TIPS FOR WRITING BETTER BLOG POSTS
Photo by Paige Cody on UnsplashI am not yet a professional blogger, I am still learning a whole lot of things and I know so many bloggers just like me are still learning too. I aim to be a professional blogger but right now, I am still a newbie. I don't know everything and I am not an island of knowledge but the tips I am about to share with you are tips I use when writing blog posts for my blog. Different bloggers have their writing styles and different bloggers use different tips for writing better blog posts and if you are looking to write better blog posts, this might be of use to you.
PROOFREAD YOUR BLOG POSTS BEFORE PUBLISHING
It can be very tempting to write a blog post and just publish without scanning for errors and re-reading but it is very important to re-read your posts as many times as possible before publishing so as to avoid errors of any kind be it broken links, misspelt words, etc. We are humans, we are prone to making mistakes and that is why it is very important to take your time to analyze your posts before publishing. I have come across some bloggers who have countless errors on their blog posts and for me, reading a post with countless errors is a huge turnoff. It is extremely discouraging. I am not trying to be judgemental. Even I am not perfect, I make mistakes too but if writing an error-free blog post/content means you need to hire a proofreader, hire the damn proofreader.
ALWAYS CARRY A BOOK AND A PEN AROUND
Most people underrate the importance of always having a book and a pen at all times. Carrying a book and pen with you at all times can save you the stress of thinking about what topic to create a blog post on. As a blogger, you never know when inspiration will come. There have been times where I was just sitting down or doing some random stuff and boom... a killer blog post idea comes to mind. If I am with a pen and a book when that blog post idea comes to mind, I quickly write it down but when I am not with a pen and a book, I do my best to remember the topic until I get home or get to a place where a pen and a paper is available but often times than I would love to admit, I end up forgetting the topic and all effort I make to remember proves futile.
WRITE WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE IT
Ever wrote a blog post when you weren't in the mood to write or when you weren't feeling like writing and ended up asking yourself why you wasted your time? Almost everyone, if not everyone, has felt like they weren't in the mood to write at one point or another. As a blogger, there will be times where you won't feel like writing and I advice that if you ever feel like you are not in the mood to write, do not write, just do something else and wait for a time when you are in the mood to write. I always write my blog posts when I am in the mood to write as I find that writing when I am in the mood makes me write better. When I write when I am not in the mood, I do not give it my best and it always ends up looking like a forced effort.
DO NOT COPY ANOTHER BLOGGER OR ANOTHER BLOGGER'S WORK
Some bloggers are guilty of this. When blogging, it is very important to be 100% yourself. Copying another blogger's work is so shallow and I dislike the idea of copying another blogger's work but some bloggers do this. It really sucks to put your whole into a blog post only for someone to copy it. It is important to not copy another blogger's work. Make sure your blog and your blog posts are a reflection of you. Be yourself and your audience will love you for who you are.
DO NOT WRITE EXTREMELY LENGTHY POSTS (BREAK YOUR POSTS UP)
Lengthy posts are great, they are considered more informative. Also, lengthy posts are wonderful for SEO. I don't have a problem reading lengthy posts but I have a big problem reading posts that are too lengthy. It is okay to be super expressive in your posts but posts that are too lengthy are a very big turnoff for me. If I had to choose between reading a 5000 word post and a 1000 word post, I'll definitely choose the post with 1000 words. I don't know if I am the only one that does this but before reading a post, I always scroll down to the end of the post to see how lengthy it is and often times, if I find that the post is too lengthy for my liking, I don't read it. Everyone is not like me but believe me so many people do not have the time to read extremely lengthy posts so I advice you keep your posts lengthy but not too lengthy.
What are some tips you use in writing better blog posts? Which of the above tips do you relate to the most?
Interesting tips! I too dislike lengthy posts but have read that it's excellent for SEO so I've been trying to write more! For me, I love scheduling my writing days and on the days I don't write, I use the notes in my phone to jott down anything that pops in my head. Great post :)
ReplyDeleteLengthy posts are great for SEO and I don't have a problem with lengthy posts. I only have problems reading posts that are too lengthy. Reading extremely lengthy posts can be really tiring for me, tho this might not be the case for everyone. Scheduling your writing days is a great one too. I might give it a try!
