Eearlier in the week I asked readers to suggest their favourite free WordPress plugins. The response was great and I’ll pull together a compilation of the most mentioned ones in the coming weeks.

However I’d also love to get your suggestions on the most useful Premium WordPress Plugins.

Over the last few years we’ve seen more and more premium (or paid) WordPress plugins released. At first many bloggers were skeptical about paying for plugins but of late I’ve noticed a bit of a shift and more and more bloggers are willing to pay for quality premium plugins.

If you’re a blogger who has forked out a few dollars for a premium WordPress plugin – I’d love to get your feedback on which ones you’ve found most useful.

So which are your favourite Premium WordPress Plugins – and Why?

This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.

Premium WordPress Plugins – What are Your Favourites?

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It’s been a few days since I launched the latest ProBlogger eBook – Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers. Since that time we’ve seen over 1000 purchases of the book and have had some fantastic feedback.

Here are of the first reviews so you can hear what others are saying about it.

1. Clare at Women in Business writes

“The eBook shifted my perspective on the purpose and value of each blog post. Sure you can have your call to actions at the end of the blog post – but does the content you’ve written support and encourage your visitor to take that action?” Read the full review

2. Ali Hale writes

“While reading, though, I was struck by how useful this book would be for many newer writers in the blogosphere. I see basic grammatical mistakes every day, and I also see posts which are fundamentally sound but poorly structured or formatted. It’s so easy to lose attention online, and this ebook would be invaluable to bloggers who are struggling to build an audience.” Read the full review

3. Kristi from Kikolani writes

“In addition to the checklist, the beginning of the ebook gives you 10 questions to ask about your blog as a whole, as well as 11 questions to ask before writing each post. If you refer to these answers as you write each blog post, your writing will not only improve, but you should also see better reader engagement with your posts as well.” Read the full review

4. Paul from Blogging Teacher Writes

“When you find a weakness in your writing all you need to do is look up that section in the ebook, learn how to improve that part of your writing, and put it into practice. In no time it will become second nature and you’ll be writing high quality blog posts with complete ease.” Read the full review

5. Jennifer from Gurls Asylum

The Copywriting Score Card for Bloggers is a great product for all writers, especially those writing for the web. It shows many blog copywriting secrets in a way that is easily understood. The topics are actionable and often have a nice tip to help you use the topic better.” Read the full Review.

6. Stanford from Pushing Social

Check out this cool video review of the Scorecard – Stanford gives some thoughtful and considered analysis.

Updates and Price Increases

The feedback has overwhelmingly been a positive so far – however we’ve also had a couple of good suggestions on how to make it better. Glenn and I are already talking about how we can update it (any update will be given to those who already have it for free) to make it even more useful and anticipate having a significant update by the time the price goes up on 1 September (again, if you buy it now you’ll get the update free).

Keep in mind that the current price of $9.97 USD is an introductory offer. We’re putting the price up on 1 September. We’ve previously said that the price will go up to $14.97 USD but the feedback we’re getting is that it is worth more and with the updates we’ll most certainly put it up beyond that mark.

So to secure it at the introductory discount grab your own copy of Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers now.

This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.

6 Reviews of the Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers

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You’re about to hit Publish on your next blog post – but is it up to scratch?

• Is it compelling?
• Is it easy to read?
• Is it grammatically correct?
• Is it optimised for search engines?

Wouldn’t it be great to have an editor by your side to look over your next blog post before you hit Publish, to make sure it’s really ready?

Today I’m excited to announce a brand new ProBlogger resource – The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers. It’s a system to help you get your posts ready to publish and well optimized for readers… and Google.

I’ve been working on this for months with another Great Aussie blogger and experienced Copywriter – Glenn Murray from Divine Write and am excited not only because it’s comprehensive and will help many bloggers – but also because for the next two weeks it is only $9.97 USD!

Why the Copywriting Scorecard is Important

As bloggers we know how important content is to the success of our blogs and we all know how those little things can make a big difference to the impact of that content.

We know the theory – but if you’re anything like me there are days where you hit Publish on posts that could be better.

