the world blogging all the great places she visits with her husband. The blog engages the reader at instant site as it includes personal background. The tone of this blog is happy and funny which also helps keep the audience involved.



Believe it or not, a blog that did not particularly interest me was Google's official blog. It is a successful blog because of its successful business. The main purpose of the blog is to inform the audience about the latest Google products and technology. My problem with this blog is that it does not interest the reader at first sight. It mainly supplies technological help but I am already pretty good with technology. It has no other features of direct interest and therefore its audience is only intended for people intrigued by technology or need help with how to use technology. Because of this, the official blog of Google cannot expand to a larger audience.                      

In order to write a good blog, there must be a target audience. You also definitely want to find ways to engage the reader and interest them into further reading. One thing all three of these blogs did well, was designing. You definitely want your blog to look good at first sight. Even if your blog is narrowed to a certain topic (basketball, music, traveling), you can still find ways to attract a larger audience. Another important aspect is tone. One of the things The Everywhereist did was use tone quite effectively. The narrator often made subtle but humorous jokes that wanted to keep me reading. Tone is just one of the many ways you can expand your audience. In conclusion, to make a successful blog, the blogger must efficiently use rhetoric to construct and organize it.