{"id":7276,"date":"2011-04-11T10:10:20","date_gmt":"2011-04-11T16:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jesusneedsnewpr.net\/?p=7276"},"modified":"2011-05-03T16:53:42","modified_gmt":"2011-05-03T16:53:42","slug":"a-guest-post-what-ive-learned-about-blogging-from-matthew-paul-turner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesusneedsnewpr\/2011\/04\/a-guest-post-what-ive-learned-about-blogging-from-matthew-paul-turner.html","title":{"rendered":"A GUEST POST: What I've Learned About Blogging From Matthew Paul Turner"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Today’s post is from writer, blogger, (and chemist?) Bryan Allain<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As I’ve said before, Bryan is one of my favorite bloggers–and not just because he’s funny and my friend, either–because he’s a really good blogger. (You can read his blog here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

So… it’s no surprise to me that Bryan is brains behind this amazing new site called BlogRocket<\/a>. Which he’ll tell you more about.<\/p>\n

But first, here’s Bryan…<\/p>\n

My goal at BlogRocket<\/a><\/strong> <\/a>is to help bloggers overcome their frustrations and achieve their blogging goals, and one of the best ways I’ve found to do that is to show them ways other bloggers have had success.<\/p>\n

With that in mind I asked Matthew last week if I could highlight a few things in his blog that I think the rest of us could learn from and he kindly obliged.<\/p>\n

The funny thing was I didn’t need to do a whole lot of research to write this post. Being a fan of the blog already, I knew what I liked about what Matthew does here. So without further fluff (I’ll explain in a second), here’s 3 things I think we could all learn from Jesus Needs New PR.<\/p>\n

1. Whatever you do, do it in a very VERY way.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Matthew is known for posting wacky videos and pictures of things relating to Christianity, and sometimes that includes things that make me uncomfortable. But honestly, that’s okay. I’d rather he do it that way and let me filter out what I will and won’t consume (for the record, I don’t think I’ve ever been offended by any of the content here).<\/p>\n

How does this apply to those of us who have blogs that look nothing like this one? Don’t be afraid to go to the edges of what you do. If you’re a humor blogger, like I try to be, then go all out to be VERY funny. If you write opinionated book reviews, then be VERY opinionated. Don’t hold back. If you immerse yourself into cooking on your blog, then go all the way. Don’t worry that you might lose some readers for pushing the envelope too far. Get VERY detailed with your recipes of food histories.<\/p>\n

Whatever it is that your blog does, do it all out. Commit to it and as your readers we’ll all be VERY thankful.<\/p>\n

2. Don’t Add Fluff to your Stuff<\/p>\n

<\/strong>When Matthew posts a video, he rarely writes 3 paragraphs explaining the 10 things he took from it. Usually he just posts the video and lets you figure it out. Frankly we should all be so brief in our blogs.<\/p>\n

If you’re blog post is a list of 5 things, get right to the 5 things. A short intro paragraph is fine if it adds to the piece, but I can guarantee if you get too wordy and long-winded before ever getting to the meat of your post, you’ll lose half your readers before they even get to the main point.<\/p>\n

No one has ever complained to me that a blog post I had written was too short. Keep the fluff out of your stuff, and your readers will thank you for it.<\/p>\n

3. Honesty is Compelling<\/strong><\/p>\n

I love the fact that Matthew isn’t afraid to talk about things from his personal life. From parenting to depression medication and theology to sex toys, it’s not just that Matthew is covering the topic, it’s that for better or for worse he’s doing it with honesty. That’s what makes for compelling content.<\/p>\n

The truth is, everyone loves honesty. So much of what we see and hear is phony and fake that when people come across honesty they can’t get enough of it. That’s why it is so important for your blog. As long as it doesn’t detract from the content (which it could in rare cases), we’ve got to let as much of ourselves into the process as possible so that our fingerprints are all over what we’re creating. That’s what will make our blog special.<\/p>\n

Remember, even though computers and Al Gore’s internet are necessary for blogging, it is still very much all about people. Blogging is a human endeavor, done by and for real people like you and me. Don’t ever forget that.<\/p>\n

So yeah, those are 3 things I’ve learned about blogging from Matthew but I’m sure there’s things I’ve missed.<\/p>\n

I’d love to hear from you guys what you love best about this blog, especially if you’re a fellow blogger.<\/p>\n

Let us know in the comments!<\/p>\n

****<\/p>\n

So please, right now, stop reading my blog and go sign up for BlogRocket’s email list<\/a>. If you do, you’ll receive free Bryan’s e-book about how to handle 29 blogger frustrations. Plus, you’ll enter to receive an Amazon.com gift card! So please, go support my friend Bryan and sign up for his BlogRocket e-letter.<\/a><\/p>\n

And I promise you this: You won’t hate it. You might even love it. Or like it. Or want to snuggle with it at night during thunderstorms.<\/p>\n

So go check it out.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today’s post is from writer, blogger, (and chemist?) Bryan Allain. As I’ve said before, Bryan is one of my favorite bloggers–and not just because he’s funny and my friend, either–because he’s a really good blogger. (You can read his blog here.) 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