Why write a blog?
Through a blog you can share your experiences with others. It provides a direct way of helping others facing similar challenges and could also help you by talking through your situation, online, with others.
Some people find that setting things down in writing can help focus how they feel about a particular experience. Many bloggers (people who write blogs) find it rewarding to get comments back from readers – and can help them to think about their own situation in a new way too.
How to write a good blog
All things are a matter of personal taste and not all readers will like all blogs; even when they have a favourite blogger, readers might not like every blog post (an entry on a blog page). Writing posts people want to read depends on speaking honestly and openly about a subject you're passionate about.
A post can include a link to some thought-provoking webpage or relevant news story but you still need to put your own stamp on the entry. Adding a link, image or video to your blog post can be a great way to illustrate a message but you will still need to make your own point.
Most blogs are no more than a few paragraphs. Remember that people read quickly when they're online and will rarely spend more than a couple of minutes on an individual post.
What to write
This is of course up to the individual, but typical blogs might include:
- Recent day-to-day experiences
- Life or events following diagnosis
- Tips or observations (negative and positive) about living with your condition
- New research you have come across
An easy place to start is commenting on a recent news story talking about the condition, or related to it, and putting a personal spin on the story. And remember, you can include a link to the original news story too.
How often to write
Some bloggers write daily (and often more than once a day) and others every few days. It may take you a while to understand your readers and get feedback but when this happens it may make you want to write more often. Blogging is supposed to be an enjoyable way to share your experiences as well as a useful one though so try not to set yourself too hard a target at first.
Remember that the more you blog, the easier writing the posts will become and the more enthusiastic you and your community will be.
Quick tips
Here are some handy hints on writing a good blog:
- Keep it short – a blog is not the place to write a novel
- Write about your own experiences and, where possible, make it helpful or useful to the reader
- Use the title to draw people in and to help show the readers what your blog post is about
- If you get good feedback or comments, reference them in future posts – you can increase the sense of community by involving your readers this way
- Don't write in all capitals ('flaming'). It's difficult to read and looks angry. This goes for the title as well as the post
- Watch your spelling and try to follow basic rules of English – it will really help readers to understand what you're trying to say (you can write the blog in Word first to help use the spell check and edit before posting)
- Read through your blog from beginning to end to check it before you hit 'publish'
- Add clips from YouTube by copying and pasting in the YouTube address – it will appear as a small screen in your post.
- Add weblinks for references to reports, etc. by cutting and pasting in the link from a website.
- Remember you can edit your content after posting by clicking on 'edit' next to the post.
The serious stuff
To keep our HealthUnlocked sites helpful, supportive, informative and respectful you cannot:
Post content or send private messages that are malicious, aggressive or rude
Use content to promote products or services in which you have a financial interest
Make specific complaints that are better suited to an established process, eg a complaint about an identifiable healthcare professional
Any content like this may be removed and repeated misuse could lead to a member being removed from the group and we may prevent them from rejoining. If you receive or see messages or content that you think go against the spirit of the site, please let us know at feedback@healthunlocked.com so that we can take appropriate action.
And finally
There is lots of information online about writing blogs if you want to read more.
If you have any questions about blogging or any other way of getting involved in your HealthUnlocked community, please email feedback@healthunlocked.com.