Blog Writing Tips
It’s become all the rage to have a blog, and there are a number of good reasons for that. A blog allows you to position yourself as an industry expert, provide a mechanism for readers to “converse” with you, and gain visibility with search engines. If your blog is hosted on your website, it’s an easy way to add new content and give visitors a reason to keep coming back; if it’s hosted elsewhere, it’s a tool to drive traffic to your website. Here come the tips:
- Keep to a schedule. Decide how often you want to blog and commit yourself to following through. It’s best to start conservatively (monthly or twice a month) and you can always ramp up if you find you have enough content and writing time.
- Don’t sell. A blog is a passive way to market your company. You want to showcase your expertise to readers so they think of you when they need your product or service.
- Follow your instinct. Depending on why you’re blogging, you may narrow or widen your content. For instance, my blog is typically focused on writing (usually doing it poorly), but on occasion I might blog about something that’s caused me angst or joy. I consider AM’s Blog, which is on my website, as a form of self-expression–and that’s OK.
- Loosen up a little. You always want to be professional when writing anything that’s attributed to you, but keep in mind that a blog isn’t a whitepaper. If you want to stay on the “straight and narrow,” that’s fine, but it’s also OK to be a bit provocative if you want to get a rise from readers.
If you want to blog but don’t think you have the time to make it happen consistently, don’t worry. You’d be surprised how many blogs aren’t written by their “authors”; they’ve hired someone to blog for them. (How’s that for passive marketing?)
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My Facebook business page is almost at 200 likes. Have you liked me yet? What are you waiting for? The person who is #200 will get a special treat from me…plus you’ll be among the first to see my often-comical posts pointing out writing mistakes I’ve found on websites and in well-respected publications. Like me now.
But…
Perhaps you, like me, were taught it’s not correct to start a sentence with “but” or “and.” In researching the issue, I was somewhat surprised to see the “powers that be” have deemed it OK to use those and other conjunctions at the start of sentences. The American Heritage Dictionary notes, “But may be used to begin a sentence at all levels of style.” Everyone is not on board; some students are still being taught it’s never appropriate to use a conjunction to begin a sentence. Welcome to another grammar gray area.
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adriennemoch.com • adrienne@adriennemoch.com • 619-291-4645