Setting up your own technological know-how weblog is a top-notch way to publicize a subject that is near your coronary heart, hone your writing capabilities and make a name for yourself
The Wellcome Trust Science Writing Prize, in association with the Guardian and the Observer, is open for entries. The last date is 11 May 2014
A younger lady the usage of a pc
Don’t permit all and sundry to bully you into thinking they have a right to spout garbage below your posts. Your weblog is your property online, and you’re entitled to put into effect certain regulations. Photograph: Alamy
Thursday 17 April 2014 12.31 BST Last changed on Wednesday 22 February 2017 18.35 GMT.
1. Figure out why you want to blog
Maybe you’re a Ph.D. scholar trying to percentage your studies with the world or take a wreck from it to discover some other thrilling technological know-how. Or possibly you’re a budding technology writer eager to construct a profile and get your name out there. Think about who you want to attain with your writing – be it potential collaborators, capability employers, or human beings on the street. Sum up your dreams in a sentence or and write that down earlier than you do something else.
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2. Set it up
The pleasant platform for you will often rely on the form of posts you’re going to write down. If you’re making plans longer writing, a traditional blogging platform like WordPress might suit you nicely. However, for shorter, snappier posts or extra photo-led posts, Tumblr ought to work for you.
This is likewise when you’ll get to play about with topics and make your blog look exactly as you like. That’s amazing fun, but don’t let it distract you from the enterprise of actually writing.
3. Think about becoming a member of a network
You’ve possibly observed that quite a few mounted technology bloggers write on weblog networks instead of their very own sites. If it’s an option for you, becoming a blog community member can be an excellent aspect. You’ll get colleagues to help you out, a boost in traffic, and an entirely new ability target market.
Usually, an invitation to join a network comes after you have got established yourself. Taking off on your own will provide the respiratory area you need to training sessions exactly how to drive this aspect.
There can be blessings to going it by myself: no schedule to paste to, a hazard to experiment, and extra control over matters, including comment moderation.
4. Get writing
Most hit blogs find a niche, and more-or-much less, keep on with it. That should mean blogging about your very own studies, following one specific discipline of science in a whole lot of elements, or locating a unique manner to write approximately tales different humans will be overlaying too.
If you are making yourself the pass-to character for a specific type of technical writing, you are much more likely to build an audience.
5. Use the net well
The internet is a top-notch region, and also, you must make the most of being a part of it. This manner adding links to sources, news articles, and different human beings’ blog posts on your own. It additionally approaches using photographs or video while they’re a higher way to communicate than words.
And, way to the limitless area online, you don’t have a word remember. But as well as giving you the gap to go in intensity whilst you want to, it means you can write a brief if the challenge doesn’t want a dissertation-length exploration. So don’t write an essay simply due to the fact you may.
6. Write good headlines
If you need humans to study what you’ve written, you’ll have to lead them to need to. Please don’t fall into the trap of tying up any antique headline and hitting submit after spending a while sprucing the blog post itself. Always ask yourself if you’d click on a link based totally on the headline (be honest). If you wouldn’t, trade it.
Descriptive headlines that tell a reader exactly what to anticipate often work nicely. You need to consider getting key phrases in there; however, don’t fret an excessive amount of about seo. It’s more vital to make actual people need to study your paintings than it is to try to pander to Google.
7. Shout approximately your paintings
So you’ve written your first post, though cautiously approximately your headline, and pressed publish. Don’t relax simply, but – if you don’t do any promotion, no person bar your instantaneous family is going to read it. Ideally, you’ll have mounted social media money owed already so you can share your paintings with humans you already know on Facebook and your expert community on Twitter.
Don’t be afraid to ship the publish without delay to positive those you suspect will be fascinated. (But, equally, don’t be offended in case you get no response.)
It is also well worth getting installation on technology weblog aggregator scienceseeker.Org and any subject-specific ones. They won’t be huge traffic drivers, but they’ll help get you observed within the science of running a blog network.
8. Don’t thieve pictures
Being “simply” a blogger doesn’t suggest you don’t need to source snapshots properly. Luckily, there are masses of methods you may discover photographs to apply without both paying or breaking the law.
Searching on Flickr or Google for Creative Commons (CC) licensed pix is one option, but make sure you follow the phrases of the precise CC license for the photo. This usually includes crediting the photograph creator, noting the license kind, and may suggest you can’t trade the photo.
If you discover something no longer available underneath CC, you could usually ask the copyright holder. However, chances are, if it’s for a personal blog, they’ll be glad as a way to share their paintings.
Wikipedia and the British Library have loads of public domain photos to be had for reuse, and Wellcome Images has launched thousands in their ancient snapshots too.
9. Decide on your feedback coverage
While a lot of dialogue around our blog posts has moved to social media in recent times, you’ll nevertheless want to reflect on consideration on the way to take care of feedback. Will you slight upfront, or after they may be published?
Take a look at the commenting rules of blogs you examine and borrow your preferred bits. Don’t permit everybody to bully you into wondering they have a right to spout garbage underneath your superbly crafted writing. Your blog is your home online, and in case you want people to play with the aid of positive regulations, you’re entitled to make them do this or get out.
10. Stave off boredom
Sometimes you might not experience running a blog, and sometimes, that’s high-quality. But in case you’re caught in a rut, strive to post something small: a cool photo or video with a few words of rationalization. Or set yourself an undertaking to jot down x phrases in a sure amount of time (locate different humans doing the identical issue at #madwriting on Twitter).
Do …
• Find a spot
• Use pix and films when they add to your submit.
• Think of a weblog put up as a part of the communique, not the very last phrase.
Don’t …
• Steal other people’s snapshots.
• Be afraid to shout about your weblog.