I’ve worked for many clients before, but none compare to Bayyinah. There is a certain barakah in the organization that subhanallah draws you so deep into your work.

In a recent survey, it was discovered the, least trusted professionals between various markets were found within the media profession; this included journalists, people in advertising, public relations and marketing. Six out of ten people said they don’t trust people in these professions. Ouch.

There’s this notion out there that if you’re in one of these fields, you’ll do anything to help your client, even if it means becoming a “spin doctor, a “deceiver” or even a “liar.” It’s that idea that says a person in one of those fields will say just about anything to serve their own interests. I guess it goes triple for someone like me who is in three of the four fields listed above.

I remember an article I wrote a little while ago that was posted on Muslim Matters about Bayyinah and the “Divine Speech” class. I’m sure anyone who has taken any classes with Bayyinah attest there is something different about this organization than others; something that you can hold dear to your heart.

Someone commented by saying, “Has anyone attended one of the classes? Please honest critique, I don’t want a marketing spin. Jazakum Allah kheir.”

I’m generally not a sensitive person, but I took offense to it. Even though the brother has somewhat a point to be skeptical, I guess I was just so sincerely writing the article out of the love I have for the organization, I indeed forgot I’m the public relations specialist.

This poses a problem for me. Press releases are great, mostly because editors of newspapers take what the want from the release and use their own names to write the article. For blogs and Muslim publications it’s a little different. They usually publish the article as it was sent, and accredit it to the original author. That’s great too, but it somehow tends to put this tint on the glass when people are looking through, so to speak. People now see the articles and see that it’s written by the marketing director and automatically think it’s no good.

When I started my PR firm, Minbar Media, I did so with the intention of only servicing clients I truly believe in and clients I could be proud to help out and bring with me on the day of judgment.

I’m going to remain true to my intention, inshaAllah.

The staff is so sincere and the volunteers I work with are all amazing, subhanallah. Currently, I’m working on a campaign to better acquaint the public with our other two instructors, Sheikh AbdulNasir Jangda, an Imam in Dallas, TX and AlHafidh Wisam Sherif who is currently studying in Egypt until the end of summer.

If people knew their work/style, they would love it. So be on the lookout for that campaign, inshaAllah.

More later, bi’ithnillahi ta’ala. I’m definitely extremely busy, but I’m hoping to update my blog often.

I think I might have to watch some of the things I write from now on, now that I’m not only representing myself but others who are pretty public figures or entities. Wallahu alem.

This article was submitted by Br. Faisal Tabassum, a member of my PR team who is currently studying Journalism at a university in the UK

Bismillah,

After recent news stories, I felt compelled to show you some typical techniques the mainstream media uses to make Islam look like its teachings belong back in the jungle with Tarzan. Insha’allah (God willing) these totally exposed blunders will make you a bit more perceptive to its ever increasing evil eye. Especially if you are Non Muslim – Here’s something they forgot to teach you in high school…

Number 1 – The Naming Blunder

The article is here.

Firstly I am pretty sure author ‘Mohamed Mohamed’ didn’t go to Islamic school when he was younger, as he definitely wouldn’t have learnt he is an ‘Islamist’. Muslims only found out this word when the media introduced it to us!

As you can see, the Media occasionally likes to create its own words. A bit like a chef who’s experimenting for the first time. Take for example Chef Ramzi:

Chef Ramzi: “Hmm, let’s see what ingredients I have to cook today.”

Ingredients – Extreme + Radicalist + Islam.

Chef Ramzi: “OK, let me see…”

*Chop Chop, Mix Mix, Swirl Swirl.*
*Covers with cling film…*
*Lets it settle for 20 minutes…*

Chef Ramzi: “… Islamist! There you have it! Perfect. No one will notice this!”

…Don’t be fooled.

Amongst other techniques used in this article are:

The Subheadings: ‘Law and Order‘, ‘Fear‘, ‘Death threats‘, ‘Not Islamic‘ – Coincidence? You better believe otherwise! These are there to psychologically scare a person into believing the dreaded Islam is: ‘coming soon to a village near you‘ so to speak, if you don’t do something about it.

