Writing a blog post people want to read requires speaking honestly and openly about a subject that you are passionate about. It needs to be dynamic, interesting and enjoyable. Remember it is a conversation.
Blog from the heart
- Write about emerging trends and innovations.
- Share your ideas, opinions, insights, experience and knowledge.
- Tell a story (see the using storytelling page)
- Be original and unique.
- End your blog posts with a call for action, a message of hope, a question, an inspiration, food for thought – something that opens a dialogue – and ask your readers to comment and share their ideas and opinions.
Captivate your readers
- Give your blog a catchy headline. Keep your titles short, easy to understand and attention-grabbing. Ask a question or craft a counter-intuitive or controversial headline.
- Make sure the title reflects the content of the blog post. Remember that titles are the first things that appear in search engine results.
- Start your blog with a captivating sentence and explain to your reader what they should expect from it.
- Make sure your blog post is scannable.
- Do not forget to include keywords/tags to help search engines.
- Blog regularly so that you do not disappoint your readers. Start out modestly and build up – if you begin by blogging daily and then slow down to once a week, you will lose readers.
- Develop a writing style and stick to it.
- Show your passion in your writing.
- Write in an inviting way that encourages your readers to comment and engage in conversation. Write in plain language.
Help your readers
- Do not use institutional jargon. If you use technical terms, explain them thoroughly.
- Keep details to the minimum – do not overburden readers. Get to the point and do it fast!
- Avoid introducing too many ideas and concepts in one blog post; consider doing a series of posts.
- Do not write propaganda blog posts.
- Avoid writing about organizational matters that may not be of interest to a larger audience – describe your own experience.
- Before publishing your post, edit it and read it aloud. If you struggle as you read it, consider redrafting.
- Include links and photographs.
- Where applicable, embed PowerPoint presentations and videos in your blog post.