D. IFAD on the internet

<strong>IFAD</strong> on the internet
3 J Writing a memorable blog post
Writing a blog post people want to read requires
speaking honestly and openly about a subject
that you are passionate about. It needs to be
dynamic, interesting and enjoyable. Remember it
is a conversation. (See the Using social media and
Writing for the web sections.)
Develop a writing style and stick to it.
Show your passion in your writing.
Write in an inviting way that encourages your
readers to comment and engage in conversation.
Write in plain language. (See the Plain language
guidelines and Writing for the web sections.)
Blog from the heart
Write about emerging trends and innovations
Share your ideas, opinions, insights, experience
and knowledge.
Tell a story (See the Using storytelling to share
knowledge section.)
Be original and unique.
End your blog posts with a call for action, a
message of hope, a question, an inspiration,
food for thought – something that opens a
dialogue – and ask your readers to comment
and share their ideas and opinions.
Captivate your readers
Give your blog a catchy headline. Keep
your titles short, easy to understand and
attention-grabbing. Ask a question or craft a
counterintuitive or controversial headline.
Make sure the title reflects the content of the
blog post. Remember that titles are the first
things that appear in search engine results.
Start your blog with a captivating sentence
and explain to your reader what they should
expect from it.
Make sure your blog post is scannable. (See the
Writing for the web section.)
Do not forget to include keywords/tags to help
search engines.
Blog regularly so that you do not disappoint your
readers. Start out modestly and build up – if you
begin by blogging daily and then slow down to
once a week, you will lose readers.
If you are writing a blog series, introduce it and
tell readers the series frequency.
Make sure you contribute regularly to the
<strong>IFAD</strong> social reporting blog (www.ifad-un.
blogspot.com). (See the <strong>IFAD</strong> social media
channels section.)
Help your readers
Do not use institutional jargon. If you use
technical terms, explain them thoroughly.
Keep details to the minimum – do not overburden
readers. Get to the point and do it fast!
Avoid introducing too many ideas and concepts
in one blog post; consider doing a series of posts.
Do not write propaganda blog posts.
Avoid writing about organizational matters that
may not be of interest to a larger audience –
describe your own experience.
Before publishing your post, edit it and read it aloud.
If you struggle as you read it, consider redrafting.
Include links and photographs. (See the
Accessing photographs: Using the <strong>IFAD</strong> Image
Bank section.)
Where applicable, embed 2 PowerPoint
presentations and videos in your blog post. (See
the Creating your own video section.)
Resources
––
www.dummies.com/how-to/content/writing-agood-blog.html
––
ProBlogger blog tips
––
Blogs in plain English: http://youtube.com/
watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI
Contact
Roxanna Samii, Manager, Web, Knowledge and
Internal Communications, Communications Division
e-mail: r.samii@ifad.org ; Tel: +39 06 5459 2375
2 YouTube, blip.tv and SlideShare provide embedded codes.
Just copy and paste these into your blog post.
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Writing a memorable blog post
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