At this point I’d like to say that:

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, should not hurt his neighbour and whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, should serve his guest generously and whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, should talk what is good or keep quiet.(i.e. abstain from all kinds of evil and dirty talk) “

[Narrated by Abu Huraira, Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Number 158]

I guess you should be afraid…

Number 2 – Statistics Show.

Statistics from this article reassure you that this overwhelming focus on Islam in the media isn’t a coincidence. “Where did all this sudden ‘radical Islam’ and terrorism come from?” I hear you cry. The answer is the same place ‘Islamist’ came from – Islam has become a nice target since September 11^th.

We get so much coverage that even Hindus’ and Sikhs’ are now complaining we get all the air time. Jeez guys – you can have it all back!

Number of faith programmes since 2001 the BBC has produced for:

Sikhism: 1
Hinduism: 5
Islam: 41

Seems like a much clearer pattern don’t you think?

Number 3 – Muslims get terrorised too – you just don’t hear about it.

Try and find this article in the mainstream newspaper. Yes you’ll be searching all year!

I know the person who wrote this article personally, so it is no fake. He also confirmed he attended all the court hearings. This very month marks the end of an innocent Muslim, Hassan Mutegombwa‘s first of 10 years in prison. Simply for saying “Insha Allah” (God Willing).

Please note his brother, Yassin Mutegombwa, does have some connection to terrorist activity, but he himself has done nothing and has no relation to what his brother does.

(You can find more information on this case by reading the report issued by Metropolitan Police.)

The above report shows no real evidence to prove he was guilty, just suspicions.

Note: they say he was going to do ‘hidra’ – It’s actually spelt ‘hijra’ and it means migration, so he was going to Uganda and staying there.

This is what the BBC and CNN should be reporting on – injustice – One of the main topics that makes an article newsworthy. Instead it is found on an American News Website virtually unknown to the UK general public. But maybe we can let them off this time. I mean, maybe they didn’t know about this story?

No way hosé.

The BBC did report on this case, when they were originally charged for terror offences (which later resulted in no proof but still a sentencing for 10 years).

So what does all this mean?

It shows that if you want to know about Islam and you ask someone who has only heard about it from the mainstream Media, they will most certainly tell you what the media has told them (which we have shown is mostly fear and misconceptions) and not what Islam really is.

That’s why we recommend you to ask the knowledgeable Muslims about Islam, and not the media (or Chef Ramzi!).

When you ask a Muslim about his religion, or even read about it yourself from recommended sites, you will be surprised at how much it differs from the jargon the media makes it out to be. So much so, that you may even be bedazzled!

With this approach, I pray you come to appreciate the beauty of Islam.

Faisal Tabassum.

Last Tuesday, Muslims went into elections booths justifying their vote by saying their intention is to go out and pick the “lesser of the two evils.” Alhamdulillah, there is nothing wrong with the intention. And It’s pretty apparent Obama is the lesser of the evils and a McCain administration would have probably been horrible fate for Muslims. But even if that’s the case, it does not absolve Obama from the status of evil (even if it is lesser.)

People’s intentions were not reflected by their actions. The intention went from picking the lesser of the evil to becoming a huge fan of the candidate as if he were their idol.

After Obama had been announced the winner, people were so excited as if he was going to be the best thing that happened to the Muslims. I heard Muslims saying slogans like “Barack Mubarack” and “Ba-Rocked the Vote!”

The question is, why are Muslims so happy with a man who does not want to be associated with us at all? What about the “Muslim Smear?” What about the hijabi woman who was removed from one of his rallies?

Honestly, we’re very naive. It’s like an abusive father who hits his children. The child thinks that because the father say he won’t hit him anymore, he’s safe now. But afterward, the child learns of how naive it was trust a man who gave no reason to believe that he would actually be different.

