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10 Blogging Tips That Will Change Your Life (or Grade, at least)

Originally published on 9 December 2009 & featured in Ragan’s PR Daily. Updated on 20 May 2010. Updates are in italics.

Over the past few semesters, I had nearly 450 of my students blogging as part of their grades in public relations courses. And this semester, I have more than 75 more. Based on their experiences and mine, here are some tips for maintaining your blog (especially when it’s graded as an assignment):

  1. Your professor may require a certain amount of posts on specific topics and perhaps even a specific length. Follow these guidelines to a T. Refer to the assignment sheet/post often to be sure you’re doing what’s needed.
  2. There may be interim deadlines for your blog posts. Keep up. Even if there aren’t interim deadlines, blog throughout the semester. If you do all your posts toward the end (or even the day they’re due), it’s not to your advantage. It will appear as though you procrastinated. Your readers will likely not read more than a post or so a day, so piling a bunch into one day actually hurts your readership.
  3. Make an editorial calendar for yourself based on the blog requirements. Consider using Google Calendar to keep track of posts you intend to write and when they should be written. (Google Calendar can even send you text message reminders.)
  4. Stuck for topics? Ask your readers at your blog what they’d like to see, or ask your followers on Twitter for help. Read Ragan’s PR Daily and listen to PR podcasts for additional ideas.
  5. Proofread. This should go without saying, but since I’m saying it, it apparently doesn’t. Misspelled words and poor grammar significantly detract from your credibility. If you know you’re not a great speller, then write your posts first in Word, where SOME misspelled words and grammar errors show up more easily. Partner with a friend and proof each others’ posts, too. (NOTE: If you write in Word first, be sure to use WordPress’ “Paste from Word” feature, or else you will end up with some really ugly formatting.)
  6. Write in short paragraphs. Long paragraphs are really grey and hard on the reader’s eyes.
  7. Use photos licensed by Creative Commons to add visual impact to your blog. I recommend Compfight for finding images.
  8. One of the best ways to become a better blogger is to read & comment on others’ blogs, too. It’s not all about you. Once you start commenting on others’ blogs, you may notice that your readership will increase (because of people clicking on your name in the comment and finding your blog.)
  9. Change the name of your blog from whatever WordPress “gave” you as the default (which may be something like Bnixon13’s Blog) to something more professional and interesting. Though you cannot change the URL for your blog, you can easily change the name. And definitely change or get rid of the default tagline “Just another WordPress weblog,” which screams N00b.

Yikes! I promised you 10 tips, and I only gave you 9! I need your help. What’s one more tip you’d provide to round out this top ten list?

barbara_is_listening

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How to Unlock Your World with FourSquare

Thanks to the fine folks at PR Daily, I learned about this great little video from Howcast called “How to Unlock Your World with Foursquare.” The video does a nice job explaining what Foursquare is and why someone might want to try it out.


How To Unlock Your World With Foursquare on Howcast
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Poynter’s NewsU Courses Benefit PR Writers

For fall semester’s PR Writing courses that I’m teaching for Southeastern University & Georgia Southern University, I am again augmenting my own content and our textbook with several courses offered by Poynter’s NewsU.

Here are the courses we’ll be using:

When you have finished with each course, be sure to send me your Course Report. The short screencast below shows you now.  Have the report come to my university e-mail address. (NOTE: This screencast was recorded earlier this year, so some of the dates are old, though the process remains the same.)

View on screencast.com »

For some courses, you’ll blog about what you learned as a Topic of the Week. For the ones that are not required as TOWs, you can choose to have them be PR Connections, if you wish.

[NOTE: Complete the NewsU quiz for the course & submit your Course Report by Saturday midnight during the week it’s assigned.]

Questions?

barbara_is_listening.

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10 FAQs About Prof. Nixon’s Summer 2010 Online Courses

As our semester begins at Georgia Southern, students are asking me questions via e-mail about our online classes. Rather than responding individually (so only one student can benefit), I’ve created a list of FAQs so that all can benefit.

