Tag Archives: blogging tips

Better Blogging: 50 tips for great blog topics


Part of my series sharing tips to improve blogging (Link)

Part of my series sharing tips to improve blogging (Link)

We’ve made it through the first week and a half of 2013 and I’m willing to be there’s a few folks already struggling with their New Year’s resolutions. For those of you who set a few goals for your social media outreach, did this include a plan to be more consistent in your blogging efforts?

There’s nothing more frustrating than struggling to come up with new blogging topics. For me, it came easier to write 4-5 blog posts a week when I had great thinking time on the tractor in the hay field or while on horseback checking cattle. Those activities provided a great opportunity to sort out my thoughts and set the world to right. But that doesn’t come as easily when I’m at the desk or working on my research review.

As part of my Better Blogging series, here’s a few tips to get you going on your search for better consistency on your blogging and finding great blog topics.

  1. Google Alerts – I use these frequently in staying up to date with headlines important to me. Set up a few alerts using key words that are relevant to your blogging strategy. Read the headlines, pick a few stories to read.
  2. Trade Publications – Most in Agriculture have a growing pile of monthly trade publications and magazines on their coffee table. Next time one comes in the mail, earmark a few stories and use them to launch a blog topic with your response.
  3. Read other blogs – One great way to get an idea of what topics are popular is to read what other folks are writing. Subscribe to your favorite blogs and set up a separate inbox folder so updates are easy to flip through when you have a moment to catch up.
  4. Write a sequel – Some of my most recurring hits from search engines are a result of writing about topics more than once. Did you previously write about a topic that sparked a good conversation? Revisit the topic and follow-up with your recent updates.
  5. Attend a local event – One of the most important parts of advocacy I will emphasize again and again is getting out in your community. Attend a meeting on food or community topics, go to an industry convention, ease out of your comfort zone, start a conversation  then write about the events.
  6. Respond to the news – Is there a news headline that struck an interest today? Did a group or organization make a move that you agree/disagree with? Chances are other folks are looking for other opinions on the same topics. Write down your thoughts in the heat of the moment, but always wait to publish until you’ve had a chance to cool down and review.
Or sometimes the best remedy is to find a place to sit and clear the mind.

Or sometimes the best remedy is to find a place to sit and clear the mind.

These are just a few suggestions to get those wheels turning, cranking out those blog posts. For a few more ideas, here’s a list of 50 techniques to help with your blogstorming next time you get stuck with writer’s block.

What are some of your favorite techniques to come up with new blog post topics?

 

Better Blogging: Finding Online Mentors


Part of my series sharing tips to improve blogging (Link)

Do you ever have that moment where you just really need to stand on a soapbox and set the world to rights? In the age of blogging, I see those posts all too often and I have been known to post a few right here. They may end up as an emotional piece, fairly lengthy, sometimes heated, and occasionally condescending. And sometimes they even provoke the largest response. But is it always the best response? There is a way to make these posts more productive with the help of some key people.

A few weeks ago I had a rather unproductive conversation with a lady who professed her feelings about me committing animal abuse and the need to stop my actions. I let the thought stew for a few weeks and wound up writing a lengthy narrative. I almost threw it in the trash, but thanks to some great friends, it ended up on CNN after a little revamping.

Time for a little pop culture reference

(I know! Rare for me, right?)

Harvey Spector always seems to be giving Mike Ross the “mentor” talk in the USA series Suits.

Have you ever watched the USA Network show Suits? The main characters are Mike Ross and Harvey Spector. Harvey is dad figure in the series, the successful lawyer, who puts up with no bull. Mike is this zealous kid who stumbles into the situation and gets high aspirations of himself and just wants to make Harvey proud. Mike usually ends up doing a great job, but requires a little guidance from Harvey to keep him in line. Harvey and Mike – perfect television example of mentor and mentoree.

Boy, the number of days that I feel like young Mike. I really do have great aspirations for my work, sometimes it just requires a little help from someone to bring me back down to the ground, remind me what I am capable of, and where the lines are before I can make it back up.

Finding your Online Mentors

The need for online mentors or “blogging buddies” is incredibly important when sharing our story through blogs and online social media. These people shouldn’t be used so much as a filter, but rather as guides. I use various people to bounce ideas off of, send out a line when I need some advice for an ongoing conversation, and even to celebrate victories or let off a little steam.

For some of my posts that carry a little more weight or have the potential to reach a larger audience, I usually turn to my friends for help. These folks are great to point out grammar mistakes, but I feel the largest help is just another set of eyes. I’m usually writing about material I am familiar with and might be unable to see a term or phrase that might be taken inaccurately by a crowd new to a topic. So it really helps to have someone helping who is somewhat familiar with my topics, but far enough removed so they can critique my material.

One great example of this is a recent piece on CNN’s Eatocracy. The editor asked if she could repost something from my blog describing how my family was dealing with the Arkansas drought. I was busy at a livestock show and didn’t take the time to review the piece before CNN used it. There were a few grammar errors that I should have caught, but that didn’t keep me up at night. The part that cut me off at the knees was the word “pray” – used once at the end of the post in the phrase “pray for rain” – which ended up being part of the title, and resulted in almost 200 comments describing how horrible I was in believing in prayer or that it alone would fix the drought. The word was used ONCE in the title and ONCE in the post itself and ended up completely derailing the conversation on the post.

One little word. Someone had pointed out the use of “prayer” when reviewing one of my previous posts, but I never considered it with this one. Imagine what it could have been had I used my resources and had someone catch that for me!

