7 Tips for Writing Better Blogs

Anyone who’s takes classes like creative writing, electronic journalism, and business writing knows that you write for the audience. Obvious as it may sound, many bloggers’ posts don’t reflect that basic idea. If you’re among these bloggers and your writing needs to improve, here are seven tips to make your blog posts powerful.

1) Make your posts lean

Your writing is easy to understand when it has as few unnecessary words as possible. Concise work is impactful. It also allows readers to quickly skim through it. For example:

• Replace passive linking verb phrases such as “Steve was speaking about art” with more forceful statements like “Steve spoke about art” which have more impact.
• Replace prepositional phrases such as “The effectiveness of the product is evident” with more concise wording such as “The product is effective.”

2) Use a sentence to convey a single idea

Sentences that carry a single idea are the easiest to understand. But sometimes writers trying to sound smart end up sacrificing simplicity. The result is usually complex sentences that readers find confusing.

Keep in mind that most readers are not interested in your literary talent. They’re just looking for a quick solution to a problem, and they’ll appreciate simple writing.

3) Avoid isolating sentences

For a sentence to be compelling, the surrounding sentences must account for it. Avoid covering similar ideas in two sentences or using the same word in consecutive sentences. It’s redundant. Prune off repeat information and vary your language to give your readers a more exhilarating experience. A good thesaurus will help you replace overused words.

4) Vary the structure and length of sentences

The human brain yearns for variety. Simple and compound sentences work well together the same way long, medium, and short sentences do. Using the same length and structure throughout your writing makes it sound monotonous and bores readers. There’s beauty in diversity.

5) Do away with the clichés

Clichés rob your writing of authenticity. Such phrases have lost their meaning because people use them so much. According to some studies, catchwords like “leverage” and phrases such as “hungry as a horse” no longer activate the part of the brain where emotions lie. In other words, they’re stale. If you’ve heard it before, it’s a cliché. Filter out the clichés when proofreading, and find a fresh way to express your ideas.

6) Capture all the senses.

Talented fiction writers give their readers the full experience. The writers use words to paint a vivid image that captures a reader’s senses. Similes and metaphors help readers visualize an abstract idea by comparing it to a concrete image.

Sure, business writers don’t have room to maneuver as creative writers. But they can still infuse sensory language in their articles. Readers get hooked to content when they can see, touch, hear, taste and smell the ideas.

7) Let your ego go

When you think of a sophisticated sentence, you get attached to it. And you tend to force it into your writing even when it doesn’t quite fit. Letting go becomes hard. But you need to keep in mind that sentences that don’t provide new information or improve your readers’ understanding of the topic are fluff. They dilute your writing. Hard as it may be, let the sentence go and give your readers value.