How not to write a blog
There’s a reason why so many businesses and individuals write blogs - they’re a fantastic way to engage customers and prospective clients with your company and your brand, and to showcase your knowledge and expertise. Blogs allow you to add fresh new content to your site, which helps get it to the top of search results. No wonder so many people turn their hand to this friendly form of communication.
Yet for every successful blogger, there are many that fail. Here are a few reasons why:
1. TMI (or too much information, for those who aren’t familiar with text speak)
Spend hours writing an essay and your reader will quickly switch off and lose interest. The same applies to overuse of technical terms (or text speak!). Blogs should be short, sweet and easy to understand.
2. Spelling and punctuation mistakes
Every communicator’s pet hate! With the range of auto-correct and spell checkers available these days, it’s inexcusable to publish a blog with mistakes in. Publishing content that contains errors makes you look unprofessional and reflects badly on your brand. It takes a few minutes to proof your writing or to ask someone else to review it for you. A proofreader could also provide this service.
3. Posting too frequently (or infrequently)
It’s important to strike a balance with the frequency of your posts. Too few and your readers will become bored waiting for the next instalment. Too often and your followers will end up blocking you for spamming them. If you’re a newbie blogger, once a fortnight is a good place to start. You can always build up the frequency as you gain more followers or if your audience demands it.
4. Over-promotion
If you use your blog solely as an advertorial for your business, you’ll soon turn off prospective followers. Make your content interesting, balanced and useful, however, and you’ll soon leave them wanting more! It’s not frowned upon to promote your business, just do it discreetly!
5. Old news
Blogs are all about the here and now, not for revisiting a subject that was in the news a few months ago. If you want to write about it, strike while the iron’s hot and publish when the topic is still current. That’s not to say you shouldn’t draw on personal experiences from the past though - these will help to build an emotional connection with your reader.
I'm sure you’ll be able to add to this list with perils and pitfalls from your own personal experiences. If there’s something you’d like to get off your chest, by all means share your thoughts below.
If you’re thinking of starting a blog for your business, or want to improve what you already have out in the blogosphere, Comma Sense can provide you with straightforward guidance and support - to find out more please drop me a line at lucy@comma-sense.co.uk or call me 07810 528517.