So you’ve got yourself a website. Perhaps it was one built by us. Perhaps you did what a lot of people have done and got yourself a cheap Wordpress website that looks identical to millions of others. Great. Now you want to tell people about it, right? Now you want to “get to number one on the Google”. Perhaps you just want to keep your customers and visitors interested so they keep coming back.
What you really need is engaging content. Prominent calls to action on your home page, regular news stories or blogs. Engaging e-newsletters. The problem is that this is not only time-consuming, it also requires creativity and a good grasp of the English language (i.e. knowing the difference between “your” and “you’re”).
Datapartners can help you out. We are launching a new content editing service. This includes updating basic site content to focus on key words, regular blogs or articles, e-newsletter content and even providing stock privacy policies and cookie policies which are now mandatory for the majority of UK sites.
If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please visit our content editing page to read more and view our very competitive prices.
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Tuesday, 10 January 2017
Thursday, 8 September 2016
Getting other people to write my blogs
The Datapartners Daily Blog about blogs: 9 of 10
The thing with blogging is it requires both a passion to write and, ideally, literacy. Unfortunately not everyone can come up with new material on a consistent basis and, more worryingly, few people in this world are literate.
There’s nothing worse than reading a badly written essay full of spelling mistakes and no punctuation. It also won’t help your readership if people have to try and decipher gibberish masquerading as English.
So what can you do if you want to start a blog but don’t have the inclination or skills to do it? Well you could get someone else to write them for you. This was briefly covered in the “can I make money from blogging?” post last week. There are professional writers out there who offer their services (like me for example). You might also want to consider opening up your blog and allowing other keen bloggers to become contributors. For most people, blogging is a hobby so, if it’s a subject they are interested in, they may be willing to do it for free. Guest blogging is also a good way of expanding your reach. If you ask a contributor of another successful blog to write something for you, they are likely to share it with their followers. Likewise, if you offer to write on another blog, you are sharing your wordage with a whole new group of people. It’s all about networking.
The thing with blogging is it requires both a passion to write and, ideally, literacy. Unfortunately not everyone can come up with new material on a consistent basis and, more worryingly, few people in this world are literate.
There’s nothing worse than reading a badly written essay full of spelling mistakes and no punctuation. It also won’t help your readership if people have to try and decipher gibberish masquerading as English.
So what can you do if you want to start a blog but don’t have the inclination or skills to do it? Well you could get someone else to write them for you. This was briefly covered in the “can I make money from blogging?” post last week. There are professional writers out there who offer their services (like me for example). You might also want to consider opening up your blog and allowing other keen bloggers to become contributors. For most people, blogging is a hobby so, if it’s a subject they are interested in, they may be willing to do it for free. Guest blogging is also a good way of expanding your reach. If you ask a contributor of another successful blog to write something for you, they are likely to share it with their followers. Likewise, if you offer to write on another blog, you are sharing your wordage with a whole new group of people. It’s all about networking.
Thursday, 1 September 2016
How often should I blog?
The Datapartners Daily Blog about blogs: 4 of 10
Do you know someone who talks a lot? Do you want to punch them in the face? Or do you perhaps know someone who doesn’t say much and trying to converse with them is like the proverbial blood from the stone conundrum? Do you get to the point where you can’t be bothered with them any more?
The same principle applies with blogging. You may have a lot to say but do people need to hear about it every five minutes? Flooding people with constant updates will probably start to annoy them after a while and will likely stop reading. On the flip side if you don’t do it enough people are likely to forget all about you.
So how often should one post? Well given that between 2014 and 2015 I published less than half a dozen posts on this blog, I probably shouldn’t comment. However, because I’m one of these people who never practices what he preaches, I’d say that at least one a week is optimal. I’m currently doing a “one a day” challenge for two weeks on this blog and that’s probably not excessive either. Again, the subject matter will depend greatly on how often you will be able to blog. For example, one of the publications I write for is a satirical news site and it’s based on relevant stories so it’s only really possible to blog when a related story comes out. Trying to write posts for the sake of releasing something would probably not work because it wouldn’t be relevant to anything.
Conversely, I know a guy who is a huge Star Wars fan and does at least one video blog per day on that - usually ranging from 2 minutes to 10 minutes each depending on the subject. Given all the thousands of books, comics, films, TV series and general nerdy fanboy material there is out there, the guy will probably never run out of material. He also has about a quarter of a million subscribers so it’s fair to say he’s doing it right.
Do you know someone who talks a lot? Do you want to punch them in the face? Or do you perhaps know someone who doesn’t say much and trying to converse with them is like the proverbial blood from the stone conundrum? Do you get to the point where you can’t be bothered with them any more?
