Image edited in Canva credits: Jean Beltran via bitLanders
Writing a blog every day has a 100% tendency of burning out the writer. I know some of us here in bitLanders had done it like sis @artgirl who mentioned she got burned out eventually after doing this for two weeks. I, on the other hand, had been writing for more than three weeks, in fact, I have not really checked if it was three or four weeks already but I am sure its more than two weeks.
But writing every day means you'll have to talk about anything and everything that gets into your mind and focus on making it into something worth reading. I agree I don't always write something interesting. There are times when I create boring topics to most users here in bitLanders, some are about a place which is not very familiar to the readers here or even sites which is not related to bitLanders but that's just how I challenge myself.
Video credits: Define Your Hustle via YouTube
Creating a blog is subject to a review with the bitLanders team, although I sometimes think one of my submitted for review blog don't deserve to be graded with four or more stars, I am not supposed to judge it for myself but I would instead let the bitLanders team do their job. That's what my husband James advised me, that whenever I create something, I shouldn't become a judge of my work instead I should have to wait for the team to judge it, this somehow helps me, remind me to create more but not letting go of blog quality.
Image edited in Canva credits: Jean Beltran via bitLanders
In the first place, although the blog quality is subjective, I may find it a little below quality but other readers or the bitLanders team, in this case, might find it as a gold mine! So I should take my best foot forward in every blog I write.
Which is why I had been evaluating myself lately if the blogs I am posting here are still within the type of quality that I have wanted since the start. How do I consider something as a high-quality blog by the way? Let's take a look at the following bullets.
How I Ensure a High-Quality Blog?
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Blog Length, Writing Format, Topic Information and Media Plus Tags!
In my blogs, it is no secret that I have made sure the points below are met regardless of what the topic should be but of course, I would have to think if I have a lot of things to say about the topic because if I am not really into the subject, it would be hard for me to comply with these points below.
• Write More Than a Thousand Words
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I remember a certain member of another blogging site whom I heard talking in a previous meetup stating that if you feel like the blog is long already, add more and make it longer! Most of the audience whom I was part of laughed about it but he surely has a point.
Making my original blog long enough to expand my thoughts and make sure that my readers are getting what I am stating on and ensure that I am not running around the bush because of the sake of making it long. I have to ensure that my blog is clear enough to the audience by using the simplest form of words and keeping it away from jargon terms.
Image credits: theartofdoing
In bitLanders, a blog has to be at least more than a thousand words to consider it long enough by the content review team. However, this was not the case before. I have stated in the past that my first ever blog was less than 500 words with only a few photos but it received a five-star review. Over the course of time, the length of the blogs had changed and although it might be hard for some to create a thousand word content, I have to manage myself and comply with what is required by the site.
• Citing of Sources
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In a lot of cases, I have to add details or information from books, online articles, persons and famous quotes. Citing them is very important because this is part of the guidelines stated by the content review members of bitLanders.
If you wonder where this guideline that I am referring to can found, you must visit @micky-the-slanted-salerno's blog post below:
bitLanders "Content Review": How are blogs rated?
Citing sources also includes photos and videos. Most of the time, I am using my own photos but that doesn't mean I shouldn't credit myself.
• Backlinks and Necessary Formatting
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My blog formatting is very obvious. I like adding numbers, points, and bullets when talking further about the subject. I also try to use titles which asks so they most of the time start with a question, How, When, What and Why.
But most importantly, I have a certain trend, if you noticed. My citation and credits are centered while my blog content is left aligned. My images and videos are also centered although before, I had used left and right alignment formatting for my media files because those were still possible but now with the current editor, these are only allowed for texts.
Image credits: abetterlemonadestand
Additionally, highlighting headers and certain phrases help me a lot in being consistent in my story structure and text flow.
Image edited in Canva credits: Jean Beltran via bitLanders
Backlinks are important too but you must be careful when to add because too much backlinking will somehow overdo the blog. So I am weighing it out properly, making sure it is just applied to those which matters.
The right media files like photos and videos are also necessary because they matter a lot in a blog. A photo outspeaks a thousand words and I personally believe this is true most especially to those who visual type of person. Which is why as much as possible, I would surely use my own photos but if I don't have any photos for the topic, I will ensure that the image used from the web is of high resolution too.
Image edited in Canva credits: Jean Beltran via bitLanders
There's also a dire need to add proper tags, general and specific ones. Without those, there's a 100% possibility that the blog will be tagged as a low-quality one.
With these guides, I have consistently created high-quality blog posts. It may be hard but with dedication, consistency and free will, I am able to write more. The more I write, the more ideas come to mind, the more blogs submitted for review.
Video credits: Website Learners via YouTube
This blog entry was written and published by Jean Beltran-Figues for bitlanders.com.
