Why and How To Write a Technical Blog

Whenever you consider doing something new, there will always be two fundamental questions running through your mind. Firstly, Why? Once you are convinced with the Why, then the next immediate question is How? This blog focuses on addressing these questions, in terms of writing a technical blog.

Why Should You Write a Technical Blog?

• Writing technical blogs consistently creates a timeline to picturize your growth as a developer. Each blog you write is a photograph to see and cherish in the future.

• The best way to master something is to share with others the knowledge that you have acquired.

• Your peers will appreciate the fact that you went out of your way to help them solve a particular problem.

• By reading your blogs an employer will gain better insight on your way of thinking and can even deduce the quality of your code.

• There will ultimately be a time, when you remember writing about a method or a module, yet can't exactly recall the rules or syntax behind its functionality. Luckily, you'll have your blog post to refer to and remind you of what you had tried in the past, what worked and what didn't.

• Blogging is a way of practicing your critical thinking skills. Researching, collecting data, formulating that information into a widely comprehensible piece of writing, all require application of critical thinking.

How to Write a Technical Blog

Similar to software installation, there are a few prerequisites needed while planning a technical blog.

• Choose a topic.

• Make your goals audience-specific

• Have an Introduction, Explanation and Conclusion

• Get feedback and iterate (or) Self evaluate

• Publish

Choose a topic

You can’t get started on a post unless you have something to write about!

The simplest strategy is to write about what you already know. If you have spent a lot of time learning or doing something and you could explain it with ease and precision, then your blog would be a boon for the readers.

Another idea is to write about an area that generally lacks much content. But this involves extra research and effort.

One most common concern to people while blogging something is, what if someone had already blogged on this topic. Never let this thought hinder you. Sometimes you will understand things better when your friend explains it rather than listening to a lecturer. Isn’t it? You can always express your take on something. For all you know, it might turn out to be quite appealing to certain readers.

Make your goals audience-specific

Now your topic is ready.

You need to think who is going to read it and what value they would gain of it. Your goal needs to be specific enough to keep you focussed and drive you to invest complete effort on the topic you have picked.

Let’s consider this blog, for instance Audience: People who want to start blogging, especially about technical topics, but haven’t done it yet. Goal: To give people a concrete idea on the basics of technical blogging, to get them started.

Have an Introduction, Explanation and Conclusion

Introduction

Compose an introduction that is crisp and clear. Your introduction can convince the reader to either stay or leave. A reader should know what he is going to get out of this post by reading the Introduction.

Explanation

Now that you’ve told your readers what to expect, deliver it! Explain each and every point as well as you can. Use headings and subheadings wherever possible. Avoid using big paragraphs and try to use bullet points wherever possible. Small diagrams, tabular columns, flow charts are desirable.

Conclusion

Don’t end your post just like that. Your conclusion should be a walkthrough or a quick summary of all the things you have explained so far. Appreciate them for reading your blog.

The format I’m suggesting here isn’t the most creative, and there are certainly other ways of doing it. But a simple structure is the most direct and easiest way to start with.

Get feedback and iterate (or) Self evaluate

On completing the blog, you can either get feedback from your peers and friends or you can do self-evaluation and make it better until you are satisfied. The bottom line is to validate whether this post achieves the goals you have formulated?

While getting feedback from peers or friends, it is not necessary to work on every comment. Analyze every feedback but work on it only if you feel it is not deviating from the subject that you wanted to convey.

Publish

Now you are all set to publish your very first technical blog. Choose a nice platform to publish. Your job is not done with publishing, make sure to share it in the places where your audience are likely to hang out. This might include Facebook groups, LinkedIn, Twitter or any other platform.

And now, you’re done. Go get a coffee or take a walk - taking a blog post from start to finish is no small feat. Read any feedback and replies from the community so that you can keep improving. And when you have another idea, go do it again!