I had a friendly discussion yesterday with someone who mentioned that whenever he sees a blog that starts with a number (like 3 easy steps to ..... ) he gets annoyed, closes the browser window and moves on to do something else. I don't agree with him personally, but as someone who likes to write I would love to know what annoys my readers to do less of it (or maybe none of it). For all of the bloggers and readers in this community, do you have any blogging pet peeves? Saving Changes...
I guess my pet peeves are blogs with crappy content. Oh and another is titles that have nothing to do with the blog content. I know what you mean about "like 3 easy steps to", there's just so much of it going around. Meanwhile, check out my previous two blogs posts:
I've had a home automation blog for a number of years. Used to be written, then moved on to YouTube.
For both written & video, blogs that take forever to get to the point piss me off, and i've noticed the watch time drops off. In general, video blogs should target the 3-5 minute mark, absolutely no more than 7 minutes but my watch average of 3 minutes means i'm still too long winded. Taking up the first 15-20 seconds on a "heeeeeyyyy youTube" plus a stupid splash logo means I won't watch anymore.
Similarly for written, you need to get to the punch line in the first paragraph. And it needs to be authentic, to show you're actually experiencing it, not talking about something you read in a book.
For video, you need good lighting, a consistent environment, quality mic/video. For written, it needs to be written in good english, varying sentence lengths, with metaphors or at least some type of colorful language. You won't keep attention otherwise. Pictures are a key element too.
I'm contemplating starting a YouTube channel or LinkedIn videos for project/process/product mgmt, but not sure how many would watch it vs read. To do a video blog takes a long time, often takes me 6 hours for a 4 minute video. I'm still maintaining the home automation vlog, not sure I have the energy to do both.
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2 replies by Farouq Zaabab and Kingsley Onuoha
Aug 03, 2018 6:07 AM
Farouq Zaabab
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Thank you Vivek for the great feedback; it is as you said "precise and to the point".
I would love to follow this new channel on either YouTube or LinkedIn, so count me in.
Aug 03, 2018 6:51 AM
Kingsley Onuoha
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Hello Vivek, I am pretty new to home automation and was wondering if you could direct me to you blog so i can gain more knowledge. I am trying to automate my home and would love to read some authentic articles about that. Thanks.
I've had a home automation blog for a number of years. Used to be written, then moved on to YouTube.
For both written & video, blogs that take forever to get to the point piss me off, and i've noticed the watch time drops off. In general, video blogs should target the 3-5 minute mark, absolutely no more than 7 minutes but my watch average of 3 minutes means i'm still too long winded. Taking up the first 15-20 seconds on a "heeeeeyyyy youTube" plus a stupid splash logo means I won't watch anymore.
Similarly for written, you need to get to the punch line in the first paragraph. And it needs to be authentic, to show you're actually experiencing it, not talking about something you read in a book.
For video, you need good lighting, a consistent environment, quality mic/video. For written, it needs to be written in good english, varying sentence lengths, with metaphors or at least some type of colorful language. You won't keep attention otherwise. Pictures are a key element too.
I'm contemplating starting a YouTube channel or LinkedIn videos for project/process/product mgmt, but not sure how many would watch it vs read. To do a video blog takes a long time, often takes me 6 hours for a 4 minute video. I'm still maintaining the home automation vlog, not sure I have the energy to do both.
Thank you Vivek for the great feedback; it is as you said "precise and to the point".
I would love to follow this new channel on either YouTube or LinkedIn, so count me in. Saving Changes...
I've had a home automation blog for a number of years. Used to be written, then moved on to YouTube.
For both written & video, blogs that take forever to get to the point piss me off, and i've noticed the watch time drops off. In general, video blogs should target the 3-5 minute mark, absolutely no more than 7 minutes but my watch average of 3 minutes means i'm still too long winded. Taking up the first 15-20 seconds on a "heeeeeyyyy youTube" plus a stupid splash logo means I won't watch anymore.
Similarly for written, you need to get to the punch line in the first paragraph. And it needs to be authentic, to show you're actually experiencing it, not talking about something you read in a book.
For video, you need good lighting, a consistent environment, quality mic/video. For written, it needs to be written in good english, varying sentence lengths, with metaphors or at least some type of colorful language. You won't keep attention otherwise. Pictures are a key element too.
I'm contemplating starting a YouTube channel or LinkedIn videos for project/process/product mgmt, but not sure how many would watch it vs read. To do a video blog takes a long time, often takes me 6 hours for a 4 minute video. I'm still maintaining the home automation vlog, not sure I have the energy to do both.
Hello Vivek, I am pretty new to home automation and was wondering if you could direct me to you blog so i can gain more knowledge. I am trying to automate my home and would love to read some authentic articles about that. Thanks.
I am still learning what works and what doesn't work. I hate the ones with the numbers myself, but I have read they increase readership. That hasn't been my experience with my grand total of 3 posts that use numbers, but apparently, it has been others. My "4 tips for passing the PMI-ACP" exam I released recently seems to be doing comparably well though, but I have a feeling that is subject not the numbers.
My biggest problem - trying to be concise. I am very long-winded when I write. I am the guy at work, when you get an email talking about one thing, I have 8 paragraphs and a half-dozen links with a notice to get back in touch with me if they need more information.
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1 reply by Farouq Zaabab
Aug 03, 2018 8:08 AM
Farouq Zaabab
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Hi Joshua,
Thank you for engaging in the discussion. I have read the same "listicals/list blogs do-on average-better than others." I would love to be a reader of your blog, so please send the link to my inbox. Also, I am planning to set up a new blog myself, and I see an opportunity here to collaborate ☺
I tend to enjoy shorter, more concise articles. I don't want to read a bloated blog just for the sake of word count. I follow a lot of writers on Medium. I find those to be well-written and relatively concise.
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1 reply by Joshua Render
Aug 03, 2018 8:14 AM
Joshua Render
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My bloated blog posts aren't to hit word count levels, Mine are from an inability to be concise.
I wrote one post, realized it could be split into 4 posts, by the time I was done I had 4 1500+ word posts. - from a post that started off with about 1,000 words.
One reason I decided to try blogging was to see if I could help my own writing ability out. I want to send emails that don't need TL/DR tags and I want them to make sense being that short.
I am still learning what works and what doesn't work. I hate the ones with the numbers myself, but I have read they increase readership. That hasn't been my experience with my grand total of 3 posts that use numbers, but apparently, it has been others. My "4 tips for passing the PMI-ACP" exam I released recently seems to be doing comparably well though, but I have a feeling that is subject not the numbers.
My biggest problem - trying to be concise. I am very long-winded when I write. I am the guy at work, when you get an email talking about one thing, I have 8 paragraphs and a half-dozen links with a notice to get back in touch with me if they need more information.
Hi Joshua,
Thank you for engaging in the discussion. I have read the same "listicals/list blogs do-on average-better than others." I would love to be a reader of your blog, so please send the link to my inbox. Also, I am planning to set up a new blog myself, and I see an opportunity here to collaborate ☺
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1 reply by Joshua Render
Aug 03, 2018 8:10 AM
Joshua Render
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Will do! It could be interesting and fun.
I have only started a little over a month ago and am trying to navigate the do's and don'ts of good writing.
Thank you for engaging in the discussion. I have read the same "listicals/list blogs do-on average-better than others." I would love to be a reader of your blog, so please send the link to my inbox. Also, I am planning to set up a new blog myself, and I see an opportunity here to collaborate ☺
Will do! It could be interesting and fun.
I have only started a little over a month ago and am trying to navigate the do's and don'ts of good writing. Saving Changes...
