I was wandering around the web doing some personal growth homework and I found an article about powerful blog writing. I found it impressive that write.com seems to mirror my thoughts in the Writing Powerfully blog – although I used significantly fewer words.
I became a professional writer because I am passionate about clear communication and it is something that I have always done. My formal training is in Engineering, and – I must confess – I love this confirmation of my innate sense of how to write.
Since most people write their own blogs – rather than hiring a ghost writer – there are some very good points specific to blog writing that I’d like to relay.
- Provide Links: well written blogs are short, to the point, and provide connections to the additional information readers are looking for.
- Be Scan-able: If eight of ten people only read the headlines and bold print, then have headers and bold print that they’ll look at.
- Be Conversational: While I like to be conversational in just about everything I write, blogs are more informal than articles. You still want it to be well-written, maybe even professional, but give your opinion and speak to your reader in the first person. (Translation, use “I” and “you” instead of something more stuffy.)
- Use Keywords: I am not an SEO (search-engine-optimization) specialist, so I’ll keep this simple: if you want people to find your blogs, then use the words they search for.
- Edit & Proofread: Returning to my first commandment of good writing, check everything again. If you don’t have someone else to read it for you, then walk away from it for several hours and look back at it fresh – you’ll be amazed at what you find.
A good blog – like any other effective written communication – is informative, to the point, and easy to read. After all, blogging is how you spread your message on the internet.
– Lorrie Nicoles