Blogs are an excellent way to share information and express our ideas. The word blog is short for weblog, and people use these online spaces to record their thoughts, opinions, and interests. It can be like an online journal, or it can take the form of polished articles, depending on who is writing and what they want to achieve. The blog format gives the writer a lot of control over what they share with the Internet and allows greater freedom and creativity than most social media posts, as it can include short pieces or longer essays.
All that freedom to write what you want can be both refreshing and intimidating. Not only are there countless topics you can write about, but there is also the question of how you want to write your blog posts. Deciding on your style and tone can be just as difficult as picking a subject, and actually sitting down and writing an excellent blog post is something few writers have fully mastered. This article provides 5 major steps that will help you take ideas out of your head and put them on the page for others to enjoy.
1. Brainstorm
Whether you are posting on a personal blog or creating content for your business, coming up with the best possible ideas will help you effectively reach your audience. One way to do this is by creating a mind map. This usually includes starting with an idea that you’re interested in and putting it in the centre of a page of scrap paper. Then you draw lines outwards and fill in other connected ideas, creating more lines that lead to additional concepts that these words make you think of. Eventually, you’ll have a whole network of ideas that are tied together, and you can see how each one fits into your map. This technique helps you start with a general thought and narrow it down into a more specific topic, or it can make it easier for you to come up with all the things you want to include about your original idea.
2. Research
Some blogs are very personal and are taken from your own thoughts or memories. Others are based on different sources, taking things you’ve read or interviews with people you’ve spoken to and turning them into an article. Either way, it helps to do some research to ensure your writing is accurate, providing valuable information for your readers. Informal research can include talking to friends and family members, finding a photo you took of an event, or anything else that you can do to support a personal story or help you communicate your thoughts. Formal research may take additional work but is necessary if you want to make a factual argument or establish a more professional approach. It involves finding statistics, citing articles from credible sources, or quoting experts.
3. Decide on Your Tone
The right tone for your blog depends on why you are writing it. If you are trying to describe a lighthearted memory or tell a funny story, then you may use more casual language. If you are making a political argument or discussing a complex historical topic, you may write in a serious style or even use academic terminology. This also depends on your audience; if you are writing just for your friends and family, you might not care much about following traditional writing guidelines. However, if you are writing on behalf of your business or communicating to a scholarly community, you will likely try to follow established rules of structure such as including a thesis statement, separating your main points into paragraphs, and including an introduction and conclusion. All of this depends on what you are looking to achieve; blogs have no definite rules that everyone must follow because they are specific to you and your goals. However, whether you are writing about your adventure climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro or discussing the larval stage of the Japanese beetle, your writing should be engaging enough that it keeps your reader’s interest. Avoid unnecessary filler, choose words that communicate your passion for this topic, and show your reader why they should care.
4. Communicate Clearly
While blogs do not always have the clearly defined rules of an academic paper or a professional news article, there should still be an emphasis on clearly communicating your ideas. Whether you are writing about a difficult moment in your past, a funny story you heard, your favourite sports team, or a political opinion, the primary purpose of most writing is to get an idea from your brain into the brains of the people who are reading. This means using proper grammar and spelling, avoiding overly complicated jargon, having a logical flow of ideas, and providing evidence where necessary. Although you may not have the same standards when writing a blog post compared to writing an academic thesis, following the rules of clear writing is still important if you want your ideas to be understood by your