BLOG

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HUMSS 301

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CAYNO

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I. DEFINITION

Blog
 A blog (shortening of “weblog”) is an online journal or
informational website displaying information in the reverse
chronological order, with latest posts appearing first.
 It is a platform where a writer or even a group of writers
share their views on an individual subject.
 It is a way through which information are shared, opinions
are expressed, and stories are told.

History

The Early Ages of Blogging (1994 – 1999)

The very first blog, the Links.net can be traced to the year
1994, created by Justin Hall, a US freelance journalist. During this
time he was a student at Swarthmore University and the content
he created was not referred to as a blog. It was just listed as a
personal homepage.

The next milestone taken towards the invention of blogs

occurred in 1997. The word ‘weblog’ was invented on December
17, 1997 by Jorn Barger who also invented his own blog labeled
Robot Wisdom. The name was believed to have been derived from
the act of logging the web during browsing hence web+log.

In 1999, the word blog came to life. Peter Merholz a

programmer rebranded the term ‘weblog’ to ‘blog’. Later on, after
five years, the term blog was declared the word of the year by
Merriam-Webster.

Blogs at this time were difficult to upload as it had to be

done manually and they were linked to the homepage unless one
had a programmer to invent custom blogging platforms. There
were no blogging platforms as there are today to support such
content sharing.
2000 – 2010 Growth Stage

The year 2000 marked the beginning of the growth stage for
blogging. A total of 23 blogs were listed on the internet. This later
grew to 50 million by 2006.

The political based blogs were among the earliest blogs

invented.

In 2004, video blogs emerged. This was 12 months before

YouTube came into the scene. Bloggers were able to make money
from advertisements on their platforms using Adsense, the first
advertisement network.

By the end of 2010 there over 152 million active blogs

online. Major media sites such as CNN partnered with other
established blogs rather than creating their own. By the end of this
year almost all major companies and media sources had their own
blogs.

Blogging Today

Currently, almost every company has at least one

employed or outsourced blogger who creates relevant content for
their brand. There are over 3 billion people on the world using the
internet, 75% of them are reading or posting blogs. Blogging also
increased the lead flow up of brands online by 700%. It is also the
year when internet users spent 3x more time on blogs than on
email. On average based on the best case study people read 10
blogs per day claims WordPress hosting. A lot more is expected in
the future of blogging.

Characteristics

 A Blog Must Always Be Dynamic

 - Blog posts are like diary entries; they include a publishing
date and meta tags. New entries and regular updates are
the key to run any kind of blog.

 Posts Are Displayed in Reverse Order

- Blog entries are displayed in reverse chronological order –

the newest posts being on top. The latest ones push
previously published ones down the list until they
completely disappear from the landing page. Older posts
are usually archived on the following pages, but they can
also be organized by the month or year when they were
first published.

 Most Blogs Have the Same Structure

- First comes a header with the menu or navigation bar to

declutter the page and make a great first impression. It’s
followed up by main content area on which blog posts
appear either by order of publishing or by relevance. Down
below are contact pages, privacy policies, and relevant
links, neatly arranged in footer. A sidebar highlights
favorite entries and displays social profiles and call-to-
actions.

 The Blog’s Leading Star Is Its Content

- Different blogs publish different types of posts, though a

majority of them relies on the power of the written word.
Depending on the author’s intention, an article is typically
an opinion piece, an instructional guide, or a news post.
Monotonous chunks of text are separated with images or
videos.

- A blog post can also be a picture with little or no text. It’s

a common trend in fashion and travel blogs, though it’s
also not rare for business-related niches to publish info
graphics instead of instructional articles. But regardless of
 the medium, a blog is always defined by the quality of its
published content.

 Headlines Should Be Attention Grabbers

- Naming a blog post is an art by itself. There’s a whole

philosophy behind writing article headlines – a compelling
one can truly silence the noise, instantly generating clicks,
driving traffic, and enticing a reader to read on.

 One Rule Applies to All Blogs: Relevancy

- Though every engaging content must be relevant, this rule

especially applies to blogs posts. They might differ in
types, mediums, formats, and styles; in order to arouse
interest or evoke debate, they have to be original and
unique; but to be read at all, blog posts must always
deliver upon their promise.

 Blogs and Links Go Hand in Hand

- As a promotional strategy, link building is not limited to

blog posts, but it definitely is a characteristic that all
decent blogs share. Blogs and links go hand in hand even
when marketing isn’t the goal. Internal linking, for
instance, ensures intuitive navigation between mutually
relevant posts, thus providing an exceptional reading
experience. It’s about the flow and facilitation of
knowledge transfer.

 A Blog Is Founded on Personal Touch

- The personal touch is accomplished through individualistic

writing style. Every blog author has an “About Me” page
and a distinct signature mark.