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers is a downloadable eBook providing a list of recommendations to follow, as well as pitfalls to avoid, as you write that next blog post. It’s a checklist of things that are common in most great copywriting and mistakes that are commonly found in ineffective copy.

All up, there are 63 things to consider, all comprehensively explained and divided into these four easy to read sections:

1. Writing — How to write engaging compelling posts.
2. Scannability — How to ensure your posts are easy to scan read.
3. Search engine optimization (SEO) — How to write posts that Google will like.
4. Grammar — How to avoid errors that undermine your credibility.

Then, once you’ve read the recommendations, simply print out a scorecard, check how many recommendations you’ve incorporated into your post, then add up your score for a total out of 100. The higher your score, the more effective your post is likely to be (I scored 91/100 on this post).

Using the Scorecard you’ll quickly identify things you can improve to help your post reach its full potential – all before hitting Publish

In addition to the printable Scorecard – you’ll also get plenty of teaching explaining each element as well as 2 additional chapters of teaching – one looking at principles to consider before you start writing and another on writing your posts.

What Others Say about the Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers

We made this ebook available to a small group of friends and readers – here’s what some of them have had to say.

Brian Clark – Editor of CopyBlogger

“I’ve built a multimillion dollar business not only by teaching the intersection of blogging and copywriting, but by using it. The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers provides clear guidance on how to put this powerful combination to work for you, too.”

Leo Babauta – Editor of ZenHabits.

“This little guide contains a goldmine of blogging insights. It’s years of expert wisdom distilled for beginners. Blogging is an art form, but this brings some order and science where none existed before.”

James Chartrand – Owner of Men With Pens

“The ProBlogger Scorecard reveals some best-practice techniques I use every day at my blog – and even some I wished Darren and Glenn would’ve kept a secret! It gives a clear checklist to bloggers who are serious about becoming my competition, and it provides a ton of practical info to freelancers ready to build a business through blogging.”

Clare Lancaster – Editor of Women In Business, Nett Mag Columnist and Forbes listed woman to follow on Twitter.

“What I like most about this book is the practical business approach it takes to blogging. The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers focuses on the core activities you need to do well in order to have a profitable blog. That is, knowing what actions will improve your business and crafting your blog posts so that readers perform those actions.

Being able to tap into Glenn’s 8 years of copywriting experience makes the price of this eBook a steal. For those of us who are blogging for passion AND profit, The Copywriting Scorecard is a must read.”

There are more testimonials from others who’ve already read this eBook here.

Grab Your Copy Today

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers is available to download now. As a launch special we’re making it available for two weeks at 33% off – which means instead of $14.97 you can grab it today for just $9.97.

• Get full details on the Scorecard here
• OR… order it directly and get instant access to it as a downloadable PDF here

Note: if you’re interested in promoting the Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers as an Affiliate check out the details of our program here.

This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.

How Well Do Your Blog Posts Score Out of 100?

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A Guest Post by Glenn Murray from Divine Write.

It’s true. Bloggers do it better. The good ones do anyway.

See for yourself: Choose a handful of your favorite blogs and a handful of static websites, and compare the writing.

(TIP: Try to choose sites that look professionally designed, as they’re more likely to have professionally written copy.)

Which ones grab you? Which ones keep you reading? Which ones are friendly and full of personality, and make you feel like you’re part of a conversation, not on the receiving end of a lecture?

Guaranteed, it’s the blogs. (As a copywriter myself, this is a painful admission. But it’s true.)

It seems counter-intuitive, I know. After all, most copywriters write for a living, whereas most bloggers just wish they did. And most copywriters are trained, qualified, experienced writers, whereas most bloggers are trained, qualified and experienced at something else entirely.

So why are your favorite bloggers writing more effectively than most copywriters? I’ve thought long and hard about this, and I see 8 main reasons…

1) They know what they’re writing about

Most copywriters write about something different every day. Especially freelance copywriters. And it’s rarely something they’re even interested in, much less something they know a lot about. Sure, we can interview our clients ‘til the cows come home, but there’s only so much you can learn that way. (That’s why the best copywriters are those with a lot of life experience and broad business experience.)