1. How do I find out when things are due? (And will you make us a calendar for all the due dates?)

The quickest, easiest way to find out due dates for assignments is to look at the Calendar feature in GeorgiaVIEW. You can also find due dates for Assignments on the Assignments tab and RATS/quizzes on the Assessments tab. [NOTE: Blog posts are the exception. Weekly blog posts are due in most classes, and they will not appear on the GeorgiaVIEW Calendar.]

2. Why do we need a headset/mic? What kind should we buy?

For the times that we’re meeting online at the same time (synchronously), you will need to be able to hear what I am saying and occasionally respond by voice. You can find inexpensive ones at Amazon, OfficeMax or Walmart.

3. What’s expected in our blogs?

See the post I’ve written about blog content for your specific course:

4. I will be out of town for a week. Will that impact my grade in this course?

Since our class is online, your engagement and participation will be evaluated by your continuous completion of assignments and blog posts. If you are out of town, just be sure that you are keeping up with due dates.

5. What’s the “Public Relations Matters” section on our GeorgiaVIEW home page for?

At the bottom of each page for our course in GeorgiaVIEW there is a section titled “Public Relations Matters.” What you will see there is an RSS feed of the last four blog posts that you find here on my blog. It’s just a quick and easy way for you to see what’s new on my blog.

6. When will we be meeting synchronously (online at the same time)?

The best answer I can give you for this is “on occasion.” Since we did not have a course time assigned in WINGS, it’s nearly impossible for us to find a time to meet at the same time. So what I will be doing is informing you when I will be online providing you information related to our course. If you can make it to GeorgiaVIEW/Wimba at that time, please do so. If you cannot (due to other courses or work), you’ll have the opportunity to view the “archive” (replay) of the session at a later time. When I schedule a synchronous session, I will always send a meeting notice to you via Google Calendar. Please either accept or decline the notice so I can know who will attend.

7. Can I use my Gmail (or other account) instead of my Georgia Southern account for e-mail?

For consistency and reliability, GeorgiaSouthern requires faculty members to use our university-provided e-mail accounts for communicating with students. What you may want to do is set up your Gmail to automatically fetch your GSU e-mail, so you’ll only have one place to look. (That’s what I do.)

8. How often should I check my e-mail?

Check your e-mail at least once a day, preferably more. For our class, I will not send you a same-day assignment; I don’t think that’s fair. But I do send occasional reminders or clarifications that could help you with assignments you are working on. I also typically will send a tweet (on Twitter) letting you know to check your e-mail.

9. How will you do your office hours?

You’ll be able to find me in a Wimba Live Classroom (found on your class’ GeorgiaVIEW home page) quite often throughout the week. My office hours are held in the room labeled Virtual Office for Prof. Nixon’s Virtual Office. When I am in there, you can ask questions via chat, audio or audio & video; I can respond using the same methods. Remind me which class you are in when you stop by my virtual office.

10. My other professors haven’t used GeorgiaVIEW as much as you are using it. Can you show me how to use it?

GeorgiaSouthern has created several tutorials on using GeorgiaVIEW. Spend some time reviewing these tutorials; it will be worth the time you invest. I also created a short overview of how I use it. It’s best to ask another classmate first, then come to me if you have further questions on GeorgiaVIEW.

Do you have other questions?

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Informational Interview Recap :: #PRCA2330

customer-loyalty_retention.jpg by enriqueburgosgarcia.For this assignment, you will choose and interview a public relations professional, and then write about this interview at your blog. This post will be a minimum of 500 words. Post your recap on your blog, and in the Assignments area in GeorgiaVIEW, you’ll need to provide me with the PR professional’s contact information (name, title & company, phone number and e-mail address).

Wondering how to find a PR professional to interview? Join PROpenMic, where there are hundreds of pros willing to help students.

Though a face-to-face interview is preferred, a phone or webcam interview is acceptable. An interview that is e-mail or text-based only is not acceptable.

