The novelty has worn off. Blogs have become so ubiquitous that it’s tough to find tightly-written, purposeful blogs.
If you want your blog to be a standout, start by outlining the points you want to convey. Connect the dots by filling in the facts. Elaborate. Then once you have a first draft, perform a word count and downsize your blog by half. A wise journalism professor explains it this way, “Pretend as though each word costs money.” Write like you are putting together a paid newspaper obituary and odds are you will be brief.
By now you may be thinking this is a blog, not a thesis. Only seasoned bloggers write off the cuff. If your blog is boring or pointless it will be significantly harder to develop a reader following. Like a newspaper column, the objective in blogging is to find a niche and cultivate a loyal audience.
A successful blog is distinguished by writing style. A salty, yet relevant tone can be tough to achieve. Humor is a wonderful gift, but don’t over-do it.
The most important thing to consider is how to make your blog googlable. (Dear Google, Thank you for having such a relevant company name that “google” is now recognized by Webster’s as a verb and an adjective). Consider what potential readers are likely to search relevant to your subject matter and deploy those words and phrases as often as possible in your blog.
If you need more tips on how to make it googlable (also known as optimized for search engines), consult with SEO expert Jarod Clark of Unleaded Software. He can be reached at jarod@unleadedsoftware.com.
PR-in the moment
Consider what “press release” means: information officially released to the press for the first time. The key is to make it newsworthy. No matter the topic, it must be written as if it is important that moment. If stale or trite in the least it will be cast aside for more urgent communications. Oh, and don’t forget to put it in the standard format. See a sample at http://blondeproductionsgroup.com/blog/.
Web writing done right
As important as it is to be concise in a blog, it is even more crucial in writing copy for websites. No one wants to wade through text-heavy web copy. Use a bold san serif font and make use of white space to achieve aesthetic appeal. Yes, you need a brief attention-getting headline and introductory sentence, but other than that, rely on highly direct copy. Avoid type that is hard on the eyes because it is a proven fact that it takes longer to read text on a computer screen than on paper.
No matter what
It is important to proofread more than once. When a reader finds typographical, grammatical or spelling errors, it discredits the author/source.