Muslims were of the belief that Obama HAS to praise Israel in order to win the election (which is true.) And after he’s elected president, he’s going to be on the Muslim’s side. How much more obvious can it be that this is NOT TRUE. After all, look at the first thing he did after being elected; he picked a Zionist for his Chief of Staff.

Muslims are humiliating themselves while the world watches. It’s like one of those instances where a person is doing something so embarrassing that no one has the guts to tell the person they are making a fool of themselves. Like a girl walking with toilet paper on her shoe. For those of us who went all Obama crazy, we’re the ones with the toilet paper stuck to our shoes.

I can’t help but cringe at the sheep-like behavior coming from us. As much as we’d like to think that we are different and cannot be brainwashed by media, It saddens me to break the news that if we were of the ones that displayed campaign-crazed behavior, we in essence were brainwashed because followed the herd; we became like the mindless sheep the media wanted us to become.

Persuasion is best done when it is seamless, and Barack Obama had all elements to a successful persuasive campaign. After all, no one can deny he is charismatic; he is the “rock star.”

And let me just say the media is very manipulative.

If anything at all we should look at this from a historical perspective, and nothing more. No one can deny that this is a big step for human rights. And as Muslims, we should be very happy with the progress made.

Be the Black sheep.

Wallahu alem.

If I haven’t been able to return your calls, answer your emails or even post very often on my blog in the past month or so, it’s because of how busy I’ve been with designing a campaign for a huge non-profit organization here in Baton Rouge called “Big Buddy Program.”

Big Buddy is like “Big Brothers, Big Sisters” in other areas, and much like “Boys and Girls Club.” They do mentoring and activities with often underprivileged kids.

There is so much to say about this campaign but I’ll save a lot of it for later posts.

Big Buddy gave me an advertising budget to work with. And I thought what better way to use some of that money than to make videos that encompass what Big Buddy really is. These videos will be going on their website (which will completely be redesigned in the coming days, my PR group all agreed it was the first thing to do since it’s baaad lol).

However, what’s even more exciting was the idea to produce PSAs (Public Service Announcements) to be broadcast on TV. Big Buddy has a very close, good relationship with all the local media, making my job as a PR person very easy; let’s just say, publicity is NOT a problem.

Big Buddy normally had someone that worked with them for doing video work. I asked to see samples, and let me tell you, it was like a cheese factory had exploded. They were the typical cheesy local commercials; low budget and overly priced.

Since working for Leechon, I’ve really come to appreciate the quality of Br. Belal Khan’s work. He makes complicated things seem pretty effortless. And the greatest example is in the video I’m about to show you.

I told the executive director of Big Buddy whom I’ve been working very closely with since the beginning of the semester of someone I have worked with who I think can do great video work for Big Buddy and for a great price. I had to convince Belal to give us a discount, and Big Buddy got him to come down and shoot some footage.

A group member and I sat there doing the interview with the kids and staff members, while Belal shot the footage. We literally came up with the idea for the PSA five minutes before shooting. I came up with a script, and read it line by line to the kids while they repeated after me. They messed up a couple of times, they were nervous at times but they were awesome. I thought editing this would probably take a lot of time and effort, but again when you see this video, Br. Belal made it look effortless.

So the following are the 4 different versions of the PSA that will be played on TV very soon. We created 4 different versions because:

1. We have an event we wanted to advertise that will take place on the 31st of October
2. Another event on November 18th
3. A general 30 second one to be played all year
4. A 15 second version to also be played all year

When you work in media you have to give TV stations every option to make their lives easier and in turn, you get the coverage you want.

Thanks, Leechon for producing these PSAs and I’ll follow up in the next couple of weeks with various aspects of this AWESOME campaign on this blog, inshaAllah.

And for the record Big Buddy went CRAZY OVER THE RESULT! THEY LOVEEEEEEDDD THE PSAs. In our meeting the executive director, Gaylynne Mack, kept telling me to replay the video, (and I was happy to do it!)

