Here you’ll find suggestions and tips for writing on Soccerlens.

Every step here is designed to help you kick more ass as a writer - so please take the time to go through this list at least once, and try to adopt these suggestions in your blogging.

Topics Covered:

• Categories
• Spelling and Grammar
• Image Handling
• Post Structure
• Writing Headlines
• Conversation Bait
• Attracting Links
• Mastering NewsNow

Soccerlens-Specific Advice

1. Categories

You’ll find the ‘Categories’ panel on the right of your ‘Write’ box - it’s the first panel. Select the right categories for each article - because there are 100+ categories it’s daunting at first but they are organised in the following order: Columns, Competitions, General, People, Teams. Each of these 5 sections have sub-categories - spending a few minutes familiarising yourself with this will save the editor a LOT of time in the long run.

You can choose multiple sub-categories (and you should), but don’t go overboard - use the ones that apply to the subject, not those where there’s just a brief mention. For example, an article on Portugal that mentions Ronaldo in one sentence will not have ‘Ronaldo’ as a category, but if that article had a paragraph or more on CR, then you would add his sub-category to the list too.

The ‘Features’ sub-category puts your article on the front page. Since only editors decide which article hits the front page, there’s no need to use this sub-category - the editor will decide for themselves.

If there’s a certain category that’s not on the list, email us and we’ll add it.

Note that the top-level categories (Columns, Competitions, etc) shouldn’t be selected, they are there just for organisation - just pick the sub-categories.

2. Image Handling

If you’ve been reading Soccerlens for some time, you would have noticed that many articles (all featured articles and some non-featured ones as well) have an image at the top. How this works is that the first image you upload on your post slots right into that image spot at the top of the article (thanks to a quirk in WordPress, you have to save your article at least once (even if you’re saving a blank post) before the image is properly assigned to your article).

Keep this in mind when you’re uploading images. The width of any image in the first slot should be 340px maximum (to allow for the ad space on the right).

You can use online editors like Snipshot or Picnik to adjust the image size (if you don’t have a desktop-based tool available to you).

General Blogging Advice

3. Spelling & Grammar

Before submission, re-read your article carefully to weed out spelling and grammar mistakes. Since we’re almost always in a hurry, these mistakes tend to slip through and it’s important to catch them even if you have to read your article again.

It’s not so much that correct spelling will greatly improve the quality of your article - it’s just that a single spelling or grammatical error can tarnish the image of the writer and that of the website. For your own reputation and that of Soccerlens, please make sure you iron out any such errors.

4. Post Structure

Studies show that not only does the average user not stay long on a web page (most web pages are boring), they also don’t read much of it.

Rather than read word for word - web users ’scan’ pages for information - looking for key words, phrases and visual cues.

With this in mind, how can you structure your articles so that visitors can read and absorb more information?

• Lists - Posts with bullet point lists in them get more links and more comments than similar length posts written in an essay style. Lists allow you to break down information into digestable chunks (points), giving your readers maximum opportunity to absorb as much information as possible.
• Formatting - Reading blocks of similar looking text allow readers to get easily distracted and thus miss the point of your article. Use bold, CAPITALS, italics and underlining to emphasize key points. Don’t go overboard as you run the risk of frustrating your reader.
• Headings and Sub Headings - Using headings midway through posts helps with post structure and they are also great for drawing your readers’ eyes down the page and helping them find the parts of your article that will interest them most.
• Pictures - We use pictures a lot on Soccerlens - the idea is not only to provide images ‘relevant’ to the discussion but also to use them to deliver a subtle message that’s closely related to the article. Try to use images in your posts; they grab attention, emphasize points and they also act as a branding tool (using images in the news business is generally the realm of the mainstream media).
• Blockquotes - If you are picking up a one line quote from somewhere, use italics to highlight it. If you’re picking a long quote, consider using the ‘blockquote’ tag to emphasize the quote.
• Short Paragraphs - Web users tend to get lost in (and bored with) large blocks of text - break it into smaller bites and your readers stick with it for longer.
• Link to older articles - Link back to your older posts as much as you can. A lot of times I have people commenting on articles without context - i.e. they don’t know what I’ve said on this topic in the past. Linking back to older articles provides context AND sends more eyeballs deeper into your blog.

