Blogging 101: how to get writing and be heard

One of the best parts of being over 60 is that we have a wealth of knowledge to share. Whether it is grandparenting advice, travel stories or uplifting or moving stories, we all have something valuable to say. If you’ve heard the words ‘blog’ or ‘bloggers’ thrown around, but aren’t sure what it means, we can explain: blog is a shortening of the word ‘weblog’. If you blog, you are a blogger.

Blogs are essentially just a website or web page run by an individual or small group in a conversational or informative style. You can tell the difference between a blog and a website… a blog is more informal and personal. It’s usually not written by a professional, but more so by someone who is an expert or perceived expert on a topic. There are a lot of mummy bloggers out there and now we have a world full of mum-written blogs, sharing information on childrearing, life, juggling parenthood and general gripes of women aged 20-45. But when you look around for blogs by over 60s, there isn’t as much out there. In fact you will struggle to find much at all, which is why we Starts at 60 exists…we started as a blog!

We want to encourage you and help you to become the best bloggers you can be… and maybe one day blog for Starts at Sixty. If you love to tell your stories and want to share your lessons, with a little effort, we can be your blog, your audience and your entertainment if you’ll let us.

But blogging isn’t something all people can do naturally and well, so we will start you off with a little bit of blogging advice on how you write as a blogger. Hopefully many of you will be keen to try your hand!  Here at Starts at 60 we welcome over 60s to blog to our community that reaches hundreds of thousands of over 60s in Australia and New Zealand.  In fact, our blog, with approximately 800,000 pageviews per month is a great place to publish and we urge you to consider it.

So here are a few tips if you think you could be a budding “blogger”.

1.  Set your tone and voice… Decide on the tone and objective for your blogging voice. Some people choose to write reflective blog, some blog in a more commentating style. Some are comedic, some dramatic and some are deadly serious.  But one thing is important when building a voice for your blog on our site…be consistent. People will read your articles here and get to know you and enjoy your style and they’ll come back next time looking for more…

2.  Think about the hot topic… Blogging is meant to be topical and current; it is meant to talk about issues that matter to you and to others, inviting them into a conversation, so think about this before you start writing an article. What are you inviting them in to read about and what do you want them to think and do at the end of reading?

3.  Be unique… Don’t be afraid to give your blogs a feeling that people don’t see anywhere else. We’ve seen it already here on the site with some of our bloggers who have a very unique style of writing that touches people, keeping them reading on.

4.  Find controversy… People love to have their own opinions, it is human nature. So rather than avoid controversy, invite it in. Active discussion (in a polite and managed way that is respectful of all involved) can be very entertaining for all involved.

5.  Get personal, if you want to… You might just find that by blogging regularly you become a minor celebrity in the audience… us. It is okay if you want to share personal stories, pictures and human interest that help you build a bond with your reader – it makes us want more.

6.  Be passionate…. It is always best if you write about something you are passionate about. You’ll have more opinions, more insight and offer more value. Whether this is the story of when you conquered cancer or your grey nomad adventure, passion comes from the strangest places.

7.  Create content people can’t find anywhere else… This speaks for itself: the internet is a big place full of writing and we want to stand out, so let’s be different and write for the people we have here, our Starts at 60 community.

If you fancy yourself as a blogger/writer/teacher/advice giver or anything else, we invite you to submit us your blog of 600-800 words… [email protected] ! Let’s start a movement of over 60s writing and sharing their thoughts opinions and experiences, just like the mummies and the business bloggers do. Don’t forget to send a 100 word blurb and headshot. We’ve got nearly 800,000 views a month by people who want to read real stories from real over 60s and chat about them.