DeleteThese are some really helpful tips. I definitely agree that you shouldn't write posts when you don't feel in the mood. It really shows in your writing when this is the case. Sometimes I'll wake up and want to write, so I take the opportunity to write two or three good posts, some of which might sit in my drafts for a while. I can always publish them when I'm not in the mood to write but want to upload something new to my blog.
ReplyDeleteYea writing posts when you are not in the mood shows in your writing. I really love the idea of writing more than one posts when you are in the mood to write. It always comes in handy.
DeleteThese are fantastic tips! I think that copying other bloggers' work is wrong, and there's a difference between taking inspiration from a blogger's style, and completely copying their writing! Thank you for sharing x
ReplyDeleteThere's a clear difference between just taking inspiration from a bloggers style and copying their writing. Copying another blogger's work is completely wrong and I'll never advice anyone to do that. No one would want to spend time working on a post only to have someone copy it. Thank you Eleanor x!
DeleteReally helpful tips here! I think it's really important to write what you love and what you're passionate about as it really comes across in the writing xx
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on this one Della! It is very important to write about what you love and what you are passionate about. It does really come off in the writing and I feel like the readers/audience can always feel the energy given off in your posts!
DeleteThese are some great tips! I definitely agree with proofreading - there's nothing more annoying that finding a typo after you've published a post!
ReplyDeleteAh! Proofreading is definitely a thing. I always try to proofread my posts as many times as possible before publishing. I know how annoying it can be to find errors here and there while reading a post and I do my best to make sure my posts are error free.
DeleteGood tips! I don't carry a pen and paper but I definitely have a document on my phone to keep post ideas etc. Definitely agree on the proofreading as well!
ReplyDeleteI have never thought of writing post ideas on my phone, it sounds like a good idea tho. I prefer writing post ideas on a book but I would love to give writing post ideas on my phone a try and see which works best for me.
DeleteLove these tips - carrying a notebook around with you is such a good idea! I tend to write notes on my phone whenever a blog post idea occurs to me. Thanks for sharing x
ReplyDeleteSophie | https://www.loveandliterature.co.uk
Carrying a notebook around with me has been of incredible help to me. I have never tried writing post ideas on my phone but I would give that a try soonest!
DeleteYou are right that it is so important to be yourself when blogging. That's not a tip that's offered often enough, so it's great to see it listed here.
ReplyDeleteIt is very important to be yourself when blogging. There's no need to try and be like another blogger. Being yourself is an art, being yourself helps you express yourself even more and I feel like being yourself while blogging will allow the right audience love you for who you are.
DeleteReally good advice! You're so right about proofreading. I try to use grammarly as I it always finds some silly mistakes that I don't even notice when I proofread it myself.
ReplyDeleteProofreading is very important. I love grammarly. Grammarly is great for spelling checks, finding errors (even the errors we fail to notice). It also detects plagiarism and I feel it is something every blogger should make use of. It might not be a 100% perfect but it does help a lot.
DeleteYou've got some great tips here. I'm going to second the advice in the comments about using Grammarly. There are times that I will read through a post a half dozen times only to have Grammarly point out a super obvious mistake that I SHOULD HAVE been able to notice. We're all human, after all! Right?
ReplyDeleteAs for the fact that you're still learning, we all are! Regardless of what level anyone is at in their blogging journey, they are learning and growing as they move forward. That's something that I try to remind myself anytime that I get frustrated with trying to learn something lol
Grammarly is such a helpful resource. I do feel like every blogger should make use of grammarly and yea we are all learning, no matter how much we think we know, we are all still learning. I feel like we can never completely learn everything about blogging and even when we feel we know too much, there will always be one thing we are yet to learn.
DeleteThese are such great tips. I totally agree about writing when you feel like it. If I try to write when I am not in the mood, it never turns out as well!
ReplyDeleteHaha! Me too. Whenever I write when I am not in the mood,it doesn't turn out as well as it would turn out if I was in the mood.
