Top 5 Blog Writing Skills & Tips For Better Blog Posts

In a previous post that I wrote I put together a beginner’s guide on how to write a blog post to help you plan out and structure your articles before publishing them.

Whilst that focuses on individual posts, I wanted to talk about some other blog writing skills and tips that you can use to improve your blog posts. 

I have found these to be helpful myself whilst running my sites online and hope that you do to.

Think More Like An Author

Bloggers (and blogs in general) are quite unique in the fact that they aren’t quite novelists nor are they journalists.

They are probably closer to being journalists, though, generally speaking, they aren’t quite as formal.  This of course depends on what you are blogging about.

Whatever subject you happen to be writing about you should try to think more like an author.

Most authors (at least the good ones anyway) plan out their beginning, middle and end before they beginning actually writing.  That way they know where they are going instead of trying to make it all up on the spot.

You should treat your articles in exactly the same way.  Just because you are writing an informative piece, you still need to entice people in with a good introduction, keep them engaged throughout the main body of your article and then wrap it up nicely at the end.

If you approach writing your articles in this way then you will be able to convey what you are trying to say in a much better way.

Trying to make it up as you go along can lead to you repeating yourself, or worse, readers getting bored halfway through because you are waffling on about something that is unrelated.

Use Stories

This links nicely with the previous point about trying to think more like an author.  Stories are enticing, they are interesting and people can relate to them.

If we are honest, there are many blogs out there that cover quite boring subjects.  That said, the way that information is presented dictates whether we will revisit it or not.

Using stories within your writing is a great way to present information in an interesting and relatable way.

This doesn’t mean you should just make up stuff to write about, but rather keep people interested.  Use anecdotes, metaphors, personal experiences, etc. to help put your point across.

This could be as simple as telling people about the mistakes you made and what you did to get over/fix it.  That way, people can easily relate to what you are saying.

Use Humour

This can be a tricky one as trying to be funny when you are not can be very off-putting.  That said, if you can successfully introduce humour into your writing then you stand a better chance of building a community around your site.

Like I said earlier, a lot of blog subjects can be quite boring, so any way that you can make it more appealing and accessible to your audience the more likely they are to keep coming back for more.

Practice Makes Perfect

Like anything in life, the more time you spend practicing it, the better at it you will get.  If you want to become a better writer, then you need to practice writing.

I tell all new bloggers this, yet they often misunderstand me and think that that means they should just write lots of posts for their site.

Whilst doing this will help you improve, you will find that you can grow much more as a writer by writing about different things and subjects.

Good writing is often down to good vocabulary, proper use of punctuation, spelling and storytelling.  Develop those skills by practicing regularly and you will see an improvement in your writing.

There are many different ways in which you can practice writing, such as;

• Start a diary,
• Write guest posts for other blogs,
• Write guest posts for other blogs in different subjects,
• Write more emails,
• Write longer emails,
• Write letters,
• Try writing a short story (500-1000 words)

Read

Just as it is important to practice writing regularly, it is equally important that you spend time reading on a daily basis.

Reading helps to broaden your vocabulary.

You can pick up lots of tips and writing styles from other writers/authors and ultimately help you understand how to get your point across.

Writing is all about communication and you will find that by reading from a broad range of subjects, you will see what works and what doesn’t.

Don’t just stick to reading about one subject (like the one your blog is about), broaden your horizons and read about a variety of different things, such as;

• Local news stories,
• World news stories,
• Fiction,
• Science,
• Technology,
• Reviews (Movies, TV, Music, etc.)

Becoming a good writer won’t happen overnight.  You need to work at it, practice and develop over time.

Even individuals that are deemed “good writers” will tell you that they are still learning their craft and developing.  If you apply yourself though, you will get better.

Your Turn:

If you would like more in-depth information and coaching to learn how to blog successfully then sign up for our 12 module coaching program.

What tips have you used to improve your writing since you first started out? 

I would love to hear from you in the comments section below.