I showed my public relations professor and she said she was speechless.

___________________________________________________________________________________

****Watch them in high quality on YouTube****

Day of Mentor version of PSA:

Evening of Champions version:

30 Second- Serving Community PSA:

15 second version:

If you want to see the original clip, YouTube “Kill Mickey Mouse” It should be a clip about 1:22 in length.

The reason I’m not posting the original link is because I don’t want to support their YouTube channels which spew anti-Islamic content.

*Jazak Allah khair to my brother in law for sending this to me!

Such a claim is hard to make without stating what are the reasons that lead me to believe this, so bear with me if you will while I outline some incidents you may have missed:

1. The “Obesssion DVD” distributed through swing states.

Recently, as many of you have heard, supporters of John McCain distributed copies of the Fox News produced DVD “Obsession” through various swing states during this election year. “Obsession” is an anti-Islamic DVD aimed at fear-mongering. A dirty political stunt, if you will. They distributed it via mail but more relevantly, they paid major newspapers to have the DVD inserted within the fold as a sort of an advertisement.

How do the Muslims feel about this?

Angry. Seeing any clip from the DVD is enough to make your head boil. It’s the typical anti-Islamic rhetoric we’ve been hearing since 9/11. “Terrorist, Islamist, etc., etc.”

How did the recipients of the DVD feel?

Furious. Yeah, that was a surprise to me too.

Recently, in an article published in the associated press, discribed the some of the reactions and consequences to distributing the DVD:

Although a few papers refused to carry the DVD, about 70 including The New York Times distributed it on the grounds that rejecting it would violate the sponsor’s right to free speech. The decision generated letters, cancellations and even a protest.

“This is definitely the most feedback that I’ve gotten to an ad,” said Ted Vaden, public editor for The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. “It’s among the heaviest reaction I’ve gotten to anything. The great majority of the reaction was negative.”

Vaden said the paper received about 500 e-mail and phone messages and had some 50 cancellations. He said the paper may have sparked some of the complaints by writing a front-page story calling attention to “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West,” the DVD insert that critics have denounced as anti-Muslim propaganda.

Newspapers generally insist on giving a platform to a variety of viewpoints, but readers who complained were largely critical.

“I cannot believe that I was sent the hate-inflaming, fear-mongering video disk `Obsession’ in my newspaper!” Margaret Lewis of Durham, N.C., wrote to The News & Observer. “What will you enclose next? KKK robes?”

2. The Presidential Election

Obama, has a pretty good lead over McCain with the second of the presidential debates just ending – despite all the attempts at tying him in with Islam and “Terrorism.”

Recently, Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin made comments at a fundraiser regarding Senator Barack Obama attempting to reestablish this notion that the senator was tied to “terrorism.”

“Our opponent … is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he’s palling around with terrorists who would target their own country,” Palin told a group of donors in Englewood, Colo.

“This is not a man who sees America like you and I see America,” she said. “We see America as a force of good in this world. We see an America of exceptionalism.”

The Times reported Palin as referring to a man by the name of William Ayers, a member of the Vietnam-era Weather Underground, was exaggerated at best if not outright false. No evidence shows they were “pals” or even close when they worked on community boards years ago and Ayers hosted a political event for Obama early in his career.

In fact, the Times was particularly turned off by Palin’s statements:

In a post-Sept. 11 America, terrorists are envisioned as dark-skinned radical Muslims, not the homegrown anarchists of Ayers’ day 40 years ago. With Obama a relative unknown when he began his campaign, the Internet hummed with false e-mails about ties to radical Islam of a foreign-born candidate.

Whether intended or not by the McCain campaign, portraying Obama as “not like us” is another potential appeal to racism. It suggests that the Hawaiian-born Christian is, at heart, un-American.

It seems that the general public is sick of the fear-mongering and no longer blindly led to believe anything an opinion leader has to say, such as was seen in the aftermath of 9/11.

Nasru Min Allah, wa fathu Kareeb!