DeleteGreat post! I love the tip about carrying a pen and book with you at all times. I do this and it has been so helpful!
ReplyDeleteYea carrying a pen and a paper always comes in handy. I feel like there are things that definitely need to be written down and having a pen and book with you at all times helps make sure that no important info is left out.
DeleteAwesome tips. I used to write the post and publish it right away lol but I learned that I need to proofread it before publishing it.
ReplyDeleteYou should never publish a blog post without proofreading. Proofreading is very important and it is something that should never be left behind when publishing a blog post. I'm glad you were able to take something from this post. x!
DeleteThis was a great reminder for me to be myself when writing, sometimes I get consumed by what other bloggers are doing that I forget to write what I really want to write. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAh! It is so important to be yourself when writing. I definitely agree with the fact that sometimes we get consumed by what other bloggers are doing and forget to write what we really want to write but it is really important to be ourselves, write what we want to write and let our blog be a reflection of us.
DeleteWhat a great post! I'm such a sucker for forgetting to proof read! I really want to make it my thing this year!
ReplyDeleteKatie | katieemmabeauty.com
You should really make proofreading your thing Katie! Proofreading is very important and if you really want to create error free content, then you definitely have to learn to proofread!
DeleteGreat tips! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteI would say that if someone has written a very lengthy blog post (in the thousands of words), think about splitting it up into a series of blog posts to make it more palatable to readers.
You made such a great point Nikki! I really love the idea of splitting blog posts into series to make it less lengthy and more palatable to readers. Lengthy posts can be really tiring and this is such a great alternative! Thank you x!
DeleteProofreading is definitely an excellent practice to make into habit before hitting any publish button! I love big bags because I carry around notebooks everywhere and do my best never to be caught without a pen. :)
ReplyDeleteThe importance of proofreading can never be overemphasized and just like you said, it is very important to proofread before publishing any post. Also, carrying a notebook and a pen with you at all times can be a saving grace. Thank you x!
DeleteBloggers of all levels can always learn something or two. Always important to proofread your work before publishing it. Sometimes, having a second pair of eyes would help catch your typos. I love writing my notes on paper first. It feels different than just typing things out the first time. So important to not copy other bloggers!!! I've had stuff copied from me before and it's just so stressful. Agree with lengthy posts too! Easier to break into multiple posts - better for content planning too!
ReplyDeleteNancy ✨ mdrnminimalists.com
No one is an island of knowledge and no matter how much experience any blogger has, there will always be something that is yet to be learnt. I also agree with having a second pair of eyes. Sometimes, we take our time to proofread a text and end up finding zero errors only to have someone else proofread the same text and find errors lol. While writing this blog post, I wanted to include "writing blog posts on a paper first" as a tip for writing better blog posts but I decided not to include it because I wanted to give 5 tips only. I always write my blog posts on a paper first before typing. I love it and I find it very helpful! Also, I find that writing blog posts on a paper first before typing helps me write better, it reduces the number of errors and it makes proofreading easier. Having another blogger copy your work sucks 100% and breaking lengthy posts into multiple posts is a great alternative to publishing extremely lengthy posts. Thank you Nancy x!
DeleteI totally agree, especially with writing when you feel like it. I’ve tried to write a few times when I wasn’t focused or in the mood and I couldn’t even produce one decent paragraph. Therefore, I nowadays plan ahead so I don’t have stress when I’m not in the mood for a few days!
ReplyDeleteHahaha! I can totally relate to this Lisa. Writing when you are not in the mood is not something I would advice any blogger to do. I love the idea of planning ahead. Even I try to write at least 2-3 good posts when I am in the mood so that I can always publish them when I am not in the mood. Thank you Lisa x!
DeleteSome really helpful tips here, so thank you for sharing. I agree that proofreading before publishing is essential. It's normal to make mistakes but you can always spot the bloggers that never proofread as their writing generally seems to have a lot of mistakes. Personally, I can't read blog posts that are riddled with errors as they sound unprofessional IMO
ReplyDelete