Advanced Blogging Tips

Once you’ve mastered the two sections above - proper writing and post structures - it’s time to move up and become a master blogger.

5. How to Write Great Headlines

When writing headlines, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• On average, most people read just the headline - very few find it interesting enough to click through to read the rest of the article. The headline is your main attention grabber, so work hard at it. The better your headline, the better your chances of people reading your article.
• The headline is your chance to tell the reader what your article is about. For this, you should make sure that the headline reflects what the article is about (instead of passing for a witty tagline).
• Keep your headlines short. If your headline has to be long, pack the powerful attention-grabbing material at the start of the headline.
• Headline writing gets better through practice. Learn by observing others (the headline structure, not content) and keep practicing.

The best resource on writing headlines - read it and practice it.

6. Conversation Bait

There’s a simple formula for writing articles that stimulate conversation:

• Pick a topic that evokes strong opinions. In football, diving and poor refereeing decisions is an ever-green topic for discussion. The history of a club’s kit, while informational, is not something that will invite as many comments (unless you tie it in with another element). You don’t ALWAYS have to write to invite discussion (informational articles are important and have their own space) but if your main goal is to get comments and start a discussion, pick the right topic.
• Don’t tell the whole story. If you’re going to argue all 3 sides of the story, there’s not much left for people to discuss. Pick one side, or if you want, make a brief case for both sides, and leave the loop open.
• Timing is important - discussing something that happened today or yesterday will get more comments than something that happened a week ago. Tie in your discussion topics to current events and trends, and you’ll notice an increased response as well.

As always, observe articles that are successful and learn from them.

7. Attracting Links

One of the goals of a blogger is to write articles that attract links from other bloggers and site owners (blogs, forums, mainstream media, etc). As opposed to ‘conversation bait’, articles that attract links (linkbait) don’t necessary have to attract a lot of comments. A perfect example of linkbait would be the 07/08 premier league kits page, or the transfer season roundups I’ve done since Soccerlens started.

For a full discussion on what linkbait is and tips on how to write it, read these two articles:

The Art of Linkbaiting
The Link Baiting Playbook - Revisited

Some articles you write will be conversation bait, others linkbait. Keep in mind that every article you write must serve a purpose - and if it’s not entertaining readers, bringing more readers in or otherwise making a positive, material impact, then you should reconsider your angle on it.

8. NewsNow

Some tips for having your articles do well on NewsNow:

• Titles are EVERYTHING. See the type of headlines / post titles that do well - usually there’s a lot of hype and trash, but you’ll always find articles that do well because they offer something valuable to the readers. Go for value, don’t go for hype.
• Timing matters a lot on NewsNow - for popular feeds (Arsenal, United, Pool), mid-morning (10am-12am) and late afternoon (3pm-5pm) work best, but for NewsNow categories that don’t have many articles (less popular clubs), early morning or late night works just as well. The idea is to maximise exposure so you can get on the popular list for that club’s feed.
• CAPS in certain parts of the story can attract attention, but do that only if it’s that sensational (or breaking news).
• Discussion topics are always a crowd favourite, especially if you get on top of an issue before others.
• The rush of posts early morning and right after matches can drown your good posts out. Observe NewsNow and don’t make the mistake of posting at a time where your work will get drowned. Posting right after matches is especially a tricky one, although with a good headline and especially if you post late evening (UK time) an hour or so after the game, it can be good.
• Despite the benefits NewsNow brings, it’s useless if you don’t leverage it properly. NN is an excellent way to build a readership, but you also need to leverage that readership to help your site get traffic from other sources. Target bloggers / forum editors that read NewNow by writing interesting and funny stuff and you’ll get links and traffic from other sources as well.

Also, whatever you do, please make sure you read these 10 articles at least once and learn the 6 ways blogging differs from other types of writing.

If you have any questions / suggestions, please get in touch here.