Caption Contest

Let's see who can come up with the best caption.

Blogging: Keep ‘em coming back for more!

The best way to get your visitors to return to your blog is to reward them with your writing.

All the available social networks and blog marketing tools will do little to increase return visits to your blogs unless you first polish your posts. Follow these suggestions to improve your posts, and readers will keep coming back for more. Keep in mind that you are competing with millions of people for your readers’ attention. You’ll need to reward your visitors by giving them well written posts. (The bold italicized terms in this article link to my earlier posts and are not necessary to understand this post; they serve only to provide a greater depth of information on the various topics)

Online writing is a unique, hybrid form of communication because it combines the benefits and challenges of mass communication and interpersonal communication (see Communicating Online: Opportunities and Obstacles). Understanding this uniqueness will help you tailor your writing to your target audience.

Here are some helpful tools to polish your post successfully.

1. Most importantly, make sure you have something to say. All the writing tips in the world can’t help the writer without an interesting or provocative topic. Posting writing without a clear purpose may cause readers not to return. It’s difficult to get new readers, but it’s even more of a challenge getting disappointed readers to return. (If your well of inspiration is running dry check out: Overcoming Writer’s Block).

2. In the first sentence or two of your post, tell your readers what’s in it for them – explain how your post will make a difference in their lives.If your readers can’t find anything that impacts them right away, many will leave after the first paragraph. Consider How to use News Values such as impact, timeliness, prominence, and novelty when determining your posts potential value for your readers.

For those who stay past the first paragraph, remember: you’ve made your promise; now it’s time to deliver.

3. Write to express, not impress. Put the thesaurus away. If you’re writing to inform or to entertain, prefer the simple to the complex. Write like you talk. (say “use”, not “utilize”; write: “I was aware of”, instead of “I was cognizant of”).

4. Brevity is an important goal because readers prefer conciseness. The average sentence should be about 15 words. Avoid wordiness (instead of writing members of the group, write group members). Also avoid redundancies (instead of writing the children completely surrounded me, just write the children surrounded me). Unnecessary words can detract from your meaning. If you have difficulty with this, try pretending you had to pay for each word that you included.

5. Avoid terms that can cause confusion. (i.e. “She was young;” young is too vague – it means different things to different people). Remember words have denotations and connotations, so avoid ambiguous terms. Instead of saying that she was young, say: she was nearly 8 years old. There are also many commonly confused words in the English language. Be aware of the meaning of all your words. Further and farther, fewer and less, and accept and except are just a few of the common errors found in careless writing. (See Commonly Misused Words)

6. Say what you mean. If your purpose is to convey information, eliminate euphemisms. Euphemisms are meant to soften the blow of a potentially offensive or blunt idea, such as “collateral damage” for unintended civilian deaths. Euphemisms can cause loss ofclarity. (Read about editing out euphemisms in Layers of Revision). If your post lacks clarity, it’s doomed. Readers won’t spend time on posts they can’t understand.

7. Use examples and anecdotes. When explaining something complicated or something your readers might not have experienced, give an example. For example, explain that learning to use CSS to design a webpage is like learning how to play a sport or a musical instrument; first you must learn the rules, then you must practice to improve. Similarly, an anecdote is a very short story included to elaborate on and emphasize the facts. Instead of saying the girls were mischievous, consider using an anecdote to show us. Limit anecdotes to one (or two at most) per post. (See: Writing is like Baking a Cake)

8. Punctuation matters; people do judge a book by its cover (See: If Punctuation Marks were People). If you have spelling and grammar mistakes in your writing, people will lose confidence in you. They will question your facts and assumptions if they catch that you were careless with your pronouns and commas (See: The Problem with Pronouns)

9. Use vivid description. Keep in mind the maxim: Show, don’t tell. Don’t tell us that Billy was happy with his new puppy; show us. Readers appreciate it when you use your senses to describe details. They want to hear, see, feel, smell, touch and taste what you’re describing. (See: Think visually).

10. Proofread: take the time to polish your post. We often find errors when it’s too late. Edit your posts prior to publication. You don’t have to be a walking, talking grammar book, you just need to know when to turn to one. (Check out: English Handbook for the Game of your Life)

The best way to get visitors to return to your blog is to make them happy. While social networks and search engines are useful as treasure maps, your posts are the treasures –the pot of gold at the end of the Google search. Follow these tips to polish your posts, and let them shine.

Voice0003.wav

Big News

I’m really happy to announce to all my Blogging friends that . . .

I’m Engaged to. . . .

a Very Lovely Lady

Dr. Rob Retro Show – Special Edition

Hello. Play my latest show by clicking on the program name below: Dr. Rob Retro Show.

The  Dr. Rob Retro Radio show airs on Lander University’s XLR radio station.

This episode explores some music which have special meaning to me, and I hope they do for you as well.

I hope you enjoy it!

Dr. Rob Retro Radio Show – music and memories

Robert Stevenson’s Podcast

Rob’s Selected Silly Stuff

Greetings folks,

I’ve compiled some of my favorite

silly posts from

Rob’s Megaphone

I hope you enjoy them.

