Great blog writing advice from Problogger
I am a huge fan of Problogger . The latest post has some of the best writing advice I’ve seen for blogs. Here’s a recap of the 8 tips, but be sure to read the entire article.
- Write to a specific person. Doesn’t have to be a real person, just has to be a specific person. Think of it like this. You wouldn’t write the same way to your best friend Peggy as you would to your Grandma Dot. You wouldn’t write the same way to your neighbor Jim Hanson as you would to your brother Fletch. Get specific about who you’re writing to and get on with it.
- Write the way you talk. I’m not saying go all crazy and use a bunch of street slang and shorthand. But if you can’t read it out loud without stumbling and tripping everywhere then it’s probably not written in the same way you speak. Fix it.
- Use simple language. Most people on the web have a grade school reading level. A handful will be at college level. Very few will be beyond that, so save that particular style of writing for the text books. Keep your writing simple and easily understandable, and it makes it easier for people to relate.
- Tell a story, make it funny. Or heartwarming. Or motivating. Or some other suitably rousing emotion. The point is, stories engage and when you pair it with emotional triggers… you’ve got a winner!
- Relate to your readers. Use words and language that lets them know you understand where they’re coming from and that you’re just as human as they are. They really like that. It’s when they start thinking you’re an alien that you should probably start to worry a little. Just a little.
- Make it easy to read. Big fat paragraphs with long run on sentences send your readers screaming to people who DO know how to write properly. Break it up, use bullets, use subheads, even use occasional pictures to help break it up and engage your reader more.
- Sleep on it. Don’t publish something at midnight, it’s a sure bet you’re slap happy and exhausted and that 10 mile long article on social prosperity is nowhere NEAR to being as compelling and engaging as you are currently deluding yourself into believing.
- Finally, enjoy it! Write about what fascinates you. What you’re passionate about. Write about what you love. When you write about things that are important to you, it becomes clear to readers with every single new word they read, that what you’re saying is important to you. Therefore it becomes important to them!
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Tags: Blogging, Bonnie Harris, problogger, social media
March 5th, 2010 at 8:38 am
I don’t know how I managed to miss this article at ProBlogger but thanks for pointing it out. I’m relatively new to blogging so I can use all the help I can get. On a side note, I absolutely adore Bart the Dog!
March 5th, 2010 at 9:53 am
I know sometimes I miss the good ones too so that’s why I posted it. Bart and I will be sure to visit your blog!
March 9th, 2010 at 7:27 am
I’ve just started using ProBlogger so its good to see some positive opinion and tips on it. Thanks for the interesting read!
March 16th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
The third poit ist very hard for me but I think I can add some points with the fourth one.
March 17th, 2010 at 9:50 am
Why is the third point hard for you?
March 20th, 2010 at 1:05 am
Indeed — valuable tips from Problogger. Now heading to read the entire article.
Thanks for sharing.
March 29th, 2010 at 5:15 am
A helpful post indeed…
April 7th, 2010 at 3:55 am
You can get the ProBlogger reference manual from http://manualfox.com – just send them a download request.