Mehreen Farhan
Blogging is not just mere writing, it is an art. To be able to write down your thoughts in a way that other people can easily relate to is definitely a skill. To achieve a desirable balance, not only look through all your designing aspects, but develop an assertive and appealing balance in your writing as well. We will discuss some of the best blogging practices in creating content that is a better fit for online reading.
This post, and others in this series, will help a beginner to gain this poise and balance. If writing comes naturally to you, then a little conscious effort is all it needs to get you started in the right direction. Don’t worry if what you read here gets a little confusing. In later parts of this series, we will break down each point and be specific.
This list is by no means sorted and each point carries equal weight in terms of importance.
Blogging Best Practices For Creating Better Content:
1) Be Yourself
I have been blogging for the last ten years and this is by far the best tip I can offer you. Articles that sound too stiff and formal tend to lose interest with the audience. People want to know first hand personal experience, not strict facts. They like it when they read something they can relate to and that’s what makes the connection between you and your reader. If you sound honest, friendly and open, you are all the more likable. Concentrate on building returning readers rather than the ones who come stumbling by to your page and leave without gaining anything. Make that human connection. That will get you far.
2) Put Your Best Foot Forward
Instead of looking for a really flashy topic to write on, stick to the simple ones you have command on. How you make an ordinary topic special is all up to you. Writing is just like a painting. An artist can choose an every day scene that will be dull to many, but how he executes it will make it special. Similarly, a writer, quite synonymous to a painter, can make a simple topic very appealing by his/her writing style. Focus on building a style for yourself as you grow as a blogger. Don’t forget what you already know from point 1!
3) Hold Back That Shakespeare In You!
Old literature classics are addictive; and what is most appealing is the style of classic English. But to write in that way on a modern day blog seems irrelevant. A reader cannot connect unless you offer something easily understandable to him. What’s more? Your reader may not even bother with your blogs if language remains a constant barrier. Use easy to understand language and simple expressions. If you must write something fancy, then try to balance it out with a mix of simpler language in other places in the article.
4) What Are You Offering Your Reader?
When writing or planning to write each post, keep one question in mind: what are you offering your readers? Readers will come back for more when they feel you have something to give them. Make sure anytime they come to your blog space, they don’t leave empty handed. That’s a sure shot way of earning yourself a returning reader who will most probably now recommend you to his or her circle of friends.
5) Keep It Short And Concise
Gone are the days when people take out time to read long stories on the Internet. We are probably the most impatient generation of all time. We want everything fast and simple, short and sweet. Keep that in mind when writing a blog post. A post that fails to deliver some idea in the first few lines tends to lose more readers. Keeping your short and concise is one way to make your posts friendly and readable. If there are facts, bullet them out. If you are discussing more than one idea in a single article or if there are different angles to it, make heading and insert paragraphs. The whole point is to make your ideas stand out and to de-clutter them by avoiding fancy details altogether.
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Like I said, these are some umbrella tips to keep in mind when writing posts of any kind. These can be applied to any kind of blog and any kind of topic. Start practicing these ideas in your daily writing and you will find that not only they are very easy to adapt, but also very rewarding as a writer.
Happy Blogging!
