Why write a blog?

Blogs allow you to share your experiences with others online. It provides a direct way of helping others facing similar challenges and could also help you by talking through your situation, online, with others.

Many people who write blogs find it rewarding to get comments back from readers, and it can help them think about their own situation in a new way too.

How to write a good blog

Writing posts people want to read depends on speaking honestly and openly about a subject you're passionate about, even if it means not everyone will agree with your point of view.

A post can include a link to some thought-provoking webpage or relevant news story but you still need to put your own stamp on the entry. Adding a link, image or video to your blog post can be a great way to illustrate a message but you will still need to make your own point.

Blogs do not need to be long. Remember that people read quickly when they're online and will rarely spend more than a couple of minutes on an individual post.

What to write

This is of course up to the individual, but typical blogs might include:

• Recent day-to-day experiences
• Life or events following diagnosis
• Tips or observations (negative and positive) about living with your condition
• New research you have come across

Quick tips

Here are some handy hints on writing a good blog:

• Keep it short – a blog is not the place to write a long story
• Don’t be shy! Members of the community want to hear from you
• Write about your own experiences and, where possible, make it helpful or useful to the reader
• Use the title to draw people in and to help show the readers what your blog post is about
• If you get good feedback or comments, reference them in future posts – you can increase the sense of community by involving your readers this way
• Don't write in all capitals ('flaming'). It's difficult to read and looks angry. This goes for the title as well as the post
• Watch your spelling and try to follow basic rules of English – it will really help readers to understand what you're trying to say (you can write the blog in Word first to help use the spell check and edit before posting)
• Read through your blog from beginning to end to check it before you hit 'publish'
• Add clips from YouTube by copying and pasting in the YouTube address – it will appear as a small screen in your post
• Add weblinks for references to reports, etc. by cutting and pasting in the link from a website
• Remember you can edit your content after posting by clicking on 'edit' next to the post

If you have any questions about blogging or any other way of getting involved in your HealthUnlocked community, please email communities@healthunlocked.com.