Schedule your interview at least a week before this assignment is due, preferably two. PR professionals sometimes have unpredictable schedules, and it’s possible that you may need to reschedule.

Include an introductory paragraph that introduces the PR professional, including title and company, educational background, etc. Mention your connection to the professional (how you found him/her) and how you conducted the interview (face-to-face, phone or webcam).

Questions/Topics you need to include:

  • What’s a typical week like? (If no week is typical, then what was last week like?)
  • Tell me about a project you worked on that you are especially proud of.
  • What do you do to keep current in the PR industry?
  • What do you wish you would have known before starting your career in PR?
  • How important is writing in your career?
  • What three tips would you offer someone just starting out in PR?
  • After interviewing this person, are you (the student, not the practitioner) more or less likely to want to have a career in PR? Why?

Some questions you may wish to ask:

  • Did your education prepare you for working in PR? How?
  • What has surprised you the most about working in PR?
  • How has PR changed since you entered the field?
  • How does technology affect your daily work?
  • When your company is hiring for an entry-level PR position, what makes a candidate stand out?
  • What professional organizations are you involved in? (For example, PRSA, IABC, etc.)
  • Ask for feedback on your resume
  • More informational interview questions

Some things you may wish to do:

  • Include a photo of your interviewee. (This can be a photo he or she provides or one that you take yourself.)
  • Link to your interviewee’s LinkedIn profile and/or blog.

Questions?

barbara_is_listening

[NOTE: This must be a new informational interview that you conduct this semester. Do not “recycle” an interview that you conducted during a previous semester.]

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T.O.W. :: Topics of the Week #PRCA3330

In our PR Writing class (PRCA 3330 at Georgia Southern University) this summer, we’ll all blog about the same general topic each week during the semester. Your TOWs of 300 words or more should be posted by Saturday at noon at the end of each week.

Some weeks have more than one topic listed; choose one of the available topics on those weeks.

If you mention a website or another blog, be sure to hyperlink to the post. And consider inserting graphics to add visual interest for your readers.

If you are unsure how to get started writing these TOWs, many times you can use this three-pronged approach:

  1. What did you learn?
  2. What surprised you?
  3. What do you want to know more about?

WEEK ONE

No TOW required. But if you would like to go back and write one, write about which types of social media you currently participate in (such as blogging, podcasting, social networking, etc.), which platforms you use, and why.

WEEK TWO

  • Visit Mignon Fogarty’s Grammar Girl’s website. Either read one of her blog posts or listen to one of her podcasts on an area of grammar that is troublesome to you. Write about what you learned (using the three-pronged approach above.)
  • This week, you took the NewsU Cleaning Your Copy course. There were four main topics in this course: Grammar, AP Style, Punctuation and Spelling. Using the three-pronged approach described above, describe your reactions to this course. Remember to include a  hyperlink to the course, too.

WEEK THREE

  • Why are comments such an integral part of blogs? What advice would you offer on writing effective blog comments?

WEEK FOUR

  • This week, you took the NewsU The Lead Lab course. Using the three-pronged approach described above, describe your reactions to this course. Remember to include a  hyperlink to the course, too.

WEEK FIVE

  • One Week of Twitter (NOTE: Complete the assignment during Week Four, but write about it during Week Five).

WEEK SIX

WEEK SEVEN

  • This week, you took the Five Steps to MultiMedia Storytelling course at News University.  Using the three-pronged approach described above, describe your reactions to this course. Remember to include a  hyperlink to the course, too.

WEEK EIGHT

  • Working either alone or in a group of no more than three, create a list of at least 10 ways that PR people can sometimes drive journalists crazy. After each item on the list, indicate what the PR person could/should do instead. Hyperlink to sources as needed. (If you are working with others, each of you should post to his/her own blog, and note where else it is crossposted and who the co-authors are.)