Your favorite bloggers, on the other hand, are writing about their own niche expertise. They know their subject matter inside-out, and they’re passionate about it.

So they’re more informative, accurate and helpful.

2) They have a more immediate and real incentive

Most copywriters write about other people’s products and services. Rarely their own. And they’re usually paid by the hour or by the job. Very few of us write for royalties or on a performance basis. In other words, we get paid for our work, not for our results.

Your favorite bloggers, on the other hand, are selling their own stuff. (Yes, this applies to affiliate links and banner ads too. The end product may not be theirs, but the click is — the click’s their product.) And they get paid only when they write effectively. When they engage their readers and compel them to act — e.g. click a banner ad or click thru and buy an affiliate product.

So they’re more results-focused.

3) They know their audience

Most copywriters have only a relatively vague knowledge of their audience. They don’t get to meet readers or even talk to them. And half the time their clients aren’t any better informed. Even when they’re the business owner, they tend to know their product a lot better than they know their audience.

Your favorite bloggers, on the other hand, know their audience intimately. For a start, there’s a very good chance their readers are like them, with similar interests and goals. (The readers are reading their blog, after all!) They also interact with their audience on Twitter or Facebook, and in their comments.

So they know what to say to their audience and how to say it.

4) They’re not writing for clients

Copywriters have to write for their clients, because the client is the gatekeeper. It can be the best copy in the world, targeting the actual audience perfectly, but if your client doesn’t like it, it won’t see the light of day. Copywriters always have this nagging at them. It’s like one of those cartoons where there’s an angel sitting on one shoulder and a devil on the other. Only in this case, there’s no angel. Ask any copywriter and they’ll agree that most clients have no idea what their audience really needs to hear. They know about their product, and they want to talk about all the stuff they think is cool, even if their target readers won’t give two hoots about that stuff. And then you have the old-school grammar-nazi: “You can’t start a sentence with ‘And’! I know because my high school teacher told me so in 1964.” Don’t get me started on the old-school grammar-nazis…

Your favorite bloggers really have it over us here. They write direct for their readers. There’s no suit-wearing, check-book-wielding, middle-aged middle-man, getting in the way. There’s just them and their readers.

So they write what needs to be written.

5) They get immediate and real feedback

Sure, we copywriters know when our clients are happy, but we rarely hear anything about what our readers think. Or how they respond.

Your favorite bloggers are on the front line. They know what their readers think and how they respond, because they have access to comments, click-thrus and subscription stats, not to mention Twitter, Facebook, and so on.

So they’re more responsive to their readers.

6) They’re not writing for themselves

There’s no getting around it. Copywriters see themselves as artists: They love to write for the sake of writing. Unfortunately, this means a lot of copywriters value the art more highly than they value the commercial imperative. They try to make everything sound poetic or clever or witty or profound. Usually what readers actually want is simple, informative logic. (Sure, there’s an art to turning something complex, obscure and illogical into something simple, informative and logical, but c’mon guys, sometimes a sentence is just a sentence.)

Unlike copywriters, your favorite bloggers probably see themselves as business people or entrepreneurs, not specialist writers. They write only because it’s a means to an end.

So they don’t muddy the waters with pretentious writing.

7) They’re not writing for their teachers

I think I was wrong in point 5. There’s not just one devil sitting on the copywriter’s shoulder, there are two. One’s their client and the other’s their high school English teacher or college Literature professor. Sadly, most of us are taught that complex writing is quality writing. I remember when I started out as a professional writer in 1994, this was the very first thing I had to un-learn. Readers don’t want complexity, they want clarity.

Your favorite bloggers would probably rather spend their time counting their money than writing complex prose. (And most of them probably weren’t paying attention to their high school English teacher anyway!)

So they write more clearly and concisely.

They follow best practices

Most copywriters don’t follow best practices. Even those who know what they should be doing usually don’t have the freedom to do it. And the rest are too tied up in misguided rules, bad habits and blissful inexperience to get it right.
Whether they know it or not, your favorite bloggers do follow best practices. Some may have taught themselves those practices, some may have been taught by a copywriter, some may just have a sixth sense. But they all follow them.
So they know how to write very well.

So what’s it all mean?

