Are you thinking of joining the blogosphere? Starting your own blog is ideal for updating your friends and family, sharing your expertise with the world or showcasing your skills for professional reasons. To get readers to come back, it's important that you are present and post content frequently. Read on to learn more about how to write a blog.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Refine Your Style and Voice
Step 1. Choose a genre
If your purpose is to attract other readers besides your friends and family, it's a good idea to choose a genre, albeit a broad one, for the blog. Presenting yourself as someone who has an interesting opinion on certain topics will bring back people who share your interests. What topic are you so passionate about that you want to discuss it publicly? Bloggers can write about any topic: family, food, cars, professions, the apocalypse, gardening. Think about your priorities and decide what yours will focus on.
- Just because you want to be a food blogger or a fashion blogger doesn't mean that all of your content needs to be related to a specific category. You can be a food blogger who also talks about the life of a single mom or a sports blogger who, every now and then, delights in writing about politics.
- Read other blogs that fall under the same genre to learn about the existing community around a particular theme. Entering the blogosphere is like joining a big group conversation. What will your contribution be? What is unique about your story?
Step 2. Write like an expert
The most persuasive writing appears confident and authoritative, whatever the theme. People who take the time to read you will want to hear that they learn something from you. Offering your expert opinion on a topic, advice on how to do something, or information not yet available from other sources will keep visitors coming back because they know it will be worth it.
- You don't have to have a PhD to look like an expert. There are already areas in which you have some expertise; just to give an example, you can talk about your personal life. Your taste, your opinions, your experience. Everyone is an expert on something and blogs are excellent means for people to share their knowledge with the world.
- You should express your expertise with your voice. Write in assertive prose instead of using passive language. Write down anecdotes and, when appropriate, do research.
- Consider creative ways to share your knowledge with readers. You could tell a hilarious story that everyone can relate to and get something out of, share a tutorial on how to do something you would do with your eyes closed, write a review about little-known musicians or artists in need of promotion, explain methods on how to calm a screaming child in a restaurant… the possibilities are endless.
Step 3. Write how you speak
Blogs, contrary to more traditional forms of writing, tend to be informal, conversational and close to the reader. When you write a post, it might help to pretend you're talking to your sister or best friend. Using the same voice in all your publications gives a sense of cohesion and represents your person. A common reaction to popular blogs is to feel like you "know the author". When you find a tone and style that creates a sense of familiarity with people you don't know, you've spotted the secret to successful blogging.
- Many bloggers have a friendly relationship with their readers, but there are other forms of familiarity that can lead to fame. For example, you could write even though you are a teacher and your readers are your students; you can still inspire wisdom in the younger ones and bring them back. Find the relationship that works best for you.
- It can be difficult to use the same words when writing and speaking. If you are unsure about the blog entry, try reading a post aloud. Does it flow naturally and smoothly or does it look woody? If you're not fluent, retrace your steps and change the language and sentence structure to make it seem more informal.
Step 4. Share the details
Let's be honest: blogging is about writing as much as reality TV is about television. Like the best reality television, the most persuasive blogs are the ones that have a lot of juicy personal details. If your blog is too dry and formal, it will be hard to keep your readers close. Share your life as much as possible (as long as you don't feel uncomfortable doing it). In this way, you will gain the readers' trust and strengthen that "relationship" we were talking about earlier.
- How Much Should You Share? A good indicator is to convey the amount of information you would give to a good friend who knows you well. Your unique personality and experiences should shine through.
- Know your limits and stick to them. There will always be details that you should keep to yourself or only share with close friends and family members. Once you post something on the internet, it's hard to take your words back, so don't force yourself out of your comfort zone.
Method 2 of 3: Establish the Format
Step 1. Choose a topic
Every post you write should have one, however large or vast it is. Posting a bunch of unrelated thoughts might be okay every now and then, but avoid every daily post being devoid of focus. Think of each publication as a mini-essay; you have to have a thesis to make it progress and make it interesting enough for readers.
- The topic can be obvious, like "My Thoughts After Seeing Wicked for the First Time", or subtle, capable, in the end, of unexpectedly tying together what the post covers. Be creative with the organization and presentation of your thoughts.
- Some bloggers like to repeat popular topics among readers. For example, you could dedicate the post published every Monday to music, where you will propose new artists.
Step 2. Write a bold headline
The title of a post should be designed to immediately attract the reader. Be creative and let the titles be fun, mysterious, original, surprising or extremely interesting. Your title represents the beginning of the post and will help the reader decide whether to continue reading or not, so it should not be overlooked.