WEEK NINE

  • What advice would you offer PR students who are new to blogging? Come up with your own Top 10 list. (Note: This post is due on the last day of class.)
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One Week of Twitter :: #PRCA2330 and #PRCA3330

Our One Week of Twitter assignment begins on Monday, June 7, and will end at midnight on June 13. Your blog post about this experience count as your Topic of the Week for Week Five.

First, Learn a Bit About Twitter

  1. Listen to Laura Fitton discuss Twitter for Business.
  2. Listen to my Twitter: What’s in it for me? presentation.
  3. Read 10.5 Ways for PR Students to Get the Most Out of Twitter.

Setting Up Your Twitter Account

  1. Go to Twitter. Click Get Started, and sign up. I prefer it if you use some version of your first and last name as your Twitter ID. (Avoid putting numbers in your Twitter ID, or you may appear like a spammer.)
  2. Upload a photo or avatar.
  3. Write a brief (160-character or fewer) bio. It’s good to mention that you’re a PR student. Consider mentioning your university.
  4. Send a tweet saying “I’m a student in @barbaranixon’s #PRCA3330/#PRCA2330 class”. (Use the correct number for your class.) Be sure to include the #xxx1234 indicator, with no spaces between the hashtag (#), letters and numbers.
  5. If you haven’t already done so, complete my form that tells me your Twitter username before midnight on  Monday, June 7.

Setting Up Your Following List

  1. Follow at least 20 (why not all?) of the people or organizations in my Twitter Starter Pack for PR Students.
  2. Visit your class’ list at TweepML: PRCA 2330 or PRCA 3330. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to easily follow all the people on the list. (I created these lists on Tuesday, June 8, at 3 p.m. Only a few people had given me their addresses on time. I will update these lists again on Wednesday.)

Using Twitter

  1. Over the course of the next week, send at least twenty tweets (Twitter messages of 140 characters or less). Tip: Rather than tweeting that you’re having ramen for lunch, instead consider what might be of interest to your classmates and followers. Perhaps point others to something interesting or funny you read online. Share a fact you learned in a class. Maybe you could even pose a question that you’d like others to answer.
  2. In addition to the twenty tweets that you originate, respond to at least five of your classmates’ tweets. To respond, click on the arrow after a tweet. Or you can type the @ symbol followed immediately by a username (such as @barbaranixon).

Additional Information

  1. Review my tips on how college students can use Twitter to their advantage and Choosing Whom to Follow on Twitter: My Strategy.
  2. Review Prof. Sam Bradley’s College Student’s Guide: Twitter 101.
  3. I find using the web interface for Twitter to be clunky. I prefer using TweetDeck, a free Adobe Air app that works great on PCs and Macs. TweetDeck makes it really easy to send URLs via Twitter, as it automatically shortens them for you.
  4. I’ll occasionally post information on Twitter and use the hashtag for your class (either #PRCA2330 or #PRCA3330).By using this hashtag, I’m indicating that I want students in this class to pay special attention to the tweet.
  5. OPTIONAL: If you’d like to publicize your blog posts via Twitter, you can it automatically in WordPress.

Blog About Your Experience

After the week is over, add a 300-word (minimum) post to your blog about the experience and what you got out of it. Include a link to your Twitter profile (here’s mine). Be sure to include at least one way you might find value in continuing your account in Twitter. Your blog post about this experience count as your Topic of the Week for Week Four Five.

Questions? Just send me a DM (direct message) or an @ (reply) in Twitter!

NOTE: Many thanks to Kaye Sweetser and Karen Russell for their ideas prompting this assignment.

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Blogging Guidelines :: #PRCA3330 PR Writing, Summer 2010

“You only learn to be a better writer by actually writing.” Doris Lessing

In addition to traditional writing assignments (news releases, feature stories, etc.) in our PR Writing course, all students in my PRCA 3330 classes at Georgia Southern University will also create and maintain a blog as part of the course. This post explains the types of content I expect you to write about in your blog for PRCA 3330. (For information on how to start your blog, see Getting Started with WordPress.)