It means your favorite bloggers write better than most copywriters because they aren’t pressured into writing badly. Nor do they write badly simply out of habit. They have the freedom, the incentive and the understanding to write what their readers need to hear, and to follow the best practices most copywriters overlook.

So they’re more likely to say exactly the right things, in exactly the right way.

Now excuse me while I duck for cover…

Glenn Murray is a specialist SEO copywriter. He heads copywriting studio, Divine Write. You can contact him on Twitter (@divinewrite) or by phone on +612 4334 6222. Visit http://www.divinewrite.com or for further details.

This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.

Bloggers versus Copywriters: 8 Reasons why Bloggers do it Better

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Over the last month several hundred bloggers in the SitsGirls and TheBlogFrog communities have come together to tackle 31 Days to Build a Better Blog together. The 31 days are coming to an end this week and I’ve been so excited to see how working through the workbook as a large group has helped so many bloggers.

Almost every day since the challenge started I’ve had participants tell me that their blogs have been growing as a result of participating.

I’ve chatted to a number of participants in the last few days to get their feedback on the workbook and to try to get to the bottom of why it has helped them (or how it could be better) and there has been one consistent piece of feedback that I think is so valuable that I just need to share it.

Image by sevenphonecalls

Here’s the thing:

Almost every person I’ve talked to has said most of the teaching and exercises in the workbook are things that they already knew that they should be doing. The problem was that while they knew it – they were not doing it.

For example – Day 5:

Day 5 of the challenge is to email one of your readers. The idea is to give someone a little unexpected personal attention, to get to know them and to help them in some way beyond what they might expect.

The principle is simple and the concept wouldn’t be foreign to any blogger. It’s something most of us know that would be a worthwhile experience but yet its something that so many bloggers would write off as not important enough to really do.

The reality is that if you did this once a day over a year that you’d have 365 readers (each with their own network) who you’ll have made an impression on.

The impact could be significant, particularly for a new blog, yet for some reason many bloggers are content just to have the knowledge that looking after readers and giving them some personal attention could help their blog – but never take action on it.

Example #2

This same theme came up as a result of the ProBlogger Training Day here in Melbourne two weeks back. Much of what we covered on the day was not particularly new or revolutionary (although for some it was). However this week I’ve had 3 emails from attendees saying talking about how they’ve already grown their blogging business (two doubled their readership and one told me that they’ve just started experimenting with affiliate marketing and are making over $150 a day!).

In each case I asked the blogger what it was that helped them and in every case they told me that they started doing something that they’d always said that they’d start doing.

This post is not a pseudo sales page for my workbook or training days (although sometimes when you pay for something you feel more accountable to take action) – the principle applies whether you use one of my products, read the free posts on ProBlogger or work on your blog alone. The key is to not be satisfied to KNOW how to improve your blog but to move beyond theory and do something.

What should you DO?

There are many things that help to grow a successful blog. In the 31 Days workbook I covered 31 of them but the list is almost endless.

One exercise that you might like to do today is to grab a notebook and pen and jot down as many things that you already know to do to improve a blog. Don’t go looking for ideas or reading more theory today – but make a list of things that you already know that could improve your blog and identify some that you will implement today.

For you it might be increasing your content creation (for those of you who’ve let your posting levels slip), for others it might be paying some more attention to current readers, for others it could be reaching out to other bloggers in your niche, for some it might be about developing that eBook that you’ve been saying you’ll do one day…. the key is to move beyond the theory and do something.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

The Key to Successful Blogging: Do Something!

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One week ago today in Melbourne the first ever ProBlogger training day took place. What started as a spur of the moment idea less than 4 weeks before ballooned into a very worthwhile experience.

Originally I had thought it would just be a day for 10-15 bloggers gathering around a board room table talking about blogging – but it quickly turned into a sold out training day with 150 bloggers from around Australia (and one from New Zealand) packed into a hotel’s conference room to spend a full day learning about four aspects of blogging.

Speaking on the day were Chris Garrett, Yaro Starak, Collis Ta’eed, Pip Lincolne, Shayne Tilley from SitePoint and myself.