____________________________________________________________________________

So if there really is a different perception about Islam than we’ve seen in the years post 9/11, what is the cause?

Could it be that Islam is entering into every household as prophecized as one of the last signs before the day of judgment?

Perhaps mass media is not the best way to convey the message of Islam. That’s a weighty thing to say coming from a Muslim who went into mass media for the sake of Allah and spreading His deen. But my statement does not come without reason to believe that in order to really continue to change the world’s perception of Islam, we should continue with one-on-one dawah. Much like the example of the prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam during the early Mekkan period.

The following is a rubric for persuasion in mass media, that can very much be applied to Dawah for the sake of Allah:

Keep in mind:

Advertising and promotional media are controlled media, generally external to the (person/organization doing the marketing/PR work), that also offers access to large audiences.

News Media provide opportunities for the credible presentation of organizational messages to large audiences.

Organizational media are published or produced by the organization, which controls the message content as well as its timing, packaging and distribution.

Interpersonal communication offers face-to-face opportunities for personal involvement and interaction.

How does this all relate to the first part of the post?

Well, if we analyze the situation of Muslims in the West post 9/11 and see what is leading to this change in perception, we should analyze this model.

It’s pretty obvious that very few successful attempts at getting the proper message of Islam dissiminated through mass media whether that was advertising and promotional media, news media, and organizational media. Those in esence reach the greater audiences but dont have as big as an impact with regard to persuasion.

However, you’ll notice that interpersonal dawah efforts sky rocketed and this still remains the case, which is in my humble opinion I see is a big factor to the changing perception. It may happen slowly but there is no doubt that it is surely happening, wallahu alem.

With that said, the reason I went into mass media is because of the lack of Muslims with a proper understanding of the deen of Allah who are actually withing the feild of mass media. Sure, I’m still learning, but I hope that through my quest to seek knowledge it’ll help reach that larger audience, the mass media.

We generally cannot say that speaking to mass audiences is not effective at all — because it is. But when you throw in elements such as the guidance of Allah, planting the seed of iman in someone’s heart, and the barakah Allah ‘az wa jal has placed in your dawah, you will not only be able to reach mass audiences, but inshaAllah perhaps have mass persuasion as well.

WAllahu ta’ala alem.

*Note: I didn’t edit this post yet, please disregard all typos and grammatical errors… it’s been a long week.

May Allah accept from me and from you. ameen.

Surat Yunas:

Surat Al-Qiyyamah:

I often complain about living in Louisiana, after all there are only a few avenues to seek knowledge. But wallahi brothers and sisters one blessing Allah ‘az wa jal has given the Muslims here In Louisiana is the chance to become the Ansaar of Allah.

One week after coming back from Egypt, I’m welcomed by Hurricane Gustav. (Ahh, the genius behind the name “Egyptian Gumbo.”)

The shelves in the grocery stores are empty, people lining up to fill up their gas tanks, and the interstate starting to crowd with cars coming from New Orleans in hope to get out before the storm comes. Stores are even starting to put away the jewelry in a safe place in case of looting.

Every year I’ve been a student at LSU, we’ve always gotten days off the second week of school due to a hurricane — whether it struck or not.

I received calls yesterday asking me if I could help accommodate the sisters that will be coming to our masajid for due to mandatory evacuation in New Orleans. During Katrina, we had over 100 families stay in our small campus masjid.

A solider of Allah is coming, and we ask Allah ‘az wa jal to protect us from his wrath.

It’s truly a humbling experience to be able to help shelter people and tend to their needs. And I’d very much like to share it with the world. So if happens and the hurricane does come to Louisiana, I will try to document the efforts and the needs of the victims so that inshaAllah people will know exactly what is needed in order to help them. And perhaps i’ll try to get people’s personal stories. I can’t promise anything, because 1. We are unsure what the conditions will be like and 2. My priority will inshaAllah be helping people, not filming them — but if I have the opportunity and feel it will be beneficial, inshaAllah I will. — This is, if Allah protects us and averts any destruction from coming our way.