The same principle applies with blogging. You may have a lot to say but do people need to hear about it every five minutes? Flooding people with constant updates will probably start to annoy them after a while and will likely stop reading. On the flip side if you don’t do it enough people are likely to forget all about you.
So how often should one post? Well given that between 2014 and 2015 I published less than half a dozen posts on this blog, I probably shouldn’t comment. However, because I’m one of these people who never practices what he preaches, I’d say that at least one a week is optimal. I’m currently doing a “one a day” challenge for two weeks on this blog and that’s probably not excessive either. Again, the subject matter will depend greatly on how often you will be able to blog. For example, one of the publications I write for is a satirical news site and it’s based on relevant stories so it’s only really possible to blog when a related story comes out. Trying to write posts for the sake of releasing something would probably not work because it wouldn’t be relevant to anything.
Conversely, I know a guy who is a huge Star Wars fan and does at least one video blog per day on that - usually ranging from 2 minutes to 10 minutes each depending on the subject. Given all the thousands of books, comics, films, TV series and general nerdy fanboy material there is out there, the guy will probably never run out of material. He also has about a quarter of a million subscribers so it’s fair to say he’s doing it right.
Tuesday, 30 August 2016
How long should my blog be?
The Datapartners Daily Blog about blogs: 2 of 10
Guys, have you ever actually asked a woman whether size matters or not? Me neither but I’m sure different women would give you different answers. The nice ones will lie just to make you feel better about yourself.
Anyway, the point is that it’s the same answer to this question. Some people like short and sweet, others like it long and substantial. In truth, it doesn’t matter how long a blog is, as long as it’s good quality. If a blog is badly written, it’s less likely to get much in the way of interest. Unless it’s so badly written it goes viral for its utter ridiculousness, but you probably don’t want that.
Having said all that, I would personally never want to write a blog longer than a thousand words. This is because I wouldn’t want to read a blog that is over a thousand words. If I wanted to read copious amounts of text, I’d read a book. On the flip side, I wouldn’t personally write a blog that is less than two hundred words. This is because anything under two hundred words is barely a sentence.
It’s really a matter of preference but I’d say a good guide was between 200-1000 words. As long as the content is good and engages the reader.
This blog is 242 words. Oh and for the record, I’m hung like a genetically modified horse.
Guys, have you ever actually asked a woman whether size matters or not? Me neither but I’m sure different women would give you different answers. The nice ones will lie just to make you feel better about yourself.
Anyway, the point is that it’s the same answer to this question. Some people like short and sweet, others like it long and substantial. In truth, it doesn’t matter how long a blog is, as long as it’s good quality. If a blog is badly written, it’s less likely to get much in the way of interest. Unless it’s so badly written it goes viral for its utter ridiculousness, but you probably don’t want that.
Having said all that, I would personally never want to write a blog longer than a thousand words. This is because I wouldn’t want to read a blog that is over a thousand words. If I wanted to read copious amounts of text, I’d read a book. On the flip side, I wouldn’t personally write a blog that is less than two hundred words. This is because anything under two hundred words is barely a sentence.
It’s really a matter of preference but I’d say a good guide was between 200-1000 words. As long as the content is good and engages the reader.
This blog is 242 words. Oh and for the record, I’m hung like a genetically modified horse.
Monday, 29 August 2016
To blog or not to blog
The Datapartners Daily Blog about blogs: 1 of 10
Before embarking on a blog, you need to ask yourself why you want to do it. Do you have something to say? Do you enjoy writing? Are you literate? If the answer to any of those questions is “no” then you probably shouldn’t do it.
One of the reasons I haven’t done much in the way of blogging lately is because I haven’t been able to think of anything worthwhile to write about. Partly because of a lack of inspiration and partly because I’ve been busy. For a blog to work, you really need to post on a regular enough basis to keep your readers active, but not too much that you end up pissing people off. Rather than posting crap just for the sake of it, I personally haven’t bothered.
If your blog is more of a personal journal whereby you are sharing random thoughts and events of everyday life, then you’re more than likely going to have more to say. Blogging in this way is quite therapeutic. Writing your thoughts down is a good way of getting things off your chest and sharing it with the world is equally so. Caring is sharing and all that bollocks.
