Tips to Blog By

Since I'm trying to get my blog groove back, Halley Suitt's list (as recounted by BlogWrite for CEO's) is worth thinking about and sharing:

Here are Halley's top 7 tips:

1. Always tell a story.

She refers to Malcom Gladwell's new book, Blink. He tells stories to explain his ideas.

2. Tell the truth

If your CEO can't do that then maybe he/she shouldn't be blogging.

3. Be passionate

Halley: "The writing has to have passion... for your industry or your topic... or nobody will care."

4. Write about "things of this world"

Halley: "Anything that people are jumping all over… the Tsunami or credibility and ethics in writing as it's being discussed at a Harvard conference. You have to take a stand. You have to put yourself out there and let your head get chopped off."

5. Brevity

Halley: "Better to write 12 posts than 12 paragraphs. (In blog writing) brevity IS the soul of wit."

6. Freshness

Halley: "You need to be posting a lot every day. At least one thing a day, the more often the better."

Note: I disagree... this just isn't practical if you've working either in a job or independent consultancy where you're strapped for time. Yes, I know that Microsoft's Scoble posts a dozen or more times a day. But he's not your ordinary blogger.

7. Voice

Halley: "The blogs you want to read have a voice. When people meet me they say I sound like my blog." (Is that a compliment, she wonders??)

Halley, cont. "Be careful. Especially with corporate blogs. You can’t sound PR-ish."

8. BONUS TIP… know when NOT to write something!

Halley: "Learn when to take your hand away from the keyboard."