For the record, I’m not suggesting “prayer” is a dirty word that should not be used in telling our stories. It’s something I’ve used before, and have never encountered before within my normal audiences. But I have to take into consideration the audience I’m writing to on CNN is different. I never would have imagined it would have been that different.

What can an online mentor do for me?

Online mentors can be great. They are there to lend a hand when I am stuck with writer’s block, when I need help finding another resource for a conversation, or when I need help figuring out how to use something new online. They even step in to guide me when I get a little riled up in a conversation or topic response – just like a mentor in real life should be able to do.

I won’t give away the names of the friends who help me out along the way. I just like to keep it that way. They know who they are — And to them I am very grateful!

No matter you’re level of use in social media, I encourage you to find a friend or contact online who you can turn to for assistance, advice, or even celebration or an occasional venting. They’ll make your online networking and blogging experience that much more enjoyable and productive.

What other benefits have you found in utilizing online mentors?

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Beginner Blogging at AgChat Conference


Part of my series sharing tips to improve blogging (Link)

Today I’m presenting a workshop at the 2012 AgChat Agvocacy 2.0 conference hosted by the AgChat Foundation in Kansas City, MO. There’s a host of great sessions this week helping farmers and ranchers learn to better use online tools for agriculture advocacy. If you want to follow along, be sure to watch the #ACFC12 stream on Twitter.

I’m pretty fortunate to be working with two great gals in the world of Agriculture Bloggers.

  • Katie Pinke (Blog, Facebook, Twitter) is from North Dakota, where her family is involved in numerous farming operations and she works with farmers across the state with the ND Department of Agriculture.
  • Jennifer Keller (Blog, Facebook, Twitter) is a mom from Ohio, plowing through life, who works with the National Pork Producers Council.
  • (And just in case you’re new to my blog…) I’m from an Arkansas ranching family, still trying to figure out where I want to be in life (read about it here). I’m currently a student at the University of Tennessee, working on a Master’s degree. You can find me on Twitter and Facebook as well.

Be sure to check out their blogs and pages to hear more of their story and great tips they always share.

In our workshop we’ll be giving tips for bloggers who are getting started, whether you’ve been blogging for a few days or a year, you may feel like there are some tips out there to help get you off the launch pad. We will try to help with that.

Topics we will be covering include:

  • Blog design and topics
  • Writing skills and tips
  • “Blogstorming” (brain storming topics for your posts)
  • Skills for sharing and building an audience

If you have any questions about blogging, feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email (agricultureproud@hotmail.com).

Be sure to check out my continuing series here with tips for Better Blogging in Agriculture. I’ll share more tips from our workshops next week.

 

 

 

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Better Blogging: Header and Cover Photos


Part of my series sharing tips to improve blogging (Link)

What is the first thing you notice when opening a webpage? Is it the number of posts? The number of fans or comments on a page? More often than not, the cover photo or header image is the first thing to capture your attention. Whether creating a new blog design or a updating a Facebook page cover image, it’s important to put some thought into the image to capture attention of the audience.

What is a blog header image?

The image at the top of a blog or webpage is called the header image. This image typically spans the width of the webpage and should give a first-impression of page content. The header image usually includes a photo (or collage of photos), text (usually a blog title and/or description), and usually appears the same on all pages of a web site/blog.

Header image used on WordPress.

For my blogs, I utilize images from daily life that describe my work. These have usually been landscape scenes from ranches. I also use this space to include an avatar-like photo of myself – to help readers connect the blog with a person and my other social media profiles. I use online photo editing services – like Pixlr – to create the header images, but any photo editing software can be used to create the image.

On many blog hosting websites this image size is restricted, but varies depending on your page theme. For instance, my current blog theme is ‘Vigilance’ and the header image is restricted to 920×180 pixels.

Header image used on Blogger.

It’s usually best if the image is not too cluttered or too big. Remember, your blog will be viewed on a variety of devices, and mobile versions may be difficult to view with extremely large image files.

Facebook Cover Images

Since Facebook introduced the Timeline revamp of the Fan Pages, a cover photo can be used to personalize your page. These images are 851×315 pixels (different from the square profile picture) and can be selected from current photo albums, or new uploaded photos. When using an image larger than the cover window, Facebook allows users to center the photo vertically to choose the desired image to display. The cover photos are collected in public albums, much like your profile pictures.

I use images similar to by blog header for my Facebook pages, but don’t necessarily use the same images. Cover photos are easy to change often to keep your page active. I usually change my cover photos once a week.

It’s best to use a cover photo that’s not too busy and, when cropped to size, has a subject that is easily viewed in the small space. Make sure the image file is large enough that it is not blurry.

If you’re like me, I identify profiles more quickly through a profile picture or avatar image. When that changes, I am turned around a bit. Cover photos offer a great way to change up your profile, without confusing your followers.

The design of your cover or header images is completely up to your preference. If you want, it can be a simple image with no text at all. This is a great opportunity for farming and ranching pages to feature landscapes and different products as the weeks and seasons change. Be sure to link a relevant blog post in the photo description.

As you can see, my images are far from professional, but they’re what I can create in just a few moments. Take a few moments to tinker around with your photos and see what you can create.

Other helpful resources

  • Judi Graff, FarmnWife.com, has a great video tutorial about creating personal header images for your blog.
  • Facebook Help provides several great FAQ about Cover Photos.
  • WordPress Help gives a tutorial on how to edit and upload your own image.

What did I miss? What other questions do you have?

What tips do you have to share on creating a header image or cover photo?

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