 Posts Should Always Encourage Debate

 - The comment section is another mutual characteristic of
respectable blogs. It’s typically located at the end of every
post, as a place for readers to engage in a conversation
and leave their honest feedback. The ability to provoke a
response and encourage interaction is held in the highest
regard by all readers.

 All Blogs Are About Communication

- With or without an open debate, communication is still the

end purpose of each and every blog post. If the blog is
promotional, its goal is to attract the audience and open a
dialogue that will hopefully convince them to buy what the
owner is selling. If not about sales, then it’s about
spreading the word.

- Whether it imparts knowledge, provides solutions, or

simply entertains, blogging is a brilliant way of reaching
out and communicating with the world. Without any
question at all, such transformative power of free
expression and exchange is the single most important
characteristic of any terrific blog

II. STRUCTURE

 Title
- Grabs attention and makes a promise (which needs to be
fulfilled by the end of your post).
 Introduction
- Hooks the reader, draws them in, and sets up the post.
 Body
- Works through a logical sequence of points, holding the
reader’s attention.
 Conclusion
- Ends the post decisively and calls the reader to take
action.
Elements

 Magnetic headline

- It has to give some indication of what your article is about.

Make the prospect want to at least check out your first
paragraph. It needs to be magnetic—it needs to pull
people in.

- Sometimes adding emotional words to the headline will

give it the added magnetism required. In other cases, the
information you’re offering will, on its own, be enough of a
draw. However, even when you’re presenting great
content, spice up your headline with a word or two that will
grab readers and make it stand out. People are moved to
act by their emotions.

 Compelling lead

- The first sentence or short paragraph of your blog must

compel visitors to read the second paragraph—you want to
draw your readers in. Don’t take forever to get to the
point, and make sure there's sufficient build up so that
readers will want to know more about the information
you’re presenting and appreciate it once they understand
your ideas.

 Useful subheads

- They break up the type to make the page more visually

appealing
- They help your reader navigate to important sections.
- They boost search engine optimization (SEO).

 Informative and engaging body

The body is the “meat and potatoes” of a blog post. It can be
about anything. If you’re establishing your authority, you’ll
want to author one kind of post; if you’re trying to develop
a personal relationship with your prospects, you’ll want to
author a different kind of post. The question is, “What’s
your goal today?”

 Appealing graphics

- It’s a great idea to include graphics in your blog posts to

illustrate points and break up text within the body of
articles to make your pages more visually pleasing. Also,
when you promote your content on social media, you
should include a visually interesting graphic.

 Powerful call-to-action

- Almost every blog article should have some kind of call-to-

action, which can take a variety of forms and be achieved
through different tactics. Your first step is to decide what
action you want your visitors to take. It might be to make
a comment. It could be to read another blog on your site,
or to check out a product or service you offer. You also
could get a prospect’s contact information by offering
exclusive content in exchange for an email address.

 Relevant internal link

- Internal links have always been considered good for SEO.

They benefit your SEO because they increase the number
of pages per visit and time visitors are on your site. It will
also support the claims of the blogger.

 Good meta description

- The meta description is the snippet Google displays in

search results. Left to its own devices, Google will grab the
first sentence or two from your article. This, however, may
 not always be the best way for your article to appear in
search results.

Point of View

 The First Person

- Using this point of view will help the blogger to easily

express his/her thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
- The first person is you and your views.

 The Second Person

- This point of view is use when the blogger is writing or

sharing information that does not pertain him/her
experience.
- This is when the blogger are writing about an ‘how to’ blog
post or an instructional post of any kind.

III. STEPS IN WRITING

Step 1: Plan your blog post

- Choose a topic
- Conducting research
- Create an outline

Step 2: Craft a headline

- Informative
- Will capture the readers’ attentions

Step 3: Write your post

- Write a draft in a single session or gradually word on parts of it.

 Step 4: Enhance your post
- Use images
- Improve its flow
- Add humor
-Explain complex topics

Step 5: Edit your blog post

- Proof read
- Avoid repetition
- Read your post aloud to check its flow
- Keep sentences and paragraphs short
- Don’t be a perfectionist
- Don’t be afraid to cut out text

IV. EXAMPLES

Example no. 1
Example No. 2
V. REFERENCES

https://firstsiteguide.com/what-is-blog/

https://alejandrorioja.com/blog/history-of-blogging/

https://firstsiteguide.com/characteristics-of-blog/

https://syedbalkhi.com/how-to-structure-a-perfect-blog-post-
with-examples/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2018/04/20/the-8-
essential-elements-of-a-successful-blog-post/#5f3a0e7858fc

https://justpublishingadvice.com/should-you-write-in-the-
first-second-or-third-person/

https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2015/02/09/how-to-
write-a-blog-post