How do you remember everything you have to do as a blogger?
Do you have cheat sheets? Words written on your hand like some of my middle schoolers?
Do you have post it-notes everywhere the eye can see?
Perhaps a Things To Do list is in Your Evernote app.
Wouldn’t it be great if remembering your blogging tasks was as easy as remembering one word?
If you blog with acronyms, it can be that easy–and that quick.
By using these tips, you will not only be a faster blogger but a more successful blogger.
According to Dictionary.com, an acronym is a word formed from the initial letters or groups of letters of words.
If you could just remember one word, you will have a whole list of blogging tasks memorized.
According to a study CoSchedule conducted, lack of time is the biggest concern bloggers have.
[bctt tweet=”If you blog using acronyms, your #blogging will be expedited, and your page views will rise.”]How many lists do you have?
One sample To Do List might contain Research, Write, Edit, Publish, Promote.
If you blog with acronyms, you would only have to remember one word instead of five.
Use Acronyms to Help You Save Time Blogging
1. P.O.S.T.
POST is an acronym to help you remember your blogging tasks in addition to the action you take when publishing.
P – Purpose
You should know the purpose, or point of your article. Your headline should make it clear what the reader will learn by reading your article.
Your introduction should explain the point even further than the headline.
O – Outline
List posts are the most successful blog posts in existence. This is due to the haste with which people read blog posts. Busy readers can just read the outline and not the details. Make these steps or tips in bold to facilitate and expedite reading.
S – Scannable
By putting your main points in bold, in a numbered list, or a bulleted list, you will be formatting your post in such a way that the reader’s eye will be able to scan your article.
T – Teaser
Your teaser is your Call to Action. You want your readers to take action at the end of your post. Tell them to share. Ask a question for them to answer in the comments section.
2. D.E.L.I.G.H.T.
D – Delight
Clearly, you want your posts to delight your readers so that they share your posts and become repeat visitors to your blog.
E – Educate
A good post will teach your reader to solve a problem.
L – Listen
One of the best ways to get ideas for new blog posts is by listening to your reader. Blogging teacher Jon Morrow advises never to answer readers’ questions in the comments section. Instead, answer their questions in entirely new blog posts. The odds are if one person asks, other readers are curious too but aren’t asking.
I – Inspire
Negative posts do get shared, but positive, uplifting posts get shared more. If you can inspire your readers, your posts will get shared and your readers will return to you.
G – Gain Trust
According to blogger Daniela Uslan, the most successful bloggers are the most trustworthy. Go over and above for your readers. Blogging is about give and take relationships, reciprocity.
H – Help
Your blog should help your readers. I strongly believe you need a niche, a blogging category. If readers need help in your area, they will read your articles.
T – Tantalize
If you use your best, most descriptive writing, your readers will feel tantalized. Don’t our readers deserve the best writing we can give them?
3. S.H.I.N.E.
According to WritetoDone’s Mary Jaksch, SHINE is easy to remember and an effective way to write headlines.
S – Specificity
H – Helpfulness
I – Immediacy
N – Newsworthiness
E – Entertainment value
Mary offers an example that the SHINE acronym can be applied to:
10 Funny Things (Entertainment) Research Revealed in 2014 (News) About Pregnancy (Specificity) That You Need to Know Today (Helpfulness and Immediacy) .
4. B.O.R.E.D.
Bored may be a negative word, but it’s easy to remember and will provide you with an effective blogging checklist.
B – Being Creative
Bloggers should strive for creativity in their headlines and posts. They say blogs that are entertaining are the most successful. For help writing entertaining headlines that still make your point, try Portent.
O – Outline
Your outline should be written before you sit down to blog. Then, blogging becomes a matter of filling in the details which is quicker than having to construct all your ideas in front of an empty computer screen. According to CoSchedule‘s Julie Neidlinger, it should only take ten minutes to craft a successful blog post outline.
R – Research
Readers need you to do the research for them. That’s why they are reading your article. It saves them the time it would have taken them to do the research themselves.
E – Eat Right
This could stand for Excercise or Eat Right. The bottom line is even though you are taking care of your readers by empowering them and addressing their comments and concerns, you still need to take care of yourself.
D – Done Service
Write about your readers. Use “You” in your headlines and your posts. Your readers will feel that you care about helping them.
5. A.I.D.A.
Okay, AIDA is not an actual word, but it’s easier to remember than a four-item blogging checklist. According to Firepole Marketing‘s Danny Iny, AIDA is a famous copywriting technique.
A – Attention
Grab your readers’ attention by writing a catchy headline.
I – Interest
Develop their interest in your introduction.
D – Desire
Throughout your post, you should be developing their desire for whatever you want them to do. In most cases it will be to take the advice you gave them in the post.
A – Action
In the Call to Action, tell the reader to take that action. Do you want them to share your post? Take your advice? Fill in the comment box? Take a poll?
6. W.I.F.M.
What will the reader get out of reading your post? Successful posts contain tips or steps to solving a problem.
W – What’s
I – In it
F – For
M- Them
Incentives are often offered to new followers in addition to empowerment. Don’t feel like you have to self-host or deal with automatic downloads to offer incentives. I offer three incentives to new followers that don’t involve automatic downloads.
7. R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
R – Rest and Relax
Many bloggers take time away from sleeping to fit in all the blogging tasks. Don’t forget rest and relaxation are important.
E – Eat Right
Take care of yourself! Your family needs you, your readers need you, you need you!
S – Smile
As explained above, upbeat, positive bloggers get their writing shared more often.
P – Portray the Positive
According to research, inspirational posts get high page views and get shared on social media.
E – Enjoy
If you love blogging, you will find the joy. That passion will come across to your readers.
C – Care for Others
Many bloggers become good friends. I know of a community of bloggers that felt so cared about by the admin blogger, they took up a collection and bought him a laptop when his broke.
T – Tell Yourself You Can Do This!
There is an expression, “Never let them see you sweat.” Confidence is half the battle.
Readers, before you go blog with acronyms, please share so others can read about ways to expedite blogging and be more successful at blogging all at the same time.
Which acronyms did you like the best? Which do you think you might implement? I look forward to your views.
Related Posts:
17 Time-Saving Tips for People Who are Rushed
How to Blog and Easily Find Time to Sleep
Sources:
http://micheleborba.com/blog/stretching-student-empathy/
http://www.successwithjoan.com/how-to-write-more-compelling-copy/
http://simpleasthatblog.com/2014/05/battle-boredom-summer.html
http://danielauslan.com/how-to-delight-your-readers-with-every-blog-post/
http://writetodone.com/write-headlines/
