Posts tagged writing for a blog
Do you have to be a great writer to be a great blogger?
Jun 11th
If you’re not confident in your writing skills, can you still be a great blogger?
Let’s be honest. Good writing matters. But there are a few simple ideas any one can learn to dramatically improve the quality of their blog posts. Let’s take a look at a few tricks of the trade that are explored in detail in a new book I’ve co-authored with Stanford Smith called Born to Blog
Read it out loud
“I feel like you’re talking to me.”
That’s common feedback I receive about my books and blog posts. If you can’t write, you can still talk, right? I suggest that you literally read your blog posts aloud before publishing. If something does not roll off the tongue in a natural and conversational way, change it.
Cut, cut, cut
The biggest problem I see in the guest posts I receive is that they are far too wordy. Eliminate every word and sentence that does not move the story along. If your post is more than 1,000 words that is a sure danger sign.
Write upside down
In school and at work, we are taught to write linearly — a beginning, a middle and an end. That usually does not work in the blogging world because people don’t have the patience to wait for your conclusion. Start with the conclusion and then explain it. I see too many posts that do not get to the guts of the issue until you are one-third down the page.
The beginning matters
Spend time creating an accurate, interesting headline. If your headline does not compel people to “click,” they will never even get to the blog post. Create an opening sentence that grabs people by the throat and makes them read what you have to say.
Get another view
Do you have a close friend or family member who can write? Why not at least run posts by them for a few weeks to help you improve?
Don’t just write, re-write
Here’s a simple but magical trick I’ve learned to be a better writer. Let it sit a few days.
I don’t know how or why, but I might think something is really great, yet when I return to it after a few days I see so many obvious ways it can be improved.
I rarely “crank out” a blog post. They usually gestate a few days, sometimes even a few weeks.
This a gentle art, though. You can’t let it sit there until it is “perfect” because that will never happen. At the end of the day, the most important characterstic of a successful blogger is having the courage to push that publish button!
Get help
I do not enjoy auto mechanics. So I hire a professional who can get the job done right at a fraction of the cost and time compared to me trying to hack through a repair.
If you don’t enjoy writing, you’re going to suck at blogging. But maybe you still have a desire or a legitimate business reason to blog. I think it is a perfectly viable option to hire a professional writer to help you. Provide a purpose statement for a blog post and 3-4 key bullet points and let a professional work their magic.
Start
You cannot become a great blog writer in one day, in one week, or one month. It takes experience and practice. You will get better, faster, and more effective over time as you find “your voice,” get feedback from your community, and figure out your own system. Starting is the hardest part, but to become a competent writer, there is no choice!
I’m 100 percent convinced that almost anybody can be a successful blogger with the right framework, dedication and attitude. I hope these insider tricks help and that you take the leap.
What tips and tricks would you add to help a beginner blogger?
10 Maxims of Successful Blogging
May 26th
I enjoy coaching people with their blogging efforts and there are 10 pieces of advice I seem to dispense the most often. So I thought you might be interested in these ideas. Whether you are blogging for your business or for the pure joy of it, I think these ideas will help you:
1. We live in an increasingly information-dense world. The only way to stand out is to dig down deep and bring your own story to the world. Your point of differentiation is you. You have no competitors. Write a blog post that only you could write.
2. The biggest challenge to blogging isn’t having the time, the ideas, or the resources to do it. It’s having the courage to do it. It takes guts to put yourself out there in front of the world. You can’t learn that. You just have to do it.
3. Stick to a theme. You don’t want to confuse your readers. It’s possible to use your other interests to tell your story but pick to a theme and build an audience around it.
4. There is no greater gift than when somebody takes their precious time to leave a comment on your blog. Never take that for granted. Love on your readers.
5. Be positive. Lift people up. Negative blog posts are like seeing a car wreck. You might peek out of curiosity once in awhile but you certainly don’t want to see that every day.
6. Even the most talented and popular people in the world get criticized. If you attract criticism, you’re provoking thought … you’re doing your job. Stay centered. Overall, the people in the blogosphere are very kind and supportive. If you do good work, you will be rewarded.
7. If you consistently create content that is RITE — Relevant, Interesting, Timely and Entertaining — you will be creating shareable, conversational blog posts. Of these, I believe the most important over time is “interesting.” Boring is death to a blog.
8. The most important part of the blog post is the headline. As people scan headlines, it better be a great one that gets attention or nobody will even make it to your first sentence. The second most important part is the first sentence. Don’t waste people’s time. Tell them why they are there with you today.
9. The most effective way to build community is to become part of other communities. You have to give to get. Find a few other like-minded bloggers who are just starting out and support each other through sharing and comments. You have to actively work to build community, just as you work actively to build content. Spend some time building your network.
10. The hardest part of blogging is beginning. Think about any difficult work task you have faced. It may have seemed daunting at first but over time you built a competency and it becomes easier. Blogging is no different. You just have to start and commit to it and it will become easier (and more fun) over time!
Is that helpful? What would you add to this list?
This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. I’ve been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.
How I discovered my blogging voice by becoming somebody else
May 23rd
By Maureen Hannan, {grow} Community Member
I found my voice as a blogger by borrowing someone else’s. Someone who doesn’t exist.
About 10 months ago, I launched Cupid’s Laboratory, a blog about the peculiar world of online dating. It’s a world I spent a couple of years navigating, and where I met a more diverse cross-section of my local single population than I could ever have anticipated. Professors and plumbers, athletes and artists, sous chefs and scout snipers. Oh, and a Fortune-500 CEO, to boot.
All of them looking online—and browsing endless profiles—for their next date, soulmate, or fling.
