Make your blog posts as good as they can be
“Ok, smart guy,” I hear you mutter, “Now tell me how.”
There are two ways to come at this problem. The first one is to pick content that make great blog posts. The best post I’ve seen on that is Jesse Lyn Stoner’s post: “How to Write a Blog People Want to Read.”
Go read Jesse’s post. Better yet, bookmark it, and then come back here.
One you’re working on making your content more helpful and attractive, it’s time to think about some writing details. That’s where I come in. Here are six technical things you can do to write better posts.
Start early
Remember college when you waited till the last minute to write your papers? How did that work out for you? Guess what, it doesn’t work for blog posts either. Start thinking about, researching, and outlining a post well before it’s time to write.
Revise more
If it’s still in your head, it doesn’t count. Get your ideas out of your head so you can start wrestling with them. Guess what? You may need to start planning earlier.
Write a thesis sentence
If you can put your key idea into a single sentence, you can usually flesh it out in a post without digressing. If you can’t put your key idea into a single sentence, you probably don’t understand it well enough to write a good post.
Use subheads
Subheads will help your readers scan your post. That way they can get your main message even if they’re pressed for time. As a bonus, you can use your subheads as an outline.
Write like you talk
Don’t write like your English teacher wanted you to write. Write the way you’d talk to a friend. Elmore Leonard developed Ten Rules of Writing, but he summed them all up with this: “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.” The best way to get this right is to read your post aloud.
Use spell/grammar checkers
Use the grammar and spell checkers in Word or on the web to check out your writing. Most of the time you usually want to produce posts that are readable by folks with a 6th grade to tenth grade reading level. Use these handy tools to keep getting better.