Did you ever think that your blog writing style could be turning your visitors away?
A painful thought isn’t it? But it could be, especially if you’re writing your blog posts based on how you were taught to write in school.
Blog writing is different than traditional editorial or article writing. Your blog needs to project a writing style that is interesting, easy to read and personalized.
Take for example some of the most popular bloggers on the web. What makes their blogs popular?
It’s their style of writing. It draws you in at the title, and keeps you reading until the very end.
So how do they do it?
Their writing style is relaxed, easy to read and holds your reader’s interest from one point to the next. Unlike the traditional, academic style of writing that can be dull and an effort to get through.
Here are some helpful tips that will improve your writing by showing you a writing style that will keep readers interested from beginning to end.
The Headline
Start with a compelling headline. Your headline really only has one job, to get your reader to read the first line of your post. That’s it! So it needs to grab attention, be compelling or incite interest.
Look at this headline:
“Ways to Lose Weight“
Did that grab your attention? Probably not, but this might:
“3 Ways to lose 10 Pounds in 5 Days!”
See the difference? The second headline was specific.
Now that your headline got their attention, you’ll need to keep the momentum going.
Your First Line – The Introduction
Here’s where many bloggers go wrong. They present the reader with a long, wordy, paragraph that the reader doesn’t relate to. It’s here that a reader’s eyes will start to glaze over.
Your fist sentence should make a statement or ask a question that you know is on your reader’s mind. Don’t dilute it by adding other unnecessary sentences. Your sentence should be able to stand on its own.
Here’s an example of an opening I wrote for a blog a few years ago:
Writing articles to promote your business will draw traffic to your site, increase your subscribers, build strong inbound links and labels you as an expert. But knowing how to write successful articles that accomplishes all these things and keeps you from developing burnout can be a challenge for most writers.
Have I lost you yet?
Here’s how I’d change it today:
You’ve been told that writing articles will draw more traffic and subscribers to your website.
So you start writing articles like crazy.
But the truth is that your articles aren’t drawing in more traffic or subscribers, they take too long to write and frankly, you’re getting tired of writing them.
See the difference?
Just like your headline, your first sentence has to take your reader to the next sentence, the next sentence to the next, and so on. But in order to get your reader to keep reading they have to be able to relate to what your are saying.
Connect with Your Readers and Take them on a journey - The Body
Did you ever have a problem with something and then talk to someone who had the same problem? You feel a connection don’t you? That’s how you want your reader to feel.
One way to do that is to ask a question you know your reader will say “Yes” to, or connect with an emotion you know they are feeling.
Another way to connect is to state a fact, or make a true, bold or factual statement that you know your reader would agree with.
While reading your copy you want your reader to actually say to themselves:
“Yes, that’s exactly how I feel” or “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing“, or “Yes, that’s what I want to accomplish“.
Now you’re connecting emotionally in your copy, that can be very powerful!
A good time to ask a question or make a statement is in your first sentence. I personally like to ask several questions or make statements throughout my copy that I know my reader can connect with. It helps them relate as well as stay engaged in your copy.
Take Your Reader on a Journey
Nicholas Cardot wrote a guest post on ProBlogger titled “taking your readers on a journey they’ll never forget“. That post resonated with me because your writing should do exactly that; take them through an experience they can relate to and that will stick with them.
The way to do this is by teaching them something they want to know, make points with personal stories and let your personality shine through.
The Final Destination – The Closing and Call to Action
Here’s where bloggers can get lazy. They’ll often simply say a few words, pat themselves on the back for a job well done and call it good. If you fall short now, you’re blog post will lose its purpose. Avoid that temptation. Instead, keep your reader engaged by asking for their participation.
This is where knowing the purpose of your blog post comes in. What do you want your reader to take after reading your post? Is it to get a newsletter signup? Promote a link? Sell a product or service? Encourage comments?
Whatever it is, this is your opportunity to get your reader to do something. Give them a powerful call to action.
The way to get someone to do something is to simply ask. We sometimes hesitate to ask for a click, or to ask someone to buy something, but you can’t expect your reader to guess what you want them to do. Think of it this way, either they will do it or they won’t, but the answer is always ‘no” if you don’t ask.
Let’s sum up…
- Start with a compelling headline
- Create a first line that resonates with your reader, so know your reader.
- Take your reader on a journey
- Connect with your reader
- Give your reader a call to action
So here’s your call to action:
Use this post as a guideline for developing your own blog writing style and post your thoughts below 
Yes, definitely not to gain praises, in fact that’s what most of the comment spammers try to do, which makes spammy comments so easy to spot
Thanks so much for your feedback.
Writing good articles is definitely a skill that everybody can develop. And even before writing an article, one should always think about the end result. The intention of the writer should be not to gain praises or the like, but to start a relationship with the readers. By showing the up close story of the blogger, readers come to trust and eventually in the long run will show the respect that the writer deserves. The feeling after reading a good article should be like a personal tour with the writer.
Well done Ms. Liz
This is truly an art.
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Hello there Ms. Liz I really do appreciate this great post that you have shared so true that readers or visitors keeps coming back to one site if the content is unique, aside from the blog owner keeps on freshen up his/her site.
Thanks Megan,
What you mentioned is true. People like blogs specifically for the connection they can make with real people, so it’s important to speak their language and engage them.
I don’t think that’s as easy as we assume it is when we decide to start a blog, but it’s certainly not hard to do if we really focus on developing our own voice and persona.
Great post! I especially identified with you when you said “connect with your readers and take them on a journey”. I recently read an article about why people flock to personal finance bloggers instead of finance professionals. Bloggers are “real people” and can relate to us, so it is easier to take advice from them. You bring up some really good pointers!
Hi Ashleen,
Catchy works, but the real job of your title is to get the reader to read the first line of your copy. So really think about that when creating your title.
Hi Liz. You got some great points and ideas here. Your blogging style is truly different and I agree with you. Make some title of your post that is catchy.
“Ask”, who’d a thought? It IS really a simple concept
Thanks Gerald for your feedback.
Liz
Twitter: GeraldNitram
on June 20, 2012 at 4:25 pm said:
A lot of people forget that last part. They think that they need an awesome call to action at the end, and adding a lot of spice to it. There are times when that much spice can contribute a lot less than simply asking for a comment. Don’t be afraid to ask people, because that’s one of the simplest ways of getting them to start a conversation with you.
Great post Liz. You are absolutely right on title of post. If the title is eye catchy then visitors will definitely get attracted by it. Call to action is also required in blog posts as it is like as analytics of that post. If we don’t provide any call to action then how can we know the effectiveness of that post?
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Hey Minerva,
Great! I hope you find that they help you make your writing tasks a lot easier
Nice post Liz. Now I know how to do it right. I’m gonna go ahead and try these guidelines. Thanks!
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