Silly Signs 37: Why does this happen?

robertstevenson wrote 9 hours ago: Why does this happen? Maybe somebody is happy he learned how to add. Maybe there’s a competit … more »

Silly Signs 36: You can’t exit this road

robertstevenson wrote 2 days ago: Sometimes we all just want the world to stop spinning so fast, so we can get off and get away from … more »

Silly News: 14: News during the writers’ strike.

robertstevenson wrote 1 month ago: … more »

Silly Signs #31: Signs that make you go Hmmmmmmmm!

robertstevenson wrote 1 month ago:  That’s one way to end your worries Maybe if they used someone who actually GRADUATED!!! H … more »

Silly signs #30: Come n ‘git it: used food for sale!

robertstevenson wrote 1 month ago: You can really talk ‘em down on the price for that used food. Police don’t get to go h … more »

Silly Signs #29: What were they thinking?

robertstevenson wrote 1 month ago: limit 2 cases . . . ? I guess the other side says: Do not exit, exit only. This must be an invita … more »

Silly sign #28: I’ll take the F

robertstevenson wrote 1 month ago: I’ll take the F   I guess this qualifies as a sign   … more »

Silly sign #27: No bare feet on this beach

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: Seems people can’t go on sand or sidewalk either.                       … more »

Silly News 9: The day the copyeditor was sick (part 2)

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: Mailbox sale: What a bargain!!!! … more »

Silly stuff 2 (pics)

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: … more »

Silly News 8: the day the copyeditor was sick

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: We must conclude: In an effort to reduce costs, all newspapers have laid off all copyeditor. … more »

Silly News 7 — 1 comment

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago:   … more »

Silly stuff (pic, news, ad)

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: … more »

Silly signs #26

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: … more »

Silly News 6

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: … more »

Silly News 5

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: Once you’re completey out of debt, win a free trip to Las Vegas!!! … more »

“Signs” by the Five Man Electric Band

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: After the video, check out my tribute to Silly Signs “Signs” by the Five Man Electrica … more »

Silly Sign #24

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: … more »

Silly news 2

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: … more »

Silly Sign #23

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: NAMES YOU CAN TRUST … more »

Silly Signs #22

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago:   Maybe it would help if I spoke the language, but if I were approaching these signs doing 55, I  … more »

Silly News

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: … more »

Silly Signs #21:

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: … more »

Silly Sign #20

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago:   … more »

Silly sign #19

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: … more »

Silly Sign #18

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: … more »

Silly Signs #17

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: … more »

Silly Sign #16

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: … more »

Silly sign #15

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: … more »

Silly Sign #14

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: … more »

Silly sign #13

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: … more »

Silly sign # 12 . . . . the long wait

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago:  How long before YOU  honk? … more »

Silly sign #11:

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: Woof woof woof:  (I’ll add to my collection) … more »

Silly sign #10

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: … more »

Silly Sign #9

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: Location, Location, Location … more »

Silly sign #7

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: … more »

Silly sign #6

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: … more »

Silly sign #5

robertstevenson wrote 2 months ago: Just in case you didn’t notice … more »

Silly Sign #4

robertstevenson wrote 3 months ago: … more »

Silly Street Sign #3

robertstevenson wrote 3 months ago: … more »

Silly Road Sign #2

robertstevenson wrote 3 months ago: Fortunately, this does not apply to visitors to Rob’s Megaphone. … more »

Okay, Everbody: What time is it?

robertstevenson wrote 3 months ago: … more »

Stupid sign #28

robertstevenson wrote 3 months ago: … more »

This sign is 20 minutes from my house

robertstevenson wrote 3 months ago: … more »

When the children cry let them know we tried

little child

dry your crying eyes

how can I explain 

the fear you feel inside

You were born into this evil world

where man is killing man and noone knows just why

what have we begun?

just look what we have done

all that we destroyed – you must build again

when the children cry

let them know we tried

cause when the children sing

then the new world begins

One United World Under God

Court takes “Supreme” too literally

Wok this way

American music has been influenced by many cultures. Like America itself, it is a melting pot of sorts. There’s the British Invasion, lots of lyrics from the land down under, and the rock of Gibraltar. But one culture which has supplied us with numerous musical influences, without receiving due credit, is the Orient. In addition to the obvious, like China Grove, Wang Chung, and I think I’m turning Japanese, there are many lesser known influences. Here’s just a few.

Jailhouse Wok – Elvis Pressley

Sushi and the Banshees

Chop Stick at Budokan

but perhaps the most overlooked oriental influence is the Mariah Carey song -  Ken Lee.

See if you agree:

Do something nice for yourself today

Mondays can be tough. They often mean a long wait until the next weekend, hard work, less time with those you love,  and a bunch of other challenges. Bob Geldof and the Boomtown Rats immortalized an infamous Bloody Monday back in ’79 when a young girl shot up an elementary school because according to her, “I don’t like Mondays.” Perhaps this tragedy can be a reminder that we all need to take it easy every now and then, reward ourselves, focus on the positive, relax and listen to some good music . . . . like this.

Thanks Michelle for reminding me about this most excellent song.

I’m Ba-ack

Greetings bloggers, surfers, and everyone else.

As you may remember, almost exactly one year ago, I put this, my wordpress.com blog on hold and started a new blog at http://www.robsmegaphone.com.

Well when my first year ended just a few days ago,  fees on my new url rose – considerably.  So. . . . I’m back in the land of the free.

I wasn’t able to get my posts from the robsmegaphone.com blog to import  into this one, so if you’re interested, feel free to check them out before they’re toast.

If your new to Rob’s Megaphone, welcome. Feel free to explore my categories to the left, to see my previous posts.

All the best.

Caption Police: failure

The cure for News blues

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

 

Murphas Law revisited

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Not my day!

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A3

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