Blogging sometimes consists of informing and educating people about various stuffs and guiding them if required in how to do things. While writing a how-to post that will drive your readers into getting things done, I’ve found a nice checklist discovered through Successful-blog.com to check that how-to post against:
Bloggers How-to Content Editor’s Checklist
- Does the post say what the article will teach?
- Does the post give a clear reason readers will want to learn it?
- Are the steps or ideas in the order they will be completed or used?
- If it’s appropriate, are the steps or ideas written as imperative sentences and numbered?
- Is each step or idea clear, concise, and understandable?
- Does the post provide detailed and complete information?
- Is the tone confident and supportive so readers new to the topic feel they have a chance at succeeding?
- Is the word choice appropriate for the audience?
- Are technical terms explained when they need to be?
- Is there a summary of what was taught?
- Does the summary predict the benefits readers will enjoy if they actually try what the article teaches?
I’ll have to get a try myself in writing my first how-to and desk-checking it against those nice points. If you have any to add to this list, then please do so using the comments just below.
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Tags: 2 Comments
2 responses so far ↓
I use mindmaps to help me think and set down my thoughts. From the mind maps I draft my blogs or any project for that matter. Go for wikipedia and search for mindmaps. I have been using Mindjet Mind Manager for a number of years.
Go on blogging.
@ Joseph: yeah a plan should be the first thing to get into writing as the saying fail to plan you plan to fail. For the particular purpose of gathering ideas and thoughts for a post, I’ve my faithful browser Flock with its incorporated RSS Reader and a mini sidebar at its bottom that allow me to add notes and stuffs that I’ve stumbled upon. In fact while starting to use Flock everything to drafting your thoughts to publishing that post can be made so efficiently. Try it and you will soon be addicted to it.
You know for the wikipedia, I think that stuff is a bit disorganised, don’t you? Searching for articles get you a lot of irrelevant stuffs at the top, perhaps the cream of the top is found underneath burnt deep through all those search results….thanks for bringing out your thoughts in here