This is a guest post on blog content writing tips from author Kaitlyn Lee.
Many of us have wondered how it is to be a writer at least once in our lives. For me, this period of doubts was long. Though, in the end, I decided that enough was enough—if you want something badly, go for it. And so, my own blog was created.
The most important thing I want to tell all those people who are just like me a few years back—being a writer is easy. You may think that all those people who have reached success in this area just have a talent for it and you cannot change who you are. Yes, you can. Learning to write, to actually create something, is possible. You just have to know where to start.
For me, the beginning of my writing advancement was the creation of my own blog. As a young author who is still learning, you would want to choose a convenient way to practice your skills. Reading theory is always good, but practice makes perfect.
Once deciding to write something for the audience, I had to choose the right way to do it. I’m glad that this student’s forum I’ve frequently visited during my studying years helped me to find the best solution to my doubts. Besides, I’ll share a little secret of mine with you—this is an awesome place to find new ideas for my blog as well. You can take any issue discussed in a thread and share your thoughts in a blog of your own. This way, you not only create interesting content but also help other people in need of an answer.
I wholeheartedly encourage all people who think about writing to go for their dream and start with their own blog. I understand that it may be difficult in the beginning, but I can share a few other blog content writing tips for beginners.
While you may already have a list of ideas for your new blog, they are bound to come to an end sooner or later. I hope it’s rather sooner. No, I don’t think your ideas are bad, but you need to learn to look for the new ones. I mean you have to keep your eyes open and stay alert at all times. Once you hear several of your friends talking about some common issues, you know that the topic is hot. Don’t shy away from social networks, they always tell you what is trendy. However, you should pick up only those topics that suit your blog theme and are interesting to you.
Another place to look for interesting topics is Q&A services. They are full of questions regular readers are interested in.
High quality content is what instantly indicates a professional blog. Choosing the right topic is not enough to attract people to your page. An issue has to be masterfully uncovered.
There are countless opportunities to improve your writing skills. For me, the most useful source of blog content writing tips are some non-fiction books by famous journalists and authors. They share their success stories and reveal a few secret techniques they’ve been using for years. It may sound a bit boring but once you read at least one book of the kind, you’ll know how great they are.
In addition, there are many online courses and materials meant to improve your skills. You can find most of them for free. It’s never too late to learn.
What is the first thing that attracts your attention in an article? It’s a headline. No matter where you post it, on your blog or a general publishing website, the right title is what makes your work interesting. Writing blogs requires much thought, but so do the titles. The best blogs usually feature the best titles. This is the first step to success.
In my experience, even the most amazing article can be lost in the piles of useless stuff if given a boring headline. So don’t neglect this detail and you’ll up your chances of getting more comments and likes.
Your first blog post is going to be the face of your digital image. It tells the audience who you are and how you write. Don’t disappoint your first readers. Create something unique and interesting; something that would compel people to read more and more of your posts. No matter how you decide to advertise your blog, it’s going to be the first post that is regularly used.
There are many ways to introduce yourself. You may add actual bits about what you do and what inspires you, you may dwell on what this blog is going to be and how much it matters to you, and, finally, you may start with something mysterious and intriguing—keep them hooked up!
I’ll tell you a secret—nobody likes boring bloggers. So spice it up with a few jokes here and there. Don’t be monotonous. There is always a place for a joke (well, almost always with exception of a few delicate topics). A funny blogger is a popular blogger. Just look around and notice what people have the most of popularity in the modern digital world. Successful and easy-going bloggers rule the Internet. If you don’t want to be left behind, just relax and think about the audience as your friends. You can share a few jokes with them, right?
My advice is to read other successful blogs and notice what they use the most frequently and what makes their posts popular. Try to notice the most evident writing techniques they use—when you read several posts of one author, you notice some reoccurring details. Besides, some bloggers are generous enough to openly share a few tips now and then.
When it comes to creating your own blog, writing is not enough. There are many other aspects to the “trade” that even a young blogger has to know. Learning the basics of WordPress, Photoshop, and other services meant to help you with your content is a must. Read manuals and tutorials, choose the features most useful for your work, write steps down, and try using them later when posting your next update. Choose an elegant theme for your blog and add pictures regularly. People like visual content just as much, if not more.
Get to know all the technical aspects of a good blog; they’ll be a useful addition to your skills.
The main key to success in a world of bloggers is to update regularly. Constantly creating new content may be tiresome, but you want to keep your readers. It may not be a full long-read post each time, but try to share at least a few words regularly. Create your own schedule and try to stick to it with your posts. It’ll also keep your own interest in the blog. You can’t even imagine how many times I’ve tried to write a blog just to abandon it a few weeks later! Now, I understand that consistency is the key.
Your own unique image, or a brand if you’d like, is just as important as the headlines and other components of a successful blogger. You create something that will be easily recognized by your readers, no matter where they find your posts. You may use a particular blog post template, use some trademark phrase or just come up with a unique way to connect all your posts into one network under your name. It’ll also protect your content from those shameless thieves who want to make money on other people’s work.
Finally, the most important thing to remember—just be yourself. Creating content for people doesn’t mean becoming a robotic writer who conforms to every wish of the audience. People like opinionated bloggers who are not afraid to tell what they actually think.
I have to highlight that this is not a rating of top blog content writing tips that you have to follow. This is a simple list of the few things I’ve learned on my journey as a blogger. I definitely have several others left, but I cannot include all of them. Each tip is just as important as the others and it’s up to you to decide which ones you’ll use. You don’t have to follow all of them at once and check every step you take.
Leading a blog is a creative work and you have to be passionate about it and not just conform to the set of rules and guidelines when creating your next post. Remember that readers always feel when an author is passionate about their creation and enjoys writing it. No matter what current trends tell you to write, use your own head, keep to your interests and explore only those new things that capture your attention.
You’ll definitely pick up a few rules of your own when you start updating your blog regularly. Find those things that work for you and your audience, even if everybody tells you that it shouldn’t be working. This is a place where you are in control and you decide its future.