We covered four main ‘pillars’ of blogger:

1. Creating Killer Content
2. Finding Readers
3. Building Community and Reader Engagement
4. Monetization

Here’s Yaro, Chris and myself – and no we didn’t coordinate our clothing for the day but we’re wondering if perhaps jeans and grey shirts are the new blogger uniform. Image by TheCreativePen.

There was also a couple of panels and two case studies as well as a work-shopping session.

I wasn’t quite sure how we’d pull it all together in such a short time but considering there was only a few weeks lead time the event went swimmingly with loads of requests to do it again both in Melbourne and around the country (and overseas). I’m not quite sure when or how we’ll put on another one – but I do hope we can do something similar again.

A number of people kept great notes on the day so I’ve compiled the ones I’ve found below for those of you not able to be there. Some of them are blow by blow accounts so you’ll be able to pick up a lot of the tips touched on during the day. Also below is a video shot on the day by Lara from Social Rabbit asking attendees for tips on what they learned.

Summaries/Notes from the Day

• The Value-Add – Notes from ProBlogger Event Round Up (detailed notes – 6 parts with more pics)
• The Blog Stylist – 15 Useful Blogging Resources and Tools Discussed as a result of the ProBlogger Event
• Brendans Blog – ProBlogger Training Day Wrap-up and Part 2.
• Connecting Librarian – Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3
• NuffnangBetter Blogging Tips from ProBlogger Training Day
• Would You Travel 1846 miles for this man?

PS: we did record the day and are trying to work out what to do with the 7 or so hours of content recorded. One option is to bundle it into a DVD – if you’re interested in buying a copy please let me know in comments below to give us an indication as to whether it’s feasible to do so.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

150 Bloggers Pack Melbourne Hotel for ProBlogger Training Day

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You can’t ignore video. It’s everywhere online these days – but are you using it well?

Youtube is one of the biggest search engines on the web, almost every product that is launched these days has accompanying videos from the product makers and bloggers are embracing it more and more as a way to communicate with their readers.

The problem is that many bloggers don’t know where to start.

Experienced video blogger – Gideon Shalwick – has this week released a great report to help bloggers through many aspects of using video on blogs to make money. It’s called ‘Rapid Video Blogging: The new Way to Easily Dominate Your Niche through YouTube‘.

Gideon gave me access to his report a couple of weeks ago and I found it so beneficial in my own use of video that the day I read it I created 4 new videos for my own blog AND offered to write the foreword for it!

This 90 page report covers the following:

• 7 steps Gideon has used to dominate niches with video
• How to create high quality videos – fast
• Tips for Setting up a YouTube Channel
• Why Video is better than Just Text or Audio
• How to Optimize Your Videos for Maxmium Impact
• Tips on Videos
• How to Monetize Videos

In addition to the eBook Gideon’s put together 3 videos to accompany it (it wouldn’t’ be an authentic video resource without some vids!).

Also – Gideon tells me that he’s giving away 3 iPads to anyone who downloads his report and leaves a comment on a video on the download page. So far there’s less than 300 comments so you’ve got a better than 1 in 100 chance – pretty decent!

So if you’ve been looking to learn more about using video to grow your online business – check out Gideon’s free report today.

Update: apologies but the initial link I used went to the wrong page – I’ve now updated it.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

Discover how to Dominate Your Niche with Video Blogging [and Win an iPad]

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One of the biggest challenges for a new bloggers starting out in an established niche is to find a way to stand out from the crowd and find their first readers. Without existing profile and/or credibility – getting those first readers can be very tough.

To combat this a few years back a number of bloggers started to use ‘Guest Blogging’ as a technique to launch their blogs and grow their brands to new audiences. This technique launched many bloggers to prominence – including Leo Babauta, Brian Clark, Chris Garrett, Skellie, Jon Morrow (all of whom have guest posted on ProBlogger) and many many more.

Much has been written on the topic of how to use guest posting but one of the best resources that I’ve seen lately has been produced by Jon Morrow. He’s just released the first in a series of videos (#aff) on the topic and they are well worth watching.

I’ve seen the complete set of videos for myself and they are easy to watch, actionable and inspiring.

