Are you considering starting a blog? Or perhaps you already have, but writer’s block is rearing its ugly head and you’re not sure how to write your next piece. Whatever the issue, our top tips and tricks will help get your creative juices flowing and ensure your next blog leaves your readers hooked!
Choose the right topic for you
Writing is easy – if you love what you’re writing about! So – make sure you choose the subject of your blog carefully. Find something you are passionate about, and it will be much easier to write. Think how easy it is to chat to a stranger about your favourite topic, rather than something that bores you senseless. Well, it is exactly the same with writing. Pick something you can talk about for hours, and you’ll find the words pretty much write themselves.
Choose the right topic for your readers
Equally important, is choosing something your readers want to read about. If the motivation behind your blog is getting traffic to your website, think about who you want to attract. Can you find an unusual angle on a popular topic? Or have a look at a few alternative opinions and pieces of research on a subject close to your readers’ hearts, and collate what you’ve learned into a blog topic. If you plan to post regular blogs, it’s a good idea to mix opinion pieces with more informative, research-based blogs. This is a good way of attracting new readers and widening your readership, too.
Make notes and a plan first
It’s tempting to open your computer and start writing straight away, but making notes on paper to help you to organize your thoughts is invaluable. Creating an outline on paper makes it much easier once you are ready to type out your first draft. It’s also a good idea to keep a stash of cheap pens lying around in various rooms of the house, so wherever you are when you have a brainwave, you can jot them down!
Think about your tone
You’re writing a blog, not an academic essay so keep your tone light, chatty and friendly. Let your readers feel they’re in conversation with you and this will keep them engaged, too. Speak to your readers as though you are helping them work through a problem, and you will create faithful readers who come back time and time again. It also helps promote interaction, so if you are hoping people will comment on your blog – or perhaps share it to their social media – then adopting a friendly, yet authoritative, the tone is really important.
Help your reader navigate the page
Your reader won’t always have time to scrutinise each and every blog from start to finish. So make it easy for them to dip in and out, using organisational devices such as:
- Subheadings
- Bullet points
- Images
These will break up the text on the page, too, so your reader isn’t faced with an unappealing clock of dense text to grapple through while they’re having a coffee break.
You can make your blog more accessible in other ways, too. For example, keep your sentences short and avoid over-complicating things. Stick to shorter paragraphs to make your point concisely, as well as looking visually appealing on the screen.
Don’t skimp on proofreading
Your blog is well-researched, you’ve planned it meticulously and typed it up. You’re happy with the what you’ve put, and you’re ready to upload it to your site. Wait! Have you proofread it through to check for any mistakes? No? Then do it now! Nothing reduces the impact of your words like a type or a misplaced comma. And if you’re not too sure what all the debate about the Oxford comma is, this site can help you keep you up to speed!
So now you know how to write a blog, all that remains to be done is get your pens and paper out, and start scribbling down those ideas! Your next piece will be written before you know it.
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