Writing for the web, sometimes it seems like such a crapshoot. Is anyone really going to read this, does it make any sense, sound intelligent, is it useful? What makes people want to stick around and read what I have to say.
I have owned a couple of blogs for around two years, my writing has been sporadic at best and my traffic even more so. But I’ve been paying close attention throughout the journey and I think I am finally starting to get it, writing for the web that is. Getting readers, not just traffic.
My Observations
Keep it focused – Try to stay focused on what you set out to write, people like personal but if you go off on a rant about how your dog just chewed power cord on your mac when you set up to right about how you are marketing your freelance business you might lose them. If you have a story that illustrates a point then by all means, but if it’s just a drift into lala land then drop it. People came to your post titled “Top Social Networks of 2009″ for a reason so give that and write about fluffy elsewhere.
Get to the point – Going on and on just doesn’t cut it when it comes to the web so edit and cut it short. People are used to short and sweet when it comes to the web so get to the point and move on. Hey if you have more to say there is nothing wrong with writing a follow up post right?
Small and Scannable – Don’t get me wrong there is always a place for longer more in depth articles, I read them daily, but let’s face it most of us do our online reading on the go. We are shuffling through tabs, working on projects, jumping on a plane or wasting time at work. We want info, we want it now and we want to pick out what we don’t find necessary. Hey it’s time to move on to the next, what are you still here for, go already.
Images – I don’t know what it is but people seem to love images especially the clickable type. You don’t have to go overboard here but it’s not a bad idea to brighten things up a bit. A little eye candy can go along way when it comes to grabbing their attention.
All flourishes and elegance – Write in terms that the general public is willing to sit and listen to, leave the fancy talk to Shakespeare. Hey if you audience is a bunch of Scientist that understand what you are talking about then go for it but if you are writing for me drop it down a notch.
Conversation – Start a discussion, it might even mean pissing off a reader or two but it needs to happen. Oh and once you get those comments rolling in don’t take flight and feel like you have succeeded in mission. Stay involved and keep it going.
And finally Design, I hate the fact that this one rarely appears on the how to be a better blogger list. I am not saying you need to win an award for most innovative blog design in 2009, but give it some attention. You could have a completely white page, text only and as long as the page is organized, the font is nice and the writing is halfway decent I am probably going to stick around. However if you have flashing lights and rainbow colored text on a lime green background I am going to have to say goodbye, and I don’t care if you write award winning essays.
It’s not the comprehensive guide to writing a better blog post but if you follow some of these simple observations you are bound to see some improvement.
Couldn’t agree with you more. Great points. Keep it focused, make it scanable [bold things, make lists, allow people to preview the points they might want to read], and best of all for anyone trying to get more readers is to start a conversation.
Starting a conversation is probably the most difficult but definitely, always, always reply to comments and keep the convo going!
Good list.
Exactly which reminds of another point that should perhaps be included although it may not apply directly to writing a better blog post. That is creating conversation elsewhere. Keeping the conversation going doesn’t have to be limited to your own blog, get out and spark conversation with other bloggers. 9 times out of 10 it will bring at least one new visitor to your blog. Here’s a a little excerpt from a comment I left elsewhere, I think it sums up my point.
“Your blog is a networking tool and should be treated as such. Creating conversation, commenting and interacting elsewhere is so important to developing an audience and reaching potential clients. Commenting, just like conversation, is an art. Make your comment useful and worth reading which will in turn, make it worth following.”