Jon himself has used guest blogging with great success – including this fantastic post on speech recognition for bloggers here on ProBlogger which helped many.

Jon’s first video is completely free (no opt in required) and is well worth watching. His future videos require an opt in but you’ll get a feel for whether they’re right for you from the first one. I watched them all and they’re excellent.

Do yourself a favour and set aside some time today to watch these videos.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

How to Use Guest Blogging to Grow Your Blog Exponentially

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One of the best new resources for those wanting to make money from blogging is a new eBook (and available as a ‘real’ book is How to Build a Successful Blog Business by Collis Ta’eed.

I had the opportunity to read this great new book last week and was really impressed by the mix of solid teaching, practical tips and fantastic case studies.

Collis Ta’eed is the creator of some highly successful blogging businesses – Envato, Tuts+, Freelance switch and AppStorm. He’s built something with his great team from scratch to be some of the most popular and profitable blogs going around. He’s someone that I respect so much that I’ve invited him to speak at the upcoming Melbourne bloggers day net week.

Topics in the book include a wide array of things including

• an introduction to
• teaching on how to plan and research your new blog
• tips on creating a brand, naming your blog, choosing domains and design
• a variety of teaching on staffing your blog
• content – how to write it, editing content, headline tips, evergreen content etc
• generating traffic for your blog – how to do it!
• monetization – teaching on an array of methods of making money from blogs
• building a long term business – expanding to multiple blogs and adding businesses to your blog

There are also 3 great case studies on the blogs that Collis has set up – these case studies are highly valuable in and of themselves and my favourite part of the book.

I found this 327 page book to be a refreshing read and one that I think will help a lot of people. For me the highlight was to get an insight into how another bloggers has approached his business – I picked up a lot of great ideas and know that anyone starting out will gain even more insight.

You can get a free sample of the book on the sales page for it (including full table of contents and the first chapter).

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

How to Build a Successful Blog Business

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This column is written by Kimberly Turner from Regator (a great tool that gathers and organizes the world’s best blog posts). – Darren

Man alive, I hate bringing you a list of blogosphere trends that includes both Lindsay Lohan and Jersey Shore—not to mention Sarah Palin. But I report the list, I don’t decide what’s on it (neither does Regator—it just calculates what’s being blogged about most this week). Then again, you might love Lohan and eagerly await the next episode of Jersey Shore. You may have voted for Sarah Palin. My distaste for those things is merely my opinion and, in giving it, I have given you a better sense of who I am. As a blogger, I am all for that. And you should be too.

If you look at the web’s top bloggers, you’ll find they have a couple of things in common: a unique voice, which we talked about recently, and opinions to share. As Darren pointed out, “Expressing opinions on your blog is like adding seasoning to food. Without it, your blog could end up being quite bland and blend into the crowd.” Reporting the facts is useful but adding commentary helps your blog stand out from the dozens—or hundreds—of blogs covering the same story. If you all have the same facts, it’s your viewpoint that will help remove you from the echo chamber. You are providing your translation of the story and encouraging your readers to see it in a new way.

Let’s look at examples of posts about this week’s top stories to see how sharing your opinions can enhance your blog and engage readers:

