Great tips on blog writing

These are the elements of style of blog post writing that I have picked up from reading the book. I believe that they will improve the writing and the success of blog posts of any blogger.

Note how the majority of tips are on simplifying your writing and making it easy to read and understand.

• Work from a suitable design. Work from a suitable design when composing a blog post. The more clearly the blogger perceives the shape of his writing, the easier it is for the reader and the better are the chances of success.

• Use paragraphs. Readers are reluctant to tackle large blocks of text. Break blocks of text into paragraphs. Deal with each topic of a blog post in a paragraph by itself to aid the reader. Do not write single sentences as a paragraph as too many short paragraphs in succession can be distracting. Give each speech or each quote a paragraph of its own.

• Revise and rewrite. You cannot produce what you are after on the first try. Revising is part of writing. Do not be afraid to experiment with what you have written. Writing a blog post on a computer makes it easy for a blogger to edit the text, move it to a more appropriate spot in the article or delete it.

• Omit needless words. Vigorous blog writing is concise, a sentence should contain no unnecessary words, and a paragraph should contain no unnecessary sentences. Every word is important, every word should tell.

• Use definite, specific, concrete language. The best way to arouse and hold the attention of the blog reader is to be very specific, definite and concrete in your blog post writing.

• Write in a way that comes naturally. Write in a way that comes easily and naturally to you. Use words and phrases that come readily to hand.

• Be clear. As blog post writing is communication, clarity is a virtue. Make your writing simple to read and understand. Write short sentences, include a lot of white space. Make it all clear, easy to scan and easy to understand.

• Use orthodox spelling. Forget “nite”, “thru” and “pleez”. Forget simplified spelling, forget Internet slang. It distracts the reader and makes your blog posts hard to read and understand. Use the standard words.

• Avoid fancy words. To use the language well, you should cherish its classic form. Do not be tempted by a fancy word when there is a plain word to use. Same with foreign language expressions. As long as you have an English word for it, use it.

• Do not take shortcuts at the cost of clarity. Write things out. Do not use initials of abbreviations unless you are certain it will be understood by your readers. There are readers that encounter the name for the first time, make it easy for them to see the words. Start your blog articles by writing names in full and shorten them later in the article.

The Elements of Style has some great tips for bloggers, it contains rules of grammar and is a great helping hand to people who express themselves in writing.

Following these blog writing tips will certainly make your life easier, make the life of your readers easier and will contribute towards your blog articles becoming a bigger success.

Essential Elements of Sharable Blog Posts

1. It starts with a picture that captures your eye.
2. No. It starts with a title that makes you pay attention.
3. The post is useful to others, and not just about you.
4. It’s easy to read, and not a big clump of text.
5. It’s written in a human voice, and not corporate-ese.
6. There’s information there that might require a second visit.
7. You write in small words where possible. Remember: eschew obfuscation.
8. You use links out to resources liberally. Share, share, share.

Specific Blog Topic Advice

9. Posts that gather resources into one place are very often heavily bookmarked.
10. Controversial posts get lots of links from people refuting your information.
11. Popular current topic posts often get swept up in searches.
12. Blog posts with your own original thoughts never get old (versus posting a few observations on others’ stuff).
13. Writing reviews of products or services sometimes get links, especially if you’re early to the game.
14. Writing how-to information goes everywhere, gets linked everywhere, is one of the best types of posts, depending on your audience.
15. Blog posts explaining use cases for products and services are good, too.
16. Blog topics about applying ideas to specific industries get play in that industry.
17. Pieces written to reinvent an industry don’t get very many links, but attract comments.
18. Writing list posts never dies. Wish it weren’t true, but my top posts are lists. Always.

You’re Not Done Yet

19. Use appropriate plug-ins to share blog posts. I’m using Tweetmeme and ShareThis.
20. Share only the very best posts on services like Twitter, and pipe your blog feed into sites like Facebook, LinkedIn (if it relates to your profession), and FriendFeed.
21. Note: sharing other people’s stuff makes them a bit more interested in sharing yours.
22. The post ends with a question that encourages more thought.
23. The post is written such that the community might have something to add. Do you?

Parting Shots

To get a jump on possible criticisms, it’s not like getting linked or shared is the most important thing in blogging. Conversations and engagement are the hallmark of a good blog and I’m forever thankful that you come here and interact with me. (Side note: I read every single comment, even if I can’t answer ever single one individually. I am the #1 commenter on my own blog, mind you).
But for those of you who have objectives to move things forward, to get your stories seen, to get your words out to a lot of people, these ideas might help. What do you think?

Great tips on blog writing

These are the elements of style of blog post writing that I have picked up from reading the book. I believe that they will improve the writing and the success of blog posts of any blogger.

Note how the majority of tips are on simplifying your writing and making it easy to read and understand.

• Work from a suitable design. Work from a suitable design when composing a blog post. The more clearly the blogger perceives the shape of his writing, the easier it is for the reader and the better are the chances of success.

• Use paragraphs. Readers are reluctant to tackle large blocks of text. Break blocks of text into paragraphs. Deal with each topic of a blog post in a paragraph by itself to aid the reader. Do not write single sentences as a paragraph as too many short paragraphs in succession can be distracting. Give each speech or each quote a paragraph of its own.

• Revise and rewrite. You cannot produce what you are after on the first try. Revising is part of writing. Do not be afraid to experiment with what you have written. Writing a blog post on a computer makes it easy for a blogger to edit the text, move it to a more appropriate spot in the article or delete it.

• Omit needless words. Vigorous blog writing is concise, a sentence should contain no unnecessary words, and a paragraph should contain no unnecessary sentences. Every word is important, every word should tell.

• Use definite, specific, concrete language. The best way to arouse and hold the attention of the blog reader is to be very specific, definite and concrete in your blog post writing.

• Write in a way that comes naturally. Write in a way that comes easily and naturally to you. Use words and phrases that come readily to hand.

• Be clear. As blog post writing is communication, clarity is a virtue. Make your writing simple to read and understand. Write short sentences, include a lot of white space. Make it all clear, easy to scan and easy to understand.

• Use orthodox spelling. Forget “nite”, “thru” and “pleez”. Forget simplified spelling, forget Internet slang. It distracts the reader and makes your blog posts hard to read and understand. Use the standard words.

• Avoid fancy words. To use the language well, you should cherish its classic form. Do not be tempted by a fancy word when there is a plain word to use. Same with foreign language expressions. As long as you have an English word for it, use it.

• Do not take shortcuts at the cost of clarity. Write things out. Do not use initials of abbreviations unless you are certain it will be understood by your readers. There are readers that encounter the name for the first time, make it easy for them to see the words. Start your blog articles by writing names in full and shorten them later in the article.

The Elements of Style has some great tips for bloggers, it contains rules of grammar and is a great helping hand to people who express themselves in writing.

Following these blog writing tips will certainly make your life easier, make the life of your readers easier and will contribute towards your blog articles becoming a bigger success.