You don’t need a hurricane to help your fellow Muslims and non-Muslims. Ramadan is here, feed those who need food. Become an Ansaari.

May Allah protect us all, and bless us in Ramadan with His mercy and forgiveness. Ameen. Keep us in your dua, inshaAllah.

It’s time to offer a different type of analysis of an already huge story.

As most of you have heard, Why Islam has been under a lot of heat lately because of their attempt to do dawah on New York subways. The goal is to place ads within the subways that provoke thought with those who see the ads thus, drawing them to their website where they can learn more about Islam. The controversy? The controversy arises with the sponsors of the ads and some bigoted republican, Peter King, who is calling on the Metropolitan Transit Authority to take down the ads claiming Sheikh Siraj Wahaj, a supporter of the ads, is “linked to terrorism.”

I thought it was time for me to do my research and analyze the subway controversy.

As I was doing my research the first place I went to look for information was WhyIslam.org. To my surprise they had nothing on their Web site mentioning anything about the controversy.

This in turn, provoked me to write this post offering my advise to both Why Islam and anyone else who may be put in the situation of crisis communication (may Allah protect us from this):

1. Information on Web site*

From a public relations perspective, not having information on the website is not a very good idea. So far, it seems Why Islam has really defended themselves well, mashaAllah. However, in crisis communication you should always provide outsiders with information.

I understand that millions of people must have gone– and are still going– to the Web site. And I also understand the over all goal is to educate the public about Islam. However, know that millions of reporters are also going to the Web site looking for any information about the controversy and looking for any statements from the organization. This is perhaps the first place a reporter looks. So my advice to Why Islam is to place a section on the Web site with a statement about the controversy, and any other information debunking myths surrounding the crisis situation.

If you don’t already have a communications director get a PR person to write the pieces that will go up on your Web site. This is extremely important for the credibility of your company. The way it looks as of now is that there is something shady that no one wants to talk about.

May Allah make it easy on all those involved.

2. Get people to write letters to the editor (opinion pieces), in defense of the ads.

Get public figures to back you up and support you. I saw that the mayor was not against the ads saying that if people wanted to spread Islam, they are protected by free speech. When writing press releases or opinion pieces one should mention these big public figures and their stance with your campaign. It will build your credibility, and get you more public support.

The most important aspect of this is to get people who are well informed and preferably people from your communication/PR department to write any press releases or other statements that will be sent to major media.

3. Always have a calm and collected spokesperson.

The general image of Muslims today is that they are violent and always angry. Having a spokesperson who is both eloquent in speech but not someone who gets angry easily is the way to go. CAIR does a great job of this with their spokesperson, Ibrahim Hooper. He knows when to be tough when he needs to, but he’s also not raging with anger.

The video with Br. Azeem Khan was a great example of this as well:

4. Be proactive, not reactive. Take advantage of the media blitz.

This is hard with crisis communication, only because you have to be reactive to the issue that has just ensued. However, be prepared and minimize the possibility of the situation getting any bigger.

Be prepared for anything they might throw at you. With the media spotlight on you, do more dawah activities and work. Make pseudo events and invite media to your events, give back to the community and during Ramadan give lots of food to the poor.  This should all of course be done purely for the sake of Allah, but there is no problem using this opportunity for spreading Islam by inviting the media. This can be done in various communities sponsored by Why Islam. And each locality can invite the media of that area to attend an iftaar or any other event sponsored by Why Islam.

5. Build good relations with reporters, and get contact information.

Not all reporters are out to make you look bad. Be nice and courteous with them and exchange contact information. Let them know that if anything new happens you’ll call them to report on it. That way anytime you have a major event in the future, you build a good relationship and can have a nice story about Islam run in the paper or on the news.

6. Pray istikhara before making any moves.

This is especially important for Muslims because we may think that we will say something that will make the situation better, but wallahu alem things get turned on us very quickly and easily. Seek Allah’s help in everything that you do and put your trust in Him alone.

