Writing Blog Posts is Short and Sweet
I think I mentioned in one of my previous posts that a writer needs to be opinionated and forceful if they are to be successful. When it comes to writing blog posts you really must be awake to the audience you are writing for and this writers maxim definitely applies. A web surfer will spend seconds on your page if you are lucky, so what you post there needs to hit the mark fast – here are some tips from the bowels of my experience.
Tip 1: Be Opinionated
The more opinionated the better, as opinions are what readers are looking for. Do you think Ford is better than Vauxhall, Liverpool better than Manchester United, should homosexuals be allowed in the armed forces, is Gordon Brown the right man to fill Tony Blair’s shoes?
Remember a blog is accessible, so be prepared to have your opinions challenged and there is also a difference between being opinionated and posting inflammatory comments.
Tip 2. Less is More
Keep it Simple Stupid.
Tip 3. Use Lists
Like this one.
Tip 4. Use Headlines and Sub-Headers
Read This Now!
How Blogging will Change Your Life!!
(Ask yourself if your eyes were drawn to this bold headline before reading the rest of the post – if they were that’s my point)
Tip 5. Check Your Work
There are two things you need to be checking. Firstly, proof your post for grammar and spelling, what I call the usual suspects, and remember that blogging is still paid work – be professional.
The second thing to check are your facts to back up the opinions and the stand you have taken. Blogs have comment facilities and if you are lucky you’ll get some comments winging your way.
The best piece of advice I can give you here is to write several blog posts all in one sitting and then use the time stamp utility that WordPress has, or save the posts in draft form until you are ready to post them live. The reasoning is simple, you get into the writing groove and are able to stay on topic and in the style you adopt for that particular blog project, while your readership simply see a new post appearing each day. Like this one 🙂
Writing for Profit is Serious – but you can also have serious fun too!