Oluniyi D.Ajao

This blog post is part of a series of blog posts focused on how to blog more effectively.

In your quest to be a better blogger, you should read other blogs as well. Blogging is not just about writing and giving out opinion or information. It shouldn’t be a one-way traffic. Blogging should be a conversation – an exercise of giving and taking information. Therefore, it is very critical for any blogger who wants to stay relevant, to read extensively as well. I am listing some recommendations on the readings you should do as a blogger:

1. local blogs: identify high-quality blogs authored by good bloggers in your city, or country. Follow them by subscribing to their RSS feed so you are notified of new posts as they are published. Reading local blogs not only ensures that you stay in tune with information relevant to where you live, but can afford you the opportunity to know fellow bloggers with whom you can network, offline. Don’t just read however. When you find topics that are of interest, share your comments or blog about it. If you choose the latter, remember to quote from your source and link (or trackback) to the source as well. Local blogs can be a great source of inspiration as to what you write.
2. better blogs: identify classic bloggers you want to emulate in other countries. I am referring to accomplished bloggers who have a very huge following – those at the very top of their game. Follow their blogs regularly and learn from their writing style, blog layout, frequency of blog posts etc. Whilst learning, be careful not to copy them blindly. Plagiarism can only back-fire on your own blog in a very nasty way. I would explain the side-effects of plagiarism in relevance to blogging, in future.
3. global news website: mainstream media can be a great source of information. It is very difficult for any single blogger to match the power and reach of global news platforms like CNN.com, BBCNews.com, AlJazeera.net etc. Therefore, news websites are still the biggest source of breaking news from around the world. Reading from them regularly helps you to stay informed of the latest events around the world. Thus, your blog posts can be more relevant and timely when you share what you have/know about a recent event. There are a 1001 ways to use information you gather from news websites. You can offer more information where the news is about your locality, you can offer projections where the news is about an upcoming event etc. Quoting news websites when you are sharing factual information in your blog posts also give your posts some credibility.
4. books: there are two classes of books you should be reading:
   • books about the art of blogging: I need not emphasis that all the knowledge of the world is not yet available via the Internet. The bulk of it is still in books. It is thus critical that you identify books from credible authors that can help you in your quest to be a better blogger. I would offer a list of recommended books about blogging, in future.
   • topical books: this category of books is necessary if you are a niche blogger. Read books that are related to your subject matter. Example: You blog about African fashion. Reading books related to African fashion would make you more knowledgeable in that area. Your blog posts would be more insightful and you would command respect from your readers. You can even enrich your blog posts with quotes from such books. Whilst doing this, be very moderate and mindful of copyright issues.
5. Random blogs: You do not have to limit yourself to the recommended readings above. Stay in shape by visiting a blog aggregator like ghanablogging.com, regularly. You never know when you would come across a blog post you would fancy.

In summary, it is critical to read extensively, to be a better blogger, or to stay in shape if you are an ace blogger already. Whilst reading, be sure to assimilate good information to ensure that you give out good information yourself. Always learn from the best.

Have you been inspired by this blog post? Share it with others too. Did I leave out anything? Do you have questions for me? Go ahead and share/ask in the comments area. Happy Reading!

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