Develop a writing
style and voice for Your Blog
Here are a few suggestions you can use
to develop your own voice and style for your blog. First, remember that a blog
is a conversation. Try to write the way you speak. Avoid jargon and clichés and
don't overuse the thesaurus. It may be helpful to speak your entry out loud
before trying to type it or to read it aloud after you've written it. If you
find yourself struggling as you read aloud or speaking unnaturally, think about
what you might have said if you were talking to a friend rather than writing.
A great site design and technical
gimmicks are no replacement for developing an interesting, readable writing
style. Most of us don't do much personal writing in our everyday lives or even
keep a diary. Writing about yourself is never easy, and you may find yourself
freezing up in front of the computer screen or becoming stilted and
unnecessarily verbose.
Second, write your blog with a specific
friend or family member in mind. Thinking of someone you know well and who
might want to read your blog will help you relax your writing style. That's why
it's become popular for many people to start personal journal entries with Dear Diary. The goal is to get
your writing to sound more like you and less like a lofty essay. Always
consider your audience. If you're writing for only close friends and family,
you don't need to explain that Sarah is your 8-year-old daughter every time you
mention her. But if your blog attracts a wider audience, you may want to create
references or glossaries to help new readers follow along.
Finally, before you start blogging,
spend some time visiting other blogs that are like the one you're thinking of
starting. Read one or two for a few weeks and pay attention to things like the
length of posts, frequency, writing style, and subject material. You can get
some great ideas for your own blog by noting what you find interesting and
compelling in other people's blogs.
Invite comments from Your Audience
An important aspect of blogs
is that they feature the writing of the blogger as well as the comments of
readers. When you visit a blog, you often find a comment link under the text of
each blog posting. Clicking that link enables you to read comments from other
people and submit your own. Usually bloggers make their own comments in the
posts on their site, but sometimes a blogger adds a response in the comment
section because it's a more direct way to address someone else's comment.
Not all bloggers choose to
implement the comment feature, but if you want to develop a dialogue with your
audience, comments are the best way to do so. The comment feature is an easy
way to involve your audience and get valuable feedback about what you're doing
with your blog. If you do decide to allow
comments on your blog, be sure to keep an eye on them. The comment feature
makes it possible for anyone to add comments to your blog and you may not
always like what they have to say.
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