Written on March 21st, 2005 at 02:03 pm by Darren Rowse
Write in a Granular style - One Topic Per Post
Robert has a good simple tip on how to make your posts easier to pass around for your readers and suggests you write in a granular style. To put it most simply.
‘Make one post contain one idea, or set of links.’
I agree with Robert although can think of times when you might want to include a few grains or ideas in one post. Some bloggers build their whole style around having multiple ideas in one post - however I personally generally find these blogs difficult to link up to and read. I’d much rather see one post, on one topic, with one heading that describes that post.
This is especially important for your readers who use RSS to read your blog and who either just look at your titles or who select to only see excerpts (the first few lines) of your post.
I would also add that it helps with the search engine optimization of your post if the search engine’s bot only finds one topic in each post rather than numerous.
6 Responses to “Write in a Granular style - One Topic Per Post”
Ethics and Blogging: Attribution where due
March 21st, 2005 6:38 am
[…] “At the start of the week Danny Sullivan exposed Google’s underwear” or Darren Rowse at Problogger stated “I would also […]
Duncan
March 21st, 2005 3:50 pm
I think I get this, but it’s sometimes difficult when covering a wide ranging sibject that can go off on different tangets, both in and out of the core topic. I’d note positively though Darren that your style of posting here is a good example of the “one idea” style.
Jon Gales
March 21st, 2005 3:51 pm
I do this at MobileTracker because I think it makes the archives a lot nicer. Having information about each phone in a new article lets people find what they are looking for a lot faster. If Samsung intros three new phones, I’ll put up three articles with three photos and more indepth detail about each model.
It’s also better for daily readers because they get more information (and can link right to what they want to link about). But it’s also more work. That’s the way it works!
Ken Musante
March 23rd, 2005 9:31 am
Yeah, I’ve written too much in one go before.
It’s the same way with all writing– make things concise and coherent. I think a lot of people, myself included, just have a lot to say. I think non-fiction writing’s true art is being able to pear things down so the average person wants to read it and can understand it.
» A quick guide to referencing The Blog Herald: more blog news more often
September 13th, 2005 12:52 pm
[…] If you are going to quote part of a post from another blog directly, provide direct attribution with inline link, for example, for a direct quote: Threadwatch reports that “At the start of the week Danny Sullivan exposed Google’s underwear” or Darren Rowse at Problogger stated “I would also add that it helps with the search engine optimization of your post” Block quotes have also become quite popular and are even a better way to highlight content from another site Miller said “Riley is a d*ck head and because everyone else [allegedly] does it then its ok for me to do it, I’m looking forward to the bridge jumping for my next trick” […]
Bonus Code Craps
January 27th, 2007 9:49 pm
Your site is a refreshing change from the majority of sites I have visited. When I first started visiting web sites I was excited by the potential of the internet as a resource and was very disappointed initially. You have restored my enthusiasm and I thank you for your efforts to share your insights and help the world become a better place.
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