Image courtesy of iamakid.’s photostream
Here I am, a first-time blogger, and I feel like a little fish in a big bad ocean of business-related blogging. I tried looking up tips on “how to blog,” and that wasn’t much help. Personally, I could write about a million things, but to blog in a business-related setting has me feeling a bit out of water. But fellow coworkers have advised me, I’ve scoured Google for tips and reading fellow bloggers’ posts have encouraged taking the plunge. Here are some tips that I felt helped me along the way:
• Who are you writing for? It is pretty simple really. Why are you writing? Who do you want to read your blog? Understanding your audience, no matter how broad, will help you write. You may not touch everyone with each blog. But focusing on who you are writing for should factor in with what your content will be. Take it one blog a time, thinking of one group of people you would like to reach.
• Write how you speak. It is so very easy to get caught up in the feeling that you have to sound more professional than personal. For some, this may be how you want to be perceived. I have found that staying true to you allows the words to flow much easier. Don’t get me wrong, I love a thesaurus. Expanding your vocabulary is invaluable, but make sure to write the things you would actually say. Your readers will thank you for it. Use your personality and let that shine through your words. Blogging is more about how you say something in addition to what you say.
• Lists are HUGE. You scour the Internet and everything is a list nowadays: Top 10 reasons to join a gym, 25 funniest falls, 15 women who changed the business world. Lists are eye-catching and easier for the reader to skim. Because let’s face it – we skim content, then back up and read what pertains to us. As a writer, lists are like stepping stones. You have your mini-topics to branch out in detail. We are taught in elementary school to draft webs and bullet points to help the writing process. Your “Top 5” will be well-received and your brain will thank you later for organizing your blog in this fashion.
• Write what you know. As an individual, you have experienced so many things in your lifetime. Take those memories and think about how you can spin those into the business world. Does your child play on a soccer team desperate for sponsors? Blog about the importance of sponsorship. (Hint, hint stay tuned for my first real blog.) Did your favorite restaurant close down? And what went wrong? Blog about how to stay afloat in today’s economy. I felt that I knew next to nothing about business-centralized blogging. So I am sticking to what I know, adjusting my content, doing a little research and writing about how on a larger scale my experience fits in the business world.
I truly hope my who, what and why of blogging for dummies will encourage you to dive into the world of bloggers. Whether it may be personal or business, I commend you for putting your writing out there. Good luck!