Checklists: A Blogger`s Second Best Friend - Linking Up
(Page 3 of 4 )
Blogging is all about linking up. More often than not, it seems, a blogger will write a post about something he or she saw online, whether it's a news item, another blog post, a video, a podcast, or something else. Remember that the word "blog" originally stood for a shortened version of the phrase “web log,” and the earliest blogs really were that: logs and reviews of web sites the author discovered and found interesting. It's easy enough to be true to blogging's roots and put in the links – if you remember to do so. So let's do another sweep of your blog post.
First, have you written a post on a topic related to this one? If so, great! That means anyone reading this entry might well be interested in that one, so it's a good idea to include a link to it. I may have stretched the point a little bit by including a link to my earlier post on editorial calendars, but both that item and this one cover ways to improve your blog with lists and organization. If the blog entry to which you're linking isn't brand new, so much the better; it might inspire newer readers to hang around for a while looking over your older material.
Do you know someone else who has written a blog post on a related topic? By all means link out to it. If you share the link love, you may well get some in return. Besides, linking out to other bloggers increases the value of your blog to your readers. You're not only telling them things they might not have known, you're linking them to whole sets of resources they may not have heard about. They'll appreciate it...and keep coming back for more.
What gave you the original idea to write this post? Whether you're commenting on a news item, taking exception to someone's political analysis, or using a YouTube video as an educational example, you should link to that original source. It will give your readers the full perspective, and let them make up their own minds. Also, assuming you've enabled comments on your blog entry, it will help foster discussion; readers will be able, if they choose, to easily check out the source material and comment intelligently on it as well as on your post. I don't know about you, but personally I'm in favor of anything with the potential to raise the intelligence of discourse on the Internet.
Remember spell checking your article in the previous section? You need to do something similar with your links. Make sure they all go where you intend them to, and that they all work. I said in the introduction that this checklist could keep you from looking foolish, right? Here's something from Slegg that puts this in perspective: “I once saw a blog where the URL linked to was actually a snippet from an IM that the author intended to paste to someone and not the URL they planned to use.” Bloggers aren't supposed to be absent-minded about technology; including links in your post that don't work is a disservice to your readers.
Next: All the Details >>
More Website Promotion Articles
More By Terri Wells
