Blogging today has gone a long way from being a digital diary. Everyone – from novice writers to big businesses – is now leveraging blogging platforms to reach a broader readership. Regardless of where your blog is on this full spectrum, the goal remains the same: to be read. Thus, writing well is just the first of your concerns. If you want to be a better blogger, make sure your blog ticks all these boxes:
Embrace a good design
Don’t get too pressured to churn out a good design for your blog. Professional web designers and WordPress developers like Chicago’s Techzo will be the first to tell you that the site’s design should be more about interaction and not aesthetics. Your content has to be readable, which means you have to be aware of how the eyes naturally move through your blog.
Being too flashy turns off potential readers, not to mention it makes your site load slower. Consider having pillar pages and an organized dashboard where your readers can navigate your array of archived content.
Know your position
Are you a niche writer writing for a specific industry, or a content producer creating content about whatever is hot on the market right now? The thing is, you may or may not be either of these two. You might, during your blogging journey, feel the need to adjust, evolve, or completely refurbish your blog based on what you’re passionate about, and that’s fine!
Your digital persona, though, has to be consistent. Your stance, tone, and delivery determine how much your readers should trust your authority on the topic, regardless of what it’s about.
Make use of mixed media
The traditional long-form blog tends to get lost on today’s readers because they can’t afford to read through long, winding paragraphs to get to that one piece of information that they need. But that shouldn’t keep you from writing long blog posts, especially if you’re an expert on the topic.
Instead, leverage various forms of media to get your point across. Embed short videos, audio clips, infographics, or even GIFs to communicate your points. Remember: interest invites attention, so you have to be as enjoyable as a storyteller as possible.
Whitespace
Writers should know that a blog site’s white space, or the gaps in between a blog’s sections, is their ally. This is especially helpful if you find yourself writing posts with word counts that reach upwards of a thousand, such as niche blogs, comprehensive reviews, or academic writing and editorials. If you’ve gone to school and felt hampered by a massive chunk of text, you’ll understand why white space is essential.
How do you maximize it? Just use your enter button more often. Pare down long paragraphs. Cut and portion your blog’s parts to emphasize central and vital ideas.
Collaborate with other creators
Beyond the tangibles of your blog, this is what will keep your mind active with new and innovative ideas to write about. Collaboration with people within and beyond your field will give you fresh perspectives on how to see the world and why we tell stories.
Leverage social media and get in touch with other bloggers, filmmakers, media personalities, actors, songwriters, entrepreneurs – everyone who has ever created something original. Work with them whenever possible. You’ll thank yourself for widening your view of the world.
Blogging is and always should be what it’s meant to be: an enjoyable experience. While the field fills with up and coming bloggers, it all boils down to how good your story is and how good you tell it to the world.
