What I know about your blog reader

May 29, 2013 | Better Blogging

You don’t need to do a lot of research to know some important things about the person who reads your blog. Here are some things we know and what they mean for you.

There’s only one reader, at a time, that is. Crowds don’t read your blog, people do, and they do it one at a time. So don’t write to “readers,” instead, write like you’re talking to one of them.

You can’t count on the reader ever visiting your blog before. So write like every reader is there for the first time. Explain terms, especially your jargon, in the text or at the end of a link.

The reader doesn’t care about you. I know you’re a fine human being, an astounding success, and a credit to your family. But, the reader doesn’t care. He or she is reading your post to answer a question or solve a problem.

Readers hear you in their head. So write for the ear and not for the eye. Read every piece of writing aloud. Revise it until it reads smoothly.