If your blog is more business oriented, you need to ask yourself if it’s right for your business. Also, is your writing style suitable. For example, my blogs are very light-hearted and often involve mild sarcasm, swearing and insults directed at celebrities and other annoying turds. This sort of behaviour wouldn’t sit well if I worked for a stuffy, boring, corporate company because they have a pompous image to maintain. Also, not all businesses have enough happening to warrant a regular blog. For example, I would personally find it hard to write a relevant blog for a company selling, say, wood because there is only so much I’d be able to write before I ran out of things to say, or started writing irresponsible posts involving sexual innuendo.
My business is quite easy because there is a lot of change in the web industry and there are a lot of relevant related topics like computers, software, hardware, other websites, new technology and countless other things.
So basically if you want to seriously consider starting a regular blog, ask yourself whether or not you have enough to say and if you think what you have to say will be of interest to others. Providing you have adequate knowledge of your chosen topic (or topics) and can keep it going for long enough, then you should definitely give it a go.
Before embarking on a blog, you need to ask yourself why you want to do it. Do you have something to say? Do you enjoy writing? Are you literate? If the answer to any of those questions is “no” then you probably shouldn’t do it.
One of the reasons I haven’t done much in the way of blogging lately is because I haven’t been able to think of anything worthwhile to write about. Partly because of a lack of inspiration and partly because I’ve been busy. For a blog to work, you really need to post on a regular enough basis to keep your readers active, but not too much that you end up pissing people off. Rather than posting crap just for the sake of it, I personally haven’t bothered.
If your blog is more of a personal journal whereby you are sharing random thoughts and events of everyday life, then you’re more than likely going to have more to say. Blogging in this way is quite therapeutic. Writing your thoughts down is a good way of getting things off your chest and sharing it with the world is equally so. Caring is sharing and all that bollocks.
If your blog is more business oriented, you need to ask yourself if it’s right for your business. Also, is your writing style suitable. For example, my blogs are very light-hearted and often involve mild sarcasm, swearing and insults directed at celebrities and other annoying turds. This sort of behaviour wouldn’t sit well if I worked for a stuffy, boring, corporate company because they have a pompous image to maintain. Also, not all businesses have enough happening to warrant a regular blog. For example, I would personally find it hard to write a relevant blog for a company selling, say, wood because there is only so much I’d be able to write before I ran out of things to say, or started writing irresponsible posts involving sexual innuendo.
My business is quite easy because there is a lot of change in the web industry and there are a lot of relevant related topics like computers, software, hardware, other websites, new technology and countless other things.
So basically if you want to seriously consider starting a regular blog, ask yourself whether or not you have enough to say and if you think what you have to say will be of interest to others. Providing you have adequate knowledge of your chosen topic (or topics) and can keep it going for long enough, then you should definitely give it a go.
Wednesday, 24 August 2016
The blogging challenge
For someone who is very keen to promote the idea of blogging and general social networking to my customers, I’m painfully aware I don’t do anywhere near enough of it myself. This is partly because I’m too busy trying to encourage other people to do it and also because, having written several books and managed numerous different blogs covering a wide variety of genres, I never find time to write a company blog. I’m also inherently lazy.
Blogging is great but is it for everyone? A blog, like any form of written work, should be worth reading. That means it should be either informative or entertaining, or both. There’s only so much a single person can write that is useful and informative without getting repetitive. It’s not always possible to be entertaining either. I mean seriously, you try writing humour into the subject of web design and content management systems. It’s harder than listening to a Justin Bieber song without wanting to rip your own face off.
Anyway, to encourage myself to blog more, I am setting myself the challenge of writing one blog a day for two weeks (starting Monday and excluding weekends because, you know, I have a life) on the subject of blogging. These blogs will cover the following topics:
To blog or not to blog
How long should my blog be?
What should my blog contain?
How often should I blog?
Can I make money from blogging?
How do I promote my blog?
What benefits does blogging have?
What about vlogging?
Getting other people to write blogs
What are the best blogging sites?
Blogging is great but is it for everyone? A blog, like any form of written work, should be worth reading. That means it should be either informative or entertaining, or both. There’s only so much a single person can write that is useful and informative without getting repetitive. It’s not always possible to be entertaining either. I mean seriously, you try writing humour into the subject of web design and content management systems. It’s harder than listening to a Justin Bieber song without wanting to rip your own face off.
Anyway, to encourage myself to blog more, I am setting myself the challenge of writing one blog a day for two weeks (starting Monday and excluding weekends because, you know, I have a life) on the subject of blogging. These blogs will cover the following topics:
To blog or not to blog
How long should my blog be?
What should my blog contain?
How often should I blog?
Can I make money from blogging?
How do I promote my blog?
What benefits does blogging have?
What about vlogging?
Getting other people to write blogs
What are the best blogging sites?
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