Please add a category for each type (listed below), and make sure each post is categorized appropriately. Each post for this class must have the category of “PRCA 3330” along with at least one additional category. (If you do not categorize your posts with the name of the class, it will be much more difficult for me to find them, and you cannot earn full credit.)

1. Reading notes – brief notes or key ideas from the reading assigned for that week’s class. Jot down 3-5 ideas that you believe are the most important & wish to remember. Be very brief, but write enough so someone who can’t read your mind understands what you mean and I am convinced that you actually did the readings. Remember to cite your source(s) when you paraphrase or quote materials from the readings; use a hyperlink to the book (either at the publisher’s site or at a bookseller like Amazon.com). Though these weekly assignments are due Friday at 11:59pm, many students prefer to do their Reading Notes before they take their weekly RATS (Readiness Assessment Tests).

2. Topic of the Week – Starting the second week of class, you will have a specific topic related to public relations writing to write about. You will have seven of these before the end of the semester. See our TOW list (which will be updated weekly).

3. PR Connections – commentary, reflections and opinions about PR issues/examples that were not addressed in class. These can be responses to other PR blogs you read, links to interesting posts or articles, embedded YouTube videos, etc. You should write at least five of these during the semester, with the first two complete before the end of May, and the remaining three before the end of the semester.

4. Blog comments – whenever you comment on someone’s PR blog (whether it’s a PR professional or a PR student), add the comment to ONE post that you update throughout the semester so I can assess your online participation. You will need 15 comments during summer semester. Do this only for PR-related blogs. See Tracking Your Blog Comments for Nixon’s Classes for more information, including specifics on the formatting.

5. Personal – optional category. Use it for any posts not related to public relations.

You may add other categories and sub-categories of your choice. Please keep in mind that when I evaluate your blog I will pay special attention to the categories listed above, but I will not ignore other posts. I will perform a wholistic evaluation of your blog, looking for:

  • professionalism: Clear, correct, thoughtful writing
  • frequency: Sufficient posts in categories 1-3, posted throughout the semester. There will be at least two blog checkpoints during the semester.
  • linking: Identify other PR blogs (use PR Open Mic or my blogroll in my Delicious bookmarks as starting points) and link to them. Respond to others’ posts. Become a part of the blogosphere. Blogging should not be lonely.
  • readability: brief & concise writing style, use of white space, bold characters, images, bullet points

SUPER-IMPORTANT: In order for you to get credit for your blog, I need to know where it is. Tell me your blog address by completing this Google Form; do this no later than May 24.

Questions? Just let me know.

barbara_is_listening

NOTE: Many thanks to Dr. Mihaela Vorvoreanu at Purdue University, who allowed me to use her blogging guidelines from her PRinciples class. They were so well-written that I made just a few tweaks for my own class. Dr. V knows that Blogs Matter.

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Top Ten Takeaways from #COMM4333 PR Writing

green clock 10 by holeymoon.Mallory Boulware

I found out, despite the fight I put up getting one, that Twitter is not as bad as I thought. It can actually be a quite helpful tool for getting information about events and simply networking with people. Twitter is a good way to get your name out there for people to see. Another thing it is good for is increasing your visivbility on search engines. Things like Twitter and PROpen Mic can help you boost your name to the top of the list.

Matthew Caudill

“Keep your eyes and ears on the news.  Reading and watching it can help your write for print and broadcast, not to mention it’s just a good idea to know what’s going on in the world.  The podcast “Wait Wait!…  Don’t tell me!” and it’s lightning round revealed to me how little news I’m actually aware of!”

Emmanuel Colon

“Invisibility: Many of the things you write may not be published under your name. Your goal is to be published and get your name out among clientele networks, but the public may never know a piece you’ve written. Knowing this, you should write in a manner that keeps your identity hidden.”