For anyone in a crisis communication situation, be sure to follow these few guidelines of many.

We ask Allah ‘az wa jal to make it easy on the Muslims everywhere, and to give us success in this life and the hereafter, ameen.

Wallahu ta’ala alem.

—-

*If anyone is wondering why I wrote “Web site” rather than “website”then this is because this is the way it is written in Associated Press style.

And no, no my friends, this is not going to be a tutorial on how to set a blog up. Rather, this post is dedicated to the writing tips needed to make your blog successful. I will be teaching many many writing techniques in my media writing class, inshaAllah.  Here’s a taste:

1. Fear Allah in everything you write. Take naseeha from others.

I’ve posted things up and taken things down several times. And I’ll probably continue to do this once I realize a mistake. Humble yourself, and realize you’ll be held accountable for everything.

2. Have a theme.

When people come to your blog they should know exactly what type of topics they can expect to see. Of course you can veer off and talk about other topics. However, people like certainty. People who come to my blog know that I will never write about celebrity gossip. Rather, they can expect to see posts about media, Islam, culture and more. Differentiate yourself from all other blogs out there.

3. Write in an organized fashion.

ofen timez i c peoples write lik dis and i’z wants to bring dem back 2 skool.

When you write on your blog, actually write in a professional manner. No one wants to decider code on your blog; It requires too much from your audience. It will make your audience reluctant to read more than the first paragraph of your post. Also, be mindful of grammar, punctuation and the over-all appearance of your post.

4. Pay attention to your headlines and leads.

The most important parts of an article are the headlines and the leads (hooks) to your stories.

You have to try to catch people’s attention in the very beginning if you expect them to read more. The lead is the very first paragraph to your article. It should generally give the readers an idea of what the whole post will be about. It can be in the form of a story, an anecdote, or even just facts. I will cover these in depth in my class, inshaAllah.

5. Write in inverted pyramid style.

Start with the most important information. As the article goes down the information becomes less and less important. This is flexible for blogs. But it’s definitely a useful way to write and get your point across fast. This is something every journalist does, and likewise it works well with blogs too.

6.  Have a unique outlook on different topics.

If you want to write about a subject that many other people have written about or you would like to write about a general topic, offer a new outlook or perspective to the topic at hand. No one wants to read things that they’ve heard in other places — unless they are Islamic reminders. However, even with Islamic reminders sometimes it’s nice to give real examples of the topic at hand. This in turn, will help the reader identify with the topic and open way for dialog/discussion. Also, include some of your personality in your theme and the style in which you write.

7. Include pictures with your post.

For every post, include at least one picture. If you’re post becomes lengthy, it gives the eyes a break from all the words if you include pictures thus making it more visually appealing for people to continue to read until the bottom of your post.

8. Don’t start off with questions or quotes.

One rule in journalism is that we never start articles with questions or quotes. There are rare exceptions to this rule. If you ever decide to start off with a question, the only time it’s acceptable is if you answer it immediately after you ask it. Again, don’t demand too much from your readers.

9. Write on an 8th grade level.

This really depends on your audience. If your target audience is a specialized group of people this could be different. But try avoiding jargon and gobbledygook. Write in a manner in which all people 13 and up can understand. (This is another journalistic rule.)

10. Interact in in the comments section.

If you want to make your blog interactive, the best way to do this is for you yourself to interact with those who come to your site. Your blog will not be warm and welcoming if you do not answer people’s questions and contribute to the discussion.

I hope these were helpful, and inshaAllah I will be covering many, many more writing tips and techniques in my media writing class later this year, inshaAllah.

Use these techniques and watch your traffic grow. Use Alexa.com to check your progress every once in a while. This will show you what number your website ranks against all the other websites in the world. The more traffic and people linking to your blog, the higher your rank.

And lastly, write things that you think will be of benefit to people.

Wallahu Alem.

Brought to you by Minbar Media.