Since I had approached online dating with infinite curiosity and my favorite V-7 Pilot purple pen, I’d acquired an impressive pile of journaled observations. Oh, I was just itching to share my nuggets of hard-won wisdom (and, of course, a smattering of awkward-first-date tales) with my fellow 40-something online pilgrims.
The creation of a new me
I had also compiled a fair amount of compelling, split-tested “market research” on how to outshine and outwrite one’s dating-profile competition. Yes, I was both strategic and hopelessly nerdy in my optimization tactics. Moreover, I couldn’t wait to shine my contrarian spotlight on all of the smarmy, sexist advice foisted upon women by “dating experts.”
And so, I adopted a pseudonym—just picked the name Gina Kerrigan out of the pre-caffeine ether one morning. After all, I have teen-aged kids. And what teenager wants to know about Mom’s online dating blog, for goodness sake?
Though the pen name sprang from my desire for privacy, it had an unexpected side effect. I found, as I began to post one blog entry after another, that a new, distinct writing voice was emerging. One that was livelier and bolder than the restrained, self-censoring reporter/editor/teacher I had spent a lifetime becoming. Gina was too exuberant and too sassy to give a flip whether all her i’s were dotted and her t’s crossed.
Gina had already dated—and dumped—numerous would-be censors. My buttoned-up superego didn’t faze that vixen one little bit—if she even noticed her arching an eyebrow and shaking her head over in the corner.
And, eventually, that shush-ing librarian vanished altogether—probably to go haunt some aspiring novelist chewing anxiously on a pencil stub somewhere. For the first time in 35 years of writing stories, poems, essays, academic papers, and articles; I felt free to write whatever I most needed to say.
A writing transformation
Then something else unprecedented happened. I … well, actually, Gina … scored a handful of page-one Google rankings for sharing personal examples of successful dating profiles. Single gals who happened upon Cupid’s Laboratory while looking for Match or OKCupid “templates” began emailing to share their experiences. Many of their stories were deeply personal. Some made me giggle. One or two made me all verklempt. But no matter what the story, each woman who wrote seemed to trust Gina to empathize with her dating travails.
And to have the answers to her many questions.
How do I write a decent dating profile?
How do I keep the creepers away?
How should I respond when someone contacts me?
Is it possible to actually have fun with this whole weird online dating thing?
The dialogues that ensued — all centering on the big question of how to optimize the experience of dating online — led to a series of case studies in which I played a role that was half cheerleader, half writing instructor, for each brave volunteer. Those case studies taught me how to break the daunting e-dating process into manageable steps — and how to help others save time through systematic screening.
After seeing a few hundred downloads of a tutorial guide I compiled, an idea for a book series took shape (the first of which I am now feverishly writing). And I’ll be damned if it isn’t the most fun I’ve ever had as a writer. But even better than my happy evenings at the keyboard, I am getting inquiries from readers who are eager to know when Book One will be done.
I adopted a pseudonym because I wanted a private space where I could experiment with subject matter that was personal …and a little risky. I learned through my pen name how to sidestep my inner censor to focus on my readers. And as a result, I planted — with generous handfuls of reader help — the seeds of new books. Books so personal that only a made-up stranger could write them.
Writing as new person … how would that impact you and your approach to blogging?
Maureen Hannan (a.k.a., Gina Kerrigan) is the blogger behind Cupid’s Laboratory. She is also a freelance editor and writer who cheerfully applies her perfectionism to her clients’ manuscripts, blogs, and magazine assignments. Add Maureen to your LinkedIn network, or contact her at BellflowerMedia@gmail.com. If her alter ego is more your style, say hi to @GinaKerrigan on Twitter.
Illustration courtesy BigStock,.com
Yes, You Were Born to Blog.
Feb 17th
I’ve written a lot about the importance of blogging and the amazing personal and business opportunities of developing your own source of rich, original content. And yet, blogging remains enigmatic to many, a seemingly insurmountable wall.
I’ve had many requests to create a simple, human book on blogging that is similar in tone to The Tao of Twitter — something you can read in under two hours and feel uplifted, inspired, and confident about diving into new social media territory. And so that is what I have done in a new book, with the help of my friend Stanford Smith, the genius behind Pushing Social.
I regard Stanford as the best writer on the web and we share a passion (obsession?) to help people unleash their potential through blogging. Stanford and I have collaborated for several years now, and have become close friends. Through many personal discussions, we came to realize how similar our perspectives were … and how frustrated we were that some of our friends and colleagues could not make the leap and start their blog, or take their writing to the next level.
The human side of blogging
Stanford Smith
We decided to write a small, Tao-like book that focused on the human potential of blogging. There are literally hundreds of ideas jammed into this book for bloggers of any level, but at its core we have created a work that re-frames the act of creating a blog in very accessible, human terms. We believe you were born to blog. Really.
In many ways, this is a logical follow-up to Return On Influence. In that book, I focus on “the seventh weapon of influence,” the ability to create content that moves through the web. This book shows you how.
Born to Blog: Building Your Blog for Personal and Business Success One Post at a Time
When the manuscript was delivered to our publisher, McGraw-Hill, we knew we had created something special but didn’t realize how extraordinary the partnership was until the first feedback came in from the editors — there were literally NO recommended changes to the book. We hit it out of the park in one swing and we were both amazed!
Get on board
Born to Blog
There is nothing about this book that is theoretical. We’ve lived it, breathed it, and sweated it and now present it to you in a quick and fun read. I hope you’ll add this book to your collection of essential social media guides and help us spread the word that we are all Born to Blog!
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Grow your company, reputation, customers, impact, profits. Grow yourself. This is a community that will help. It will stretch your mind, connect you to fascinating people, and provide some fun along the way. I am so glad you’re here.
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