2022
Welcome to the #ConnectWritingChallenge! If you’re new to this challenge and don’t know anything about it, please have a read of this post and then come back here… I’ll be waiting! 😉
In this global community, everybody is going to have a different level of writing competency; some will be very comfortable with writing and some may struggle to get past the first word! I am going to start off by keeping things super, super basic because I think it is very important to just get your foundations right. At this level, don’t worry about going fancy as I’ll cover that in the next post!
At the end of this post, you will learn the following:
- The three main items that makes a basic post; Title, Photo and Content.
- Tips on title creation.
- Tips on choosing your photo.
- Tips on content creation
There will be ideas at the end of the post to help you get going and peppered throughout the post are helpful links for those new to Connect and/or writing!
If any of these traits describe you, then this post should be perfect for you:
- Struggling to know what to write; you are a person of few words.
- Not sure what the format of writing should be.
- Don’t really edit photos or use any photo editing apps.
- New to Connect and getting used to all the tools available.
As mentioned above, to create a very basic but good post, you only need to focus on title, photo and content! They all work hand in hand and having all three gives you the best starting point. If you think of your post as a movie, then the photo is the poster that attracts the readers’ attentions, the title is like a movie trailer that gives the readers a hint of what the post is all about and seduces you into clicking it. And your post is the movie, where you, as the creative director, weave a magical story that excites and enlightens the readers! So, here are my tips!
Title Tips
- Creating a catchy title can be difficult. If you are struggling, then stick to something simple and don’t overthink it. Use combinations of the 5W+1H prompts (What, Why, Who, Where, When, How).
What + Where = A Review of the Best Bakery Shop in Manchester
Who + Where + How = Italy Local Guides Explores the Colosseum on Segways
- Be descriptive; make sure it clearly describes what your post is all about. You can also use keywords such as “recap”, “how-to” etc to clearly define the topic. A couple of examples from the community:
[Recap] Let's Clean The Beach (Batu Ferringhi) by @KashifMisidia
How to plan a perfect Food crawl - Six Cafes In Sixty Minutes by @Explore_Keshav
- Be original! This relates a lot to the Connect Live application where folks literally copied the prompts given and had their posts titled “What I love sharing the most on Google Maps and why” or “My Connect Live 2019 Application”. Yes, it’s descriptive but it’s the same as so many others and it doesn’t stand out from the crowd!
- Inject some fun/humour to grab attention! The following are made up titles:
“Kuala Lumpur: I Love You 3000” - This could be a travel post on why you love Kuala Lumpur (capital of Malaysia) whilst referencing the Avengers movie!
“Super Duper Burgers.. You Had Me At Garlic Fries” - This could be a review post of the Super Duper Burger chain.
“My Secret Love Affair with Cakes and Coffee” - This could just be me feeling super hungry whilst writing this post. Sorry!
Photo Tips
- Start your post with a photo! Right at the top of your post, just add a photo! It’s that simple.
- Always add a photo! It really helps to catch the attention of readers and makes your post stand out! Just look at how boring my posts turned out when I didn’t add any photos!
Caption: Image showing a wall of post and the cover thumbnails presented
- Also, take a peek at the How-to section, browse through the numerous posts there.. what do you think? Will adding a photo to your post make you stand out?
- Ensure the photo follows the guidelines for original content. Basically, make sure you’re the owner of the photo or have received permission from the copyright owner! If you’re unsure, just start off with using your own photo.
- Pick a photo that is relevant to the content you are writing about!
- Pick a good photo where the subject of your photo is clearly visible. I would also recommend picking a photo in the landscape orientation instead of portrait! Only because the thumbnail for the post will appear at its best.
Content Tips
- Storytelling is very important: what your post is all about and how you tell it will determine how good your post is.
- Split your content into three main sections: introduction, main, summary. At the simplest, write three paragraphs, one for each section.
- Introduction basically starts off the post and leads the readers into your story. It sets the scene and tells your readers what your post is all about, what makes it compelling and why they should read it. Sometimes, you may want to use this to quickly introduce who you are as well!
- The main section is where you can go into greater detail about your chosen topic and be as informative as you can.
- Be concise! And yes, this is something that I really struggle with! Being able to convey a message with as few a words is a great skill to have!!
- If you’re stuck for things to write, again just use the simple Who, What, When, Why, Where and How question prompts to help out! Write about things that would be of interest to the readers!
Some examples of questions to ask:
Who = Who are the folks involved in your story?
