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In two words, I am going to reveal to you the secret for eternal bliss.  Yes indeed, only 2 (count ‘em, 2!) words:

Are you ready?  Atingle with excitement?  Riveted on the edge of your seat?  Okay, here we go:

"A full night of heavenly luxurious sleep couple with" "utterly decadent coffee upon waking up".

What do you mean that’s not two words?  ‘course it is!  Don’t you see the quotes?

After yesterday’s evening of, ahem, HELL (complete with a tantrumming child to the point of throwing up), I’m much more in synch with myself and feeling one heck of a lot more alive.  And of course, that means….

Time to finish this week’s tutorial!

Let’s review what we’ve learned so far, shall we?

We learned critical issues regarding:

• What your audience perceives as ‘quality’
• How to effectively present your information
• Gaining the edge
• Photos

Today, I’d like to close this tutorial and reveal to you my secret for maintaining my blog audience’s expectations:

I use a checklist for every post.

Gosh, that sounds so dramatic. 

But not any checklist!  My checklist has:

1.)  Write the content

When I write, I always have a set idea perculating on my mind about just HOW I want to communicate.  What kinds of humor do I want to include?  What are the points I want to make? 

I’ll sketch out an outline of sorts in my Wordpress window and type away.  Periodically, I’ll save and preview the results and see if the flow works or if it’s more chaotic than a Sunday morning monsoon.  Actually seeing the final presentation while writing really helps tighten up the delivery.

Here are some resources for writing:

• How To Write Great Blog Content - The Pillar Article
• The Day You Became A Better Writer by Dilbert
• Write a Blog Post Pt. 1 - The Basics
• 3 Ways to Spice up Any Blog Post
• How To Write A Blog Post While Toddler Is Still Awake (utterly hysterical for parents)

Once the post is complete, I dynamically pounce upon:

2.)  Spell-check

Once the post is done, I’ll spell check it.   Some misspellings immediately have to be excised with drama and annoyance, but others will add a flavor depending upon how they’re used (ie, Write now!).  I use FCKEditor, and when viewed in source, all spelling mistakes are highlighted.

You can also simply write your blog post in Word and spell-check it there.

Other spellchecking blog post resources include:

• Spell check your blog!
• Microb Spellcheck Extension
• My kingdom for a Spell-Checker
• Blogger spell check broken: Work-around

Next, I adroitly:

3.)  Look for a useful video clip to include

I enjoy closing my posts with something relevant from an online video site like YouTube.  I’ll tell you, this one step generally takes the most time out of all of them, as I have to go thru videos one by one until I find what complements the post best.  You’d be quite surprised at what you can discover on that site…. 

That completed, I shuffle in back (karate term) and rapidly:

4.)  Tack on Beginners/Advanced recap code

Because I write for all audiences, I like pulling together bullet points for beginners and bullet points for intermediate/advanced.  I’ve developed a specific look/feel for this section, and quickly became bored typing it every time.  My solution?  I copy/pasted the source to a Notepad file entitled "Close_post" and have that open at all times on my desktop.  One-click insertion!  Wheeee!

Saving time - it’s a good thing.

For all intensive purposes, the content is now completed!  It’s time for me to:

5.)  Tweak the title

Titles are key to your blog postings - if your title is more boring than dried toast minus spice, chances are….nobody will be intrigued enough to click on it.  So!  You always want to grab the reader’s emotions and slam their fingers to their pet mouse and compel them to click on your link.

There are tons of great headline-writing resources from which you can benefit - enjoy:

• How to write magnetic headlines
• How To Write Eye-Popping Headlines While Exhausted
• That’s one KILLER headline, but don’t leave your readers hanging with a LAME opening paragraph!
• 10 Tips For Crafting Killer Headlines Every Time

Once the title is perfect, I’ll grab another cup of coffee and dive into:

6.)  Find/create supporting images

Images add so much to your blog postings!  I generally roll my own with Photoshop but you can use plugins like

• Wordpress Flickr Plugin
• Photo Dropper

to easily include them yourself.

And once THAT’S  all done.….I

7.)  Choose where to add the <!–more–> tag

Honestly, I’m surprised this tip isn’t often highlighted elsewhere:

Ideally, I want to insert the MORE tag and create a cliff-hanger reaction, so readers cannot tear their eyes away from my post and HAVE to read the rest of the article. 

After spending all that time above…it would be a shame to lose readers simply because my opening snippet was less exciting than watching water faucets drip and …

HOLD ON!!! I forget point number 8!

8.)  NEVER click away from your writing UNLESS you’ve saved it a second prior!

…she said, after she now has to re-write the following.  Wah!  Oh well, it’s character-building.

Anywhos, keeping your readers intrigued is a Good Thing indeed!  Always take the few extra minutes to peruse your checklist when writing your blog posts - your audience will thank you for it.

ThankYouVeryMuch!

Owlbert

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#BEGIN highlights of this blog writing post:

Beginners blogging tips:  Have a checklist at hand when writing a blog post.  Even better, use it.

Intermediate and/or Advanced blogging tips:  Incorporate multimedia such as videos/pictures to give your blog an added Oomph.

#END highlights of this blog writing post

---

ps - And always spell check before turning your blog post into  a sign!

pps - speaking about critical!

Critical Thinking Ashford University: PHI 103 |

Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking |

Connections: Writing, Reading and Critical Thinking 2|

Critical Thinking by Brooke Noel Moore, Richard Park…|Ashford U Custom

Critical Reading Critical Thinking by Gretchen Stark…|3rd International Ed. Receive within 4 working days.

CRITICAL THINKING WRITING 4TH CHAFFEE 2008 0618783482 G|

Critical Thinking ASH Custom Edition |

Study and Critical Thinking Skills in College McWhorter|

From Critical Thinking to Argument by Hugo Badau|

Related posts:

1. Viva the Easter Broccoli Bunny! Managing your blog readers’ expectations - Day 2 of 5
2. Viva the Easter Broccoli Bunny! Managing your blog fans’ expectations - Day 1 of 5
3. Viva the Easter Broccoli Bunny! Gaining the Edge and Managing your blog audience’s expectations - Day 3 of 5
4. Viva the Easter Broccoli Bunny! Gaining the Edge and Managing your blog audience’s expectations - Day 4 of 5

(By the way, if you have any questions about the topics in this posting "Viva the Easter Broccoli Bunny - Day 5 of 5, Critical Blog Post Check List", do comment below - I'll try to clarify any issues).

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