An Example of What a Blog Post Should NOT Look Like
10. Jan, 2009 
10 Comments
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This post is going to be hard to read, but I suggest that you read it all the way till the end. I’ll put some of the key points in bold so that you can pick some of the more important information up, but for now force yourself to get through this post. I’m not picking another Muslim’s blog to point out as the blog with the worst blog post ever. I won’t be talking about the grammar or the flow or how original the content is. Rather I wanted just to talk about the overall structure of the post. I wanted to give you just one example of a mistake a lot of bloggers make (Muslim or not). Instead of telling you what you should avoid doing, I thought I would just show you instead. It can be quite irritating when your blog post goes on and on and on and on and on. No one wants to read it. As a matter of fact, you probably wouldn’t want to read it yourself after you’ve finished writing it. So what is the problem? It’s not necessarily that your idea is bad or that your writing itself isn’t awesome. Both your idea and writing can be the best thing ever, but if it isn’t easy to read then there is no point. If you were writing in your personal diary then you can write however you like. However, when you decide that you want to write material for other people to read then you need to think about how you can make that information most easily accessible to your readers. There are a lot of things you can do to take your blog post from a “C” to an “A+”. If you’re still reading this then I congratulate you on your patience. Writing one continuous stream of thought simply won’t work in the vast majority of cases. Paragraphs should be no longer than 4-5 lines. When writing online, don’t focus on how many sentences in your paragraph – worry about how many lines it is. Readers want to be able to quickly skim a post. If they come across a post that they can’t skim then they avoid it all together. So do your absolute best to avoid writing one long, continuous paragraph. Having said that, I think the best thing for me to do now is stop.
(Photo: buggolo)
Asalamu Alaykom,
Good point! Welcome back! Are you a married man now?
Almost Insha’Allah. In 48 hours I should be married and then off for a few weeks for the honeymoon Insha’Allah.
48 hours! WOW!
May Allah bless your marriage years with serenity, happiness, and healthy children. Enjoy your honeymoon!
One word of honeymoon advice: make sure to spend some time apart! If you spend every moment together, you will wish you hadn’t!
And if I may be so bold as to give you marriage advice: remember it’s a marathon and not a sprint. Keep pacing yourself for the forever which you promised each other. Inshahallah.
As Salaam Alaikum. I agree with this post. I subscribe to your site and when I saw this post, I screamed, yes!!! I have read posts that went on and on, and got upset when I got to the end and there was no evident point.
Congratulations on your marriage. May Allah continue to Bless you and your whole family.
Assalamu Alaikum,
Awesome post! To tell you the truth, when I first opened the page, I just fazed out in the beginning and was thinking, “How could Br. Karim have such a bad layout?” Then I read your post and couldn’t stop smiling as I just found out I’m the stereotypical reader.
Jazaakumullahu Khairan. Can’t wait for more posts!
Err… How about my blog. Please take a look and give me some comment. I know my english is…(ya know) but… My blog posts are okay or not? Please3, do comment me on this issue.
@ One Muslim
I got a chance, Alhamdullilah to take a look at your blog (http://imuslimislamic.blogspot.com/). Masha’Allah, you cover a lot of good material and provide some excellent commentary.
I do have a few, general comments about your blog.
The first is the topic that you are covering. It seems that Masha’Allah you are able to touch upon a variety of issues. However, after about 5 minutes on your site, I was still having trouble figuring out what exactly you are blogging about. It may very well be that you have a very specific topic in mind and are doing an excellent job covering it. At the same time, it’s likely that I wouldn’t be the only reader left somewhat in the dark. Solution? Be clear in telling your readers the purpose of your blog and what you hope to accomplish
Second. The actual layout/template of your blog is a nice one but is more suitable for other niches. Your blog, http://imuslimislamic.blogspot.com/, looks like it could use more of a magazine style template. Google some templates and I’m sure you’ll find something for your needs. Also, be sure to check back here at The Muslim Blogger – I’m sure you’ll find more on this topic.
Third. You mentioned that your English may not be top notch — and that’s ok. What you can do though is spend a few more minutes before each blog post to proofread it. If you have someone that can look over it for you…a friend perhaps or fellow blogger.
Fourth. Interact with your readers. This is a crucial point that I will emphasize throughout this blog. Tell your readers if you want something from them. Don’t assume they’ll just know to respond or comment just because it’s a blog.
Anyhow, all blogs require work and each needs improvement in different ways. I hope I provided you with some pointers. Be sure to come back to TMB often and give back to the Muslim blogging community in whatever way you can – providing meaningful comments is a good place to start.
Thank you, I agree with the design, I am planning of using dark template with more visual interaction. (but that’s need some time to choose and decide)Anyway, for now its good to continue posting, even though its not so well blend with the template seems I already have a few unique readers (especially from RSS). I know that because if i don’t update my bog, I could easily see a significant reduced in visitors. Thank you, your comment… is well researched (by you) and thank you for your time in helping me out.
http://www.alarabia.co.uk – please check out my design
Asalamalaikum Brother,
I have started a new blog for personal development for muslims and have found your articles very useful. I certainly have a tendency to write longer paragraphs, without thinking too much about the medium used to convey my message in this case the internet. I will endevour to revisit some of my artilces on my site and apply what i have learned on your site.
Shukran Akhi