1. Shirley Sherrod – Michelle Cottle of The New Republic pulls no punches in “The End of Andrew Breitbart.” She rails on “conservative pseudo-journalism” and refers to Breitbart as a “toxic tantrum.” Be warned though: This technique is not for the timid. Cottle has a long history of writing highly opinionated pieces that have, no doubt, helped her build a tough skin when it comes to antagonistic comments. The most frightening thing about going from a blogger who reports news to a blogger who reports news with a viewpoint is that you will offend someone—particularly if you phrase your opinions in such a confrontational way. But you will also build a stronger relationship with the rest of your audience, particularly those whose stance is similar to yours (and those who enjoy a healthy dose of debate).
2. Facebook – Epicenter’s “Five Things That Could Topple Facebook’s Empire” is a far more subtle approach. Since no one knows what will (or could) harm the social networking behemoth, Ryan Singel’s list comprises his own ideas about the challenges Facebook faces. This sort of opinion-sharing/hypothesizing is far less likely to ruffle feathers than the first example. While searching for a post that shared original thoughts on Facebook, I had to rifle through literally hundreds that were simply repeating that Facebook has reached 500 million users and Facebook was being taken to court and Zuckerberg was interviewed on television. They all had the same facts with nothing to differentiate one from another. That is what you want to avoid.
3. Lindsay Lohan ­– Crushable’s “Poll: Should Celebrities Always Do The Right Thing?” shares the opinion that, due to her background, jail-bound Lohan should be allowed to make mistakes. The post follows up with “But maybe we are wrong!” and an invitation for readers to take a poll. One advantage of sharing your viewpoints is that it opens the door to the opinions of your readers and provides a venue for productive conversations. Your enthusiasm for a topic is contagious and much more likely to elicit a response than a straightforward repetition of the facts.
4. Comic-Con ­– While other nerd blogs were rejoicing in the glory that is Comic-Con, Techland’s Lev Grossman was busy writing “The Guy Who Hates Comic-Con Goes to Comic-Con, Part 1.” It stands out among the posts on the event and the humor of it is a fantastic cloak for what might otherwise have been construed as a bit of a whiny perspective. It is fun to read and, most importantly, it is the author’s brutally honest assessment of the convention.
5. Inception – Jim Emerson’s “Inception: Has Christopher Nolan forgotten how to dream?” post from Scanners does contain spoilers, so beware of that. But it also contains a unique perspective on the movie that I found compelling enough to share on my social networking pages. Emerson’s post shows the importance of providing supportive evidence to validate your opinion. Even those who do not agree with your assessment of a situation before reading your post may find themselves saying, “That blogger really has a point” if you provide enough reasons for your ideas.
6. Mel Gibson – Rufus F.’s “In Defense of Casting Stones at Mel Gibson” from The League of Extra Ordinary Gentlemen is a direct response to E.D. Kain’s “In Defense of Mel Gibson” from the same blog. That is the beauty of opinions; they are likely (particularly among dissenters) to provoke discussions in the comments and, if they are divisive enough, to prompt entire posts providing an alternate position. For the record, I’m not encouraging flame wars or knock-down, drag-out arguments; I’m advocating respectful two-way conversations between adults with different viewpoints. Keeping your tone positive and staying open to contradictory viewpoints will help maintain a healthy community and positive vibe. I learn a great deal from listening to those who disagree with me, and you will too.
7. Oil spill – “Gulf of Mexico,” which has been on trending for several weeks, has been replaced by “Oil spill” thanks to news that China is dealing with a spill of its own. How depressing. But I digress… Treehugger’s “In Defense of the Offshore Drilling Moratorium” takes the safest path to stating an opinion by defending the drilling moratorium. Sharing opinions is one thing, but sharing opinions that will alienate most of your readers (for example, a post titled “10 Best Steak Restaurants” on a vegetarian blog) is simply unwise. You don’t need me to tell you that.
8. Steve Jobs – Flip the Media’s “On Media and AntennaGate” cites the author’s own history as support of an opinion, making ample use of phrases such as “I don’t think so,” “I agree with him,” and “I doubt it” to make it clear that the blogger is providing her personal opinion. There’s no need to go overboard, but be sure that you aren’t phrasing your opinions in a way that could be misconstrued as fact.
9. Sarah Palin – From the moment you read the headline “I’m Telling You, Palin Has No Chance,” it is clear that Daniel Larison’s Eunomia post is providing a personal opinion. He acknowledges that “it’s risky to make absolute statements about anything…” but goes on to provide several reasons based on his findings. Again, this is a post that is a rebuttal to a post from another blog.
10. Jersey Shore –Portfolio’s “Here’s the Situation: Fire the ‘Jersey Shore’ Cast” provides its reasoning in the form of bulletpoints in what amounts to an open letter to the makers of the reality TV show. Open letters can be a fun and creative way to share your thoughts.

Are you opinionated on your blog or afraid of offending people? Let’s chat about it in comments.

Kimberly Turner is a cofounder of Regator.com and Regator for iPhone as well as an award-winning print journalist. You can find her on Twitter @kimber_regator.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

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