Step 3. Write short paragraphs
Online writing is characterized by short paragraphs, containing, at most, three or four sentences. Paragraphs should be broken by white space and not by indentations. This style is much more suitable for reading on the internet, which happens from the top to the bottom of the screen, not from side to side. You will lose readers if it is difficult to scroll the page quickly.
Step 4. Use bold for subtitles and certain words
Breaking up the text with subtitles is a good way to prevent the post from looking like a long and hard-to-read essay. Subtitles are usually written in bold and larger fonts or in a completely different style from the rest of the text, drawing the eye's attention when it would otherwise get lost. If you don't want to split the post into categories tagged with subtitles, you can bold important phrases so that it looks more attractive.
- Another way to add visual interest to the post is to play around with the different types of formatting. Bold or italicize individual words, experiment with different font sizes, use different colors.
- Don't get carried away by this strategy, be careful not to overdo it. You want the post to remain legible and using too many fonts or colors could create a visual catastrophe if you don't proceed with caution.
Step 5. You could include a “how to” section or a list
Many bloggers post a few tutorials or lists as part of their blogs, usually with highlighted passages. This gives readers something concrete and has been shown to build audience loyalty. You can also write a post as if it were a list: each element is indicated by a subtitle and explained in a paragraph.
- If you include a “how to” section, make sure the tutorial is easy and, at the same time, enjoyable to follow. Don't change the pitch entirely to make the guide sound like a manual, keep your voice.
- Lists are a good way to organize thoughts that seem disparate. You could write a list of “5 Ways to Mentally Prepare for the New Year,” for example, and include five funny anecdotes related to what you have been thinking about this topic. You have essentially created a structure for your post where before you would have simply written the unrelated stories one after the other.
Step 6. Use the links
Some bloggers use them more than others, but most introduce a few in every post. Links to other articles are one of the hallmarks of writing on the web. They are excellent for connecting blogging to the rest of the online world and also make writing more relevant and up-to-date - a huge bonus when it comes to attracting readers who look to blogs because they want to learn about certain topics.
- Insert links to other people's blogs. They will also do the same to you and you can help increase traffic.
- Insert fascinating and rare links. Readers will click on your blog for good information not found elsewhere.
Step 7. Don't forget the pictures
Some bloggers use eight images in one post, while others use one or none. This is up to you, but it's worth experimenting to see what drives traffic and what makes blogging more appealing. Just remember to follow the same rules as writing: post relevant shots, offer something unique and, if appropriate, personal.
- You don't necessarily have to use professional photos. Those taken with your camera or cell phone will do just as well in most cases.
- If you're starting a blog about food or another topic that needs images, consider an investment to buy a good camera and learn how to edit photos for use on the web.
Method 3 of 3: Engage the Readers
Step 1. Update your blog often
Blogs compete with so many other content on the web. It is important to have some relevance and update what you write in order not to lose readers, otherwise, the blog will be easily forgotten. Update it at least once a week, ideally more frequently.
- When you have writer's block and can't think of new posts, remember that not all publications need to be of the highest quality and well thought out. You can update the blog several times a week with shorter posts or thoughts just to stay on people's radar.
- Updating it frequently is especially important in the beginning and when trying to gain readers. As your popularity grows, it will be harder for them to forget you after a week or two with no posts.
- Publishing a list of your favorite things is ideal for putting up a post without actually having to write it. For example, you could end the week with a list of links that inspired you.
Step 2. Encourage comments
The beauty of writing online is that your readers can join the conversation in real time. You will know exactly what others think about your blog because they will tell you in the comments. This type of participation should be promoted, as it makes people feel welcome in your blog's "community", creates a sense of friendship and intimacy, and gets fans spreading the word on your blog.
- One way to encourage people to comment is to ask them questions in posts. For example, you could end a post about your vacation with the question “And where do you like to go?”. When others feel encouraged to participate, they usually do.
- Be prepared to get negative or nasty comments from time to time. Do not be offended; all bloggers are read by people who go beyond friends or family and are subject to the actions of trolls. You can delete or ignore these comments, the choice is up to you.
Step 3. Reply to comments, emails and tweets
When starting out, taking the time to talk to the people who read you will allow you to build a loyal audience and increase the sense of intimacy. Later on, you won't be able to reply to every single comment or email, but setting aside a certain amount of time for this task will pay off in the end.
Step 4. Pay attention to your audience
If a certain topic or style of a post seems to hurt your traffic or inspire fewer responses, try something new next time. This does not mean that you have to be completely at the service of your reader base, but if you do not propose something they like, you will have problems convincing them to stay.
