I understand what you’re saying and by all means people do things in different manners and just like a khutbah is often begun with an ayah to introduce the topic, you could do it that way as well. However, like greekmuslimgirl has mentioned, sometimes people need to be pulled into the topic then support what they are saying with evidences.

but that rule is flexible somewhat with blogs, but if one to write for any mainstream newspaper or internet newswire they would most likely never accept a story that started off with a quote or question (unless of the rare exceptions)

wallahu alem.

We need to grab people’s attention RIGHT AWAY and reel them in and the best way to do that is to start with a story, reflection, action, experience etc.

When you move the quote to the end, it gives a richer experience because the reader pays attention to it and contemplates on it.

Giving the quote at the beginning can lead to a shallow experience for the user.

I was start most of my entries on my blog with a quote – either from the Qur’an, a hadith or a statement of a scholar. I find it to be very beneficial and so do others. WAllahu alam.

Shirien, thanks for the details. I have been using Web 2.0, but now’s the time to crank it up! Jazaki Allah khair. Looking forward to seeing your new company.

For now, way too busy, thoug your teaching, masha’Allah is very inspiring and fun!

Alhamdulillah

Samir,with media writing, this is a standardized rule. Unless it’s an absolutely amazing quote or you answer the question immediately afterward.. we usually don’t start with them. Some people think that using them will draw readers in, in special cases it might, but in general it’s boring, and requires too much from the reader.

In creative writing classes this may be a little different. but since blogs are very much like internet news wires or newspapers– in the sense that people are always on the go and don’t spend long in one page…then this rule would apply.

wallahu alem.

haha. it’s not quite so much. at least not every day. stumble upon is a big part of it. i wrote a post earlier about stumble upon. other than that it’s all about word of mouth, people linking to your blogs, etc.

i get at LEAST 1,500 page views a day. and it depends. with stumble upon it can triple that, one of my posts got over 150,000 new visitors. it really depends. but really just follow my tutorial about stumble upon, and also there are tricks to use with it.. i suggest taking the social media marketing class that is going to be after ramadan with Message Mastery inshaAllah. it’ll teach all these techniques.

but here’s the link to the stumble upon post:

http://egyptiangumbo.com/secrets-exposed-bloggers-stumblers-and-muslims-16.htm

i currently dont know the number of subscribers to my blog because the counter broke one day after 20,000. but that was only 1/4 of the way through the crazy traffic i was getting in 3 days. so i’m guessing it’s somewhere around 60,000 now.. wallahu alem. I’m planning on changing my template soon and i’ll let you know once all this stuff is fixed.

we’re currently busy with the minbarmedia website. after that inshaAllah i’ll pay more attention to this one.

but yeah use stumble upon. but the content also has to be sound. so people should use the tips above and they should have no problem getting the same results inshaAllah.

wallahu alem. hope that helps! if you need more help let me know! and my email is always available for you!