Learning in a Pandemic – A Blog Recipe in 7 Videos
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): TomKin Consulting LLC.
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2020
I can’t just say the words, do a lot of one-liners. I love each person I play; I have to be that person. I have to do him true.
-Richard Pryor (1940-2005)
There’s tons of content online. Some get searched. Others don’t. Of those that do, only a few make it to the top. In that sense, it’s like an endeavour, where there’s winners and losers. How can your content make it to the top?
You should keep the post recipe, good headlines, and SEO tactics not to use, in mind. The post recipe is an introduction, an answer, and subheadings. A heading keeps interest and remains clear on the topic. SEO tactics to avoid include link building and keyword tools.
What is the blog post recipe?
When I watched the 7 videos of the two gentlemen, I did learn things. None of this negated authenticity. Pryor, quote above, was this master of the genuine. He was a comedian and a spokesperson for universal emancipation. One of the most skilled comedians ever.
I like him. The two men in the videos talks about a post recipe first. They talked about a structure. A framework for dealing with posts. This structure was built on 1,000s of examples. Out of those instances, they produced this system.
A framework, a structure, a system, a recipe
The recipe was for blogs, or writers. The recipe stated an introduction is first. Then it’s an answer paragraph, followed by subheadings. I suppose the articles with subheadings would be longer. Some articles are a few hundred words.
If a few hundred, I doubt these should deserve subheadings, as probably one point is present. By the end of this paragraph, you’ve read more than 300 words. It’s a lot. So, if I had subheadings by this point, it wouldn’t make much sense. It could make a little, though. I’d need convincing.
The introduction is the place to make the personal point. You introduce yourself, “Hi, I’m so-and-so.” But not in those words, you’re personalize the message. You inject personality into the topic. It’s a lead into the subject. It’s a way to make a connection.
This is the place to make a point. It’s a time to make it quick. The introduction is a space. Not much, it’s a small area to set boundaries for the article. Side note, I hate the words “blog” and “blogger.” People who type are writers. They make singular content. Those are articles.
Writers of articles move from the introduction to the answer paragraph. It’s the place bolded at the top. The bolded paragraph is the answer paragraph. They are the same paragraph. This is the punchline before the setup in comedy.
You are told the content and point of the article concisely. Everything in a few sentences. Then the rest a retelling of the setup before the punchline (again). The answer paragraph answers the point of the article. The likely question the reader came to the article to answer.
Subheadings are next. If the article is long enough, then it can have some more parts. Those parts can differentiate by subheadings. Do you see the bolded questions? Do you see the bolded lines? All throughout the article. I’m writing single-line, bolded paragraphs or unpunctuated sentences.
Those are the subheadings. What contains the sub-headings? That’s the thing at the top. It’s the title of the article. It’s known as the heading. It’s the worm and hook for the article. If people like it, they will fish some more.
What is a good headline?
The 7 videos of the gentlemen spoke about the heading or the headline. How do you get that attention? What is the hook for the audience? It has to catch their attention. It needs to pop while standing out.
Some titles will be pretty bland. Listicles tend to be this way. The lists of some items, e.g., “Top 10 Branding Tips,” “5 Writers to Follow,” “3 Ways to SEO in 2021,” and so on. They’re a good start. Apparently, they need something more.
That extra precision or zing to make the article. You need to identify precise things. You can add a zing for flavour. Some more research into the content to make the cut. It’s about becoming the best in some domain. Some area of expertise for the particular article.
A good headline is a good pitch
Let’s take Goldilocks, headlines as soup. I propose headlines are soup. Take length, if too long, it’s bad. There’s too much there. It’s a lot of description. It’s a headache. Unless, you have that audience. A graduate student in astrophysics deals with weird terms. Same with biologists.
It’s a lot of Latin. Yet, here, we’re dealing with accessibility and style. An accessibility to the general audience. A style based on recipes and expressive of personal temperament: the real you. Not some fake, some phony trying to be something.
Someone trying to become an idealized self. They strive. They try. They sweat. They endure. All in making themselves this ideal self. Here’s the problem, it’s not you. It’s not achievable. It’s an infantile aim. It’s not feasible.
In trying to become something unreal, they don’t realize what they’re really becoming. Headlines can reflect this. So, you don’t do it. It can keep the interest of the audience with authenticity. Something just right, it’s fit for the audience. It mirrors you, your voice.
Similarly, what are the bounds of the article? Are you aiming for the next great American novel? Or are you shooting for a particular target? Your bow should be firm, so your arrow can shoot straight. Clarity of intent is clarity of message. A message for a specific audience.
What SEO tactics to avoid?
I like these guys. Not only talking about principles, they talk about prohibitions. The things not to do. Enact these principles; don’t do these things, too, it’s brilliant. They focused on SEO don’ts. So, don’t do these things.
Some SEO focuses on links and keywords. It’s tiresome. Honestly, it always felt tiresome. It was a waste of time. The activity felt almost idiotic, “Why spend time on this?” There must be a better use of time. There is a better use of time and effort.
The question is about what it is now. How is SEO the wrong focus? How is SEO’s don’ts the better focus? Clearly, some things must be avoided. Do you remember examinations with a wrong answer losing marks? It’s like that. Sometimes, it’s the things not done.
Link building, keyword tools, and the death tolls to reader counts
These two men in the seven videos focused on safety. They wanted to protect from mark downs from Google. It’s great to have the content. It’s great to use SEO. But what about SEO considered black now? It’s a bad tactic.
Google’s algorithm changed. It means old techniques fail to deliver. This is tough. But it is important. Because these essentials became avoid at all cost. So, times change as algorithms improve. Google’s job is to get the right content to the right person.
Their bottom line is the buck. So, both will form the basis for updates to the algorithm for them. The question for writers, “How do I avoid these pitfalls?” One is link building. It is pumping as many links into an article as possible.
This is something bad. It creates unnecessary work. You’re left bereft of time and energy. The time and energy to do other activities. They focus on avoiding this. They work on attracting the audience and the links to them.
This is the basis for not link building. Another tip from the gentleman: keyword tools. Just don’t, it’s not necessary. It may down rank the article on Google. It will hurt the article’s chances of a viewing, even a reading, more.
The guys earned respect from me, for sure. They focus on search analysis. It’s more like a comprehensive, dynamic view. What’s the big picture? How is this big picture suitable to the context of the article? How can we fit this article snugly into searchable content? It’s new SEO.
It’s an SEO of not, of the things not done to make the way to the delivery of the desired message to the right audience. These drive traffic to the site. From there, people link to the articles. It does link building for you.
You save time and effort. You can use the time and effort to further efforts of building. My take-home message from these gentlemen was efficiency, optimization. Optimize through dos and don’ts while writing content worth reading and headlines worth seeing.
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In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Based on a work at www.in-sightpublishing.com.
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