Blog writing is one of the most powerful tools that you can use. There’s a reason why I blog almost constantly on the Driven Media Solutions website. Websites with a blog are 434% more likely to have indexed pages than those which don’t. It should also be noted that businesses that blog are likely to get up to 97% more backlinks than companies that don’t. With these statistics in mind, it is irrefutable that blogging is critical to building your business’s online presence. This is why we’ve developed a list of blog writing tips that can help you to improve your writing.
If you don’t blog, you’re missing out on a vast potential audience. It’s been found that 77% of people on the internet read blogs, and people spend more time reading blogs than they do emails. This shows that you should emphasise your blog in your content marketing strategy. If you’re running you of ideas, you should try experimenting with content that would do well in your industry. For example, list articles and “how-to” guides are some of the more popular blog content forms. Now that that’s out of the way let’s get to the list.
Blog Writing Tips: Identify Your Audience
I can’t stress the importance of this enough. When writing your blog posts, you need to identify your audience. For example, I write many articles on the DMS website from the perspective of business owners. This is because it is the decision-makers in businesses going to have the final say on whether to use our products and services. By knowing my audience, I can make sure that the content I’m writing is exciting and valuable to business owners. This makes it so that our posts get more engagement and are read by more people.
Not identifying your audience before blogging is like flying a propeller plane with a blindfold and no training. If you don’t figure out your audience, you will end up writing content that doesn’t appeal to the right people. Ultimately, if you’re looking to get more leads and sales from your blog, you will need to figure out who you want to be reading your posts. For example, if you’re selling baby clothes, you’re not going to want to target teenagers because your message will fall flat. You may have to do some tinkering to get things right, but that’s part of the process.
Blog Writing Tips: Get Into The Habit of Writing
Blog writing is like any other form of work. You have to practice to get better at it. I first started blog writing around four years and ago, and being honest, I sucked at it. My posts were a grammatical horror show, and the message, along with the target audience, was unrefined. So, how did I get better at writing, you ask? By writing. It’s that simple. You’re not going to get better at writing if you don’t write. If you’re not “naturally talented”, then you might benefit from a grammar and spelling tool like Grammarly. Using one, you’ll see that your writing quality will rapidly improve.
I didn’t feel comfortable having others read my writing when I first started. That’s perfectly okay, you don’t have to show people your work, but it can help get feedback. This will help you understand how well your content reads for other people, and you can then apply these new tips to your writing. Once you’ve gotten a little practice, you’ll find that the quality of your work will increase. Eventually, you’ll be able to start posting your content onto your blog with no difficulty.
Blog Writing Tips: Proofread Your Posts, Then Do It Again
Proofreading is a critical aspect of writing for any blog. You might think that you’ve created a blog post that rivals Einstein’s genius and the creativity of Van Gogh, but it’s important to remember that work that is “hot off the press” can be riddled with errors. I constantly check my work because I type very quickly, leading to mistakes cropping up. When proofreading your work, it pays to read out loud. This is because your brain can gloss over grammar errors when reading silently. They’ll be a lot more noticeable if you read out loud.
If you can, you should get someone else to check your work for you. A fresh pair of eyes can pick up errors much more efficiently, especially if you’ve spent a long time writing. A tired brain can easily miss mistakes. If you don’t have someone else to read your work, or you are still struggling to pick up on errors, then you’re not alone. This is another time where I would suggest using Grammarly. You can use the free version, which offers basic spelling and grammar checks, or the more advanced version, which picks up on tonality.
Preparation Tips: Start To Read More
One understated way of getting better at writing is to read more. This is especially useful if you begin to read content from your niche. For example, I’m a copywriter, and I follow many other copywriters on LinkedIn. I also regularly read the blogs of other prominent copywriters to get an insight into how I can further improve my work. By reading high-value content, you will be able to expand your vocabulary and understand what kind of content does well in your industry. So, you should have a look around at some of the more prominent publications in your industry.
Not only will you improve your writing ability by reading, but your knowledge-base will also increase. When selecting material to read, you should make sure that you’re reading helpful content. I love reading a good fictional story, but it’s just that, fiction. I still put some time aside to read the novel, but when I’m reading to improve my blog writing, I try to stick to other blogs and publications specifically related to blogging. This way, I can get information that is professionally useful and accurate. So, if you want to make a better blog, you better start reading.
Expand Your Vocabulary, But Keep Your Content Easy To Read
As has been previously stated in this article, you must try to expand your vocabulary. It is also essential to have a more technical understanding of writing and a good article. This doesn’t mean that you need to load your article with tons of complicated words and phrases. Unless you’re an academic researcher, you don’t need to sound like one. Ultimately, if you’re a business, you need to cater to the readers with the slightest technical ability. For example, I try to make my sentences as short as possible and easy to understand. This makes my content more valuable to a more significant number of people.
If you’ve got a WordPress website, you can easily install a great tool to help with your readability. This tool is the Yoast SEO plugin. When you have this installed on your site, it will help you improve your content’s readability. For example, it will give you a score of how easy your content is to read, as well as letting you know whether your sentences are too long or short. You also get an indication of whether or not you’re using too little active voice. I’ve been using it to a significant effect on our blog.
Create Your Own Style and Be Consistent
When writing a blog, it is essential to create your writing style. You want to stand out from other writers within your niche. I try to keep my writing playful and friendly and loaded with helpful information. This is done to keep the attention of the people who want to read Driven Media Solutions’ posts and maintain the usefulness of the content. If you’re having trouble creating your writing style, you should read other publications in your industry to understand what techniques are working well.
Once you have your writing style, it’s more likely that people will also begin to resonate with your brand. This is because you won’t be sounding stuffy and overly corporate like the rest of the people in your industry. People buy from people, and you want your content to reflect that fact. You’re people, not little corporate drones intent on sucking money from your customers. More people resonating with your brand will also ultimately convert into more sales and leads for your business. So, what are you waiting for? You should be finding your style!
Be Ready To Deal With Writer’s Block
This can be a pretty big problem for any writer, mainly if you’ve been writing a lot recently. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, writer’s block is a condition whereby a writer has trouble creating new work or experiences a slower creative process. This can be particularly damaging if you’re aiming to produce a certain amount of good content every week. Take it from me. This can be particularly worrying if you’re a writer with a client to please. As a writer, you’ll find that you’ll have to deal with writer’s block at some point. It’s how you deal with writer’s block that will define your success.
If you’re experiencing writer’s block, it can be a surefire sign that you need to take some time to restore your creative juices. Some of the best ways to do this are actually to stop writing! If you’re finding that you’re struggling with creative problems, there are ways to overcome this. You can take some time to read content in your niche for inspiration, or it could even be as simple as going for a walk and changing your surroundings. Either way, the writer’s block will be a part of your experience as a blog writer and learning to live with it is key to your success.
Conclusion
So, from reading this article, you should have good blog writing tips for improving your writing. We first covered the fact that you need to identify your audience so that your content can resonate better with them. This will get you more leads and sales. Furthermore, you need to get into the habit of reading and writing to learn more and continue developing your skills. It’s also imperative that you proofread and edit your work consistently to avoid making costly errors in your career.
We also went over the importance of developing and expanding your vocabulary. This is important so that you can make your work more authoritative. You still need to be mindful that not everyone has the same reading ability, so tailoring your content to make sure everyone can easily read it is essential to your success. You should also try to create your writing style to stand out from the crowd. Finally, you must recognise the existence of writer’s block, when you’re experiencing it and how to try and get out of it.
For more blog writing tips, you can view our other posts!