What = What exciting things did you do? What did you learn? What did you eat?
When = When did this activity take place?
Where = Where did this activity take place?
Why = Why did you choose that place/activity?
How = How did you get to the place? How much did it cost? How was the ambiance?
- Summary is where you can wrap up your post. Provide a short ending/conclusion to your story and perhaps, use the opportunity to reach out to your readers and find of what they thought of your post or if they have questions.
And that’s it! It may look like there’s lot to take on board (or it could be that I write too much!) but trust me, it’s easy once you’ve tried it a few times. And practice makes perfect!
So what do you do now?!
1. Pick a topic. Something familiar or one that you’re passionate about would make it easier!
2. Follow the tips above as closely as you can, and start writing!
3. Include the following at the bottom of your post:
Thanks for reading this #ConnectWritingChallenge post!! You can click here to find out more about the challenge and what it takes to make a great Connect post! And feel free to let me know what you think about my post! Do you like it? Do you think it makes for a great reading?
4. Submit your post! Optional: you can tag me in your comments if you want me to have a read of your post!
5. Search Connect for #ConnectWritingChallenge and see what others have written. Leave comments/feedback on their post; did they do well, was there any areas to improve?
6. Sit back. Have a slice of cake! Or whatever it is that you like!
By the way, if you’re new to Connect and you don’t know where and how to write a post, you can read this really clear and helpful post by @AriMar (I would also recommend folks to check her profile and look at all the amazing posts she has done!!). And if you’ve applied for Connect Live 2019, you should be familiar with this post too which has tons of fantastics tips!
Ideas for your post!
Stuck for things to write? Still not sure what you should cover in your post? Well, I’ve done a bit of brainstorming for you and came up with a few ideas to help you get going!
Photography
Photo: Pick a picture that you’ve taken recently that you’re really proud of
Title: What + How e.g. “My Town Hall Taken with a Pixel 3”
Introduction: Briefly introduce yourself, maybe talk about your passion in photography (if you have one)
Main: What is the picture about, where was it taken, when was it taken, why you love it, why you want to share it with the community, how did you take it
Summary: Ask the readers if they like your photo, do they have any advice to make it better, do they have any similar photos that they would love to share
Travel
Photo: Pick a picture showing your favourite holiday destination
Title: Where + What e.g. “Isle of Skye – My Home Away From Home”
Introduction: Tell us a little bit about who you are, what the post is about, what the readers can learn from your post
Main: Introduce your favourite holiday destination, where is it, what is the weather like, when is the best time to visit, what exciting things can you do there, how much would a trip cost (rather than providing actual value, you can say it’s cheap/average/expensive)
Summary: Briefly summarise why you would recommend this place, ask readers if they have been to somewhere similar, ask readers to submit their own favourite holiday destinations
Food & Drink
Photo: Pick a picture of a dish you had recently
Title: What + Why e.g. “Porridge.. Plain to the Eye, Heaven for the Tummy”
Introduction: Tell us something about the dish, why you want to share it to the community
Main: What ingredients go into the dish, where did you have it, is it something that you eat regularly, is it a cultural dish, are there any health benefits (or just sinful joys!), is there anything special about it
Summary: Briefly summarise the qualities of the dish, would you recommend it to others, ask readers to share a dish that they had recently that was memorable
Coming up next
In my next post in this series, I will be covering intermediate skills to further improve your post! Everything gets upgraded from learning to edit your photos, creating photo collage, adding links, videos, photo albums, and getting more adventurous with your writing!
And that’s it folks for this post on Basic Tips for the #ConnectWritingChallenge. I tried to cover as much as I could and hopefully, there is sufficient guidance to help you get started. If you have any feedback, tips and suggestions that can help improve this post, feel free to add them in the comments below. This is a community driven challenge aimed specifically to improve the overall quality of posts so please do share with your friends!
Just a bit of a note to the (already long) post above, I kept the requirements for a basic post as simple as possible (i.e. title, photo, content) so that for those who struggle, the learning curve is hopefully not so steep and it doesn't become too daunting! Also, don't forget, you can write your post in your own native language!! So, get going and enjoy!!!
Another great, informative and detailed post. During reading your post the same point was in my mind about Native Languages, and I just find it in your comments.
Yes writing in native languages is the also a great way to express what anybody feels.
I love your post, and it will help me more and hundreds of local guides here on connect. And I m happy to see the link of Clean The beach in your post. This is honour for me.
Shurkiya 🙏 Adrian.
