Virtual Marketeers

Posts Tagged ‘writing’

There are so many things to consider when writing a blog. There is the structure, the content, the feel… plenty to think about.

Same applies to writing a book or report or any other document really.

Authenticity and Personality

I probably overuse the ellipsis (…) but that’s maybe, hopefully, my own personality and character shining through.

Don’t be too quick to get rid of your own little quirks. Your style of writing is what makes you unique and maybe it is what makes you stand out from every other writer on the planet.

Selecting a Topic

Do you write about topics that you are passionate about?

If you have limited knowledge on the topic then you will need to be prepared to either research the topic further, or pay a professional to write the blog post for you.

Have you thought about how your topic ties in with your business goals? Consider whether you can write an article series that might compliment your blog.

I find that the more that I refine my niche area the easier it becomes to think of a topic to write about.

Establish a Niche

Do any of us know it all? Do you think we will ever know it all? Nah, I don’t think so!

Instead of trying to know absolutely everything there is to know you might like to have a look at where you are focusing your business. What is your target audience? If your target audience is too broad then maybe you are not reaching your full potential.

To gain a better understand on niche marketing you might like to have a read of the following article, Have You Chosen a Niche Area Yet?

Try to Avoid Complex or Technical Words

If your target audience are unlikely to use more complex or technical type words and you want to help them, then wouldn’t it be best to use words that they don’t have to look up in the dictionary or on Google?

I prefer to really simplify my text and chat away like I am speaking with another person. For that reason I exclude words that I wouldn’t use in general conversation, eg. ‘therefore’, ‘consequently’, ‘however’.

Go Easy on the Word ‘AND’

Try not to become addicted to the word ‘and’.

Do you find yourself constantly using the word ‘and’ to string your sentences together? If your answer is yes then you might like to try and retrain yourself.

The articles should flow, but not in a way that the words flow together. To know whether the article is flowing you might consider whether the pauses in your article are sufficient – does the reader have opportunity to breath?

Used in the right way full stops and commas can add appropriate emphasis to the message you are trying to get across.

Don’t be afraid (or embarrassed) to read it out loud where there is a need.

If when I write on a particularly sensitive topic I might get worried that the flow of a sentence, paragraph, even article is not quite right. If this is the case, then you will most likely find me sitting in my office reading that part out loud, trying to tweak the sentences to get the flow right.

When editing more sensitive or complex articles, I have found this to really help me.

Consistency

Where possible keep things consistent. Some examples are below:

• Do you tend to put a full stop at the end of your bullet point? Try to do the same always.
• Same with hyphens between words, eg. sub-contractor / subcontractor.
• Try to stick with one Style, eg. US English, UK English or Australian English.

We won’t be able to get everything always 100% right, and quite honestly people won’t expect you to. It is important though to at least try and keep it as consistent as possible.

Don’t be Afraid to Publish!

When blogging or writing to a forum, or in anything that you do…

I agree that it is important to be really careful about the work that is published – especially if it is on a particular sensitive topic, but there comes a point when you really do need to decide whether you should publish or not.

If you have a habit of hardly ever publishing anything because it is simply not good enough then you might like to rethink, because this is likely to be caused by either procrastination or the need to perfect the post. If you constantly hold off from publishing content for either of these two reasons then you could possibly be holding yourself back.

For the majority of my articles I write, edit and schedule / publish them the same day. Occasionally it is necessary for me to delay publishing for a day or two to give me the opportunity to review the article with a clear mind.

Once the article is published or scheduled I go back to it straight away and have one last read just to make sure that I am happy with how it reads. This might not be the solution for everyone but it works for me.

This might be a good opportunity actually to go to your blog, and have a look in your drafts folder to see if there are any articles sitting there waiting.