Noelle Cottom

“The importance of editing and checking your work before publishing or posting. I now realize the importance of editing and checking your work. It looks really bad to post or write anything that has spelling and grammatical errors. I also realize that it is so important to make sure you have all your facts right, before writing or posting anything! Nothing will ruin your career as a writer faster than posting inaccurate information. People will discredit you, and it’s really hard to bounce back after that.”

Erin Hertha

“E-mail subject lines should be STRAIGHT to the point. Journalists have a lot to do in their every day lives.  They get sent so many stories a day and do not have time to fiddle with spam in their e-mails or other things that may waste their time.  So it is important to have a catchy, short subject line.  This way, you can grab the attention of the journalist, and they do not delete your e-mail before even reading it.”

Rena Koziek

“Contact List: I was given an assignment within this class called a Contact List. As I was putting all of it together, I realized the amazing benefit this could have for you and your company that you are working with. This helps organize and create a specific list of important media contact within the area that is relevant to your company. In case something happens all of the information is ready to go at you fingertips!”

Lisa McLaughlin

“Twitter- I created my first Twitter account and learned some of the proper ways to use Twitter.  Contrary to what I previously thought, Twitter is supposed to be used for so much more than status updates.  It can be an extremely valuable source of information, whether that be breaking news,helpful articles, or upcoming events.  There are even resources to help people find jobs and network with others in their area.  The most important things that I learned with Twitter is that it is all about who you follow.  If you follow interesting tweeters, professionals in the field you hope to go into, and people who have generally interesting tweets, you will have a good Twitter experience.  If not, it will probably be less than par.”

Tara Parker

“The most important thing that I’ve learned in my PR class is that networking is everything in PR.  The more connections you have and the more your name is out there the better off you will be.  PR is a lot about building relationships and the bigger your networking circle the more people you will have to help you out when you need it.”

Danielle Suarez

“Proofread, Proofread, Proofread!!!- You can never proofread too much. Look over your releases, and articles ten times, and then let someone else look it over as well. If there are mistakes, you will lose credibility, and confidence in your co-workers and the community. You never want to look stupid just because you didn’t take the extra time.”

Shelly White

“Always provide follow-up. After you meet a potential client, or have an interview, send a handwritten note. This shows high character, integrity, and will set you apart from the rest.”


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Arrive, Survive and Thrive in Prof. Nixon’s Summer Classes

An Open Note to All of Prof. Nixon’s Students at Georgia Southern University:

We’re almost off and running in our Summer Semester classes at GSU. This summer, I’m teaching three courses, and they are all taught online. The syllabi will be e-mailed to all my enrolled students, and I’m also posting links to them (on Scribd) here.

So that we can make the most of this semester, please (Please, PLEASE) take some time to read through the blog posts I’ve included here. I promise you, it will be well worth your time. (How often do professors let you get inside their heads, letting you know their tips for success and their pet peeves?)

Additionally, here are a few more tips:

  • When communicating with me via e-mail (or Facebook), always put your course number (such as PRCA 3330) in the subject line to help me immediately identify who you are and frame your questions or comments. Do your best to write in full sentences, paying attention to standard English grammar and spelling. Always sign your e-mails with your first and last name, as your GSU e-mail address will not make that readily apparent to me.
  • When submiting an assignment in GeorgiaVIEW, always put your last name as part of the file name, and also include your name in the document itself. Papers submitted without your last name as part of the file name cannot earn full credit.
  • If an assignment is due in GeorgiaVIEW, the only way to get full credit for the assignment is to submit it in GeorgiaVIEW. (E-mailing an assignment to me can be risky; I receive 250+ e-mails a day, and there’s a chance I will not even see it in my inbox.)
  • Follow me on Twitter, if you really want to get inside my head. (What’s Twitter?)

Let’s make this a great semester together!

(PS: If you’re one of my students reading this post, please leave a reply to this post so that I can know you have read it. If your reply doesn’t show up immediately, no worries — I may need to approve it before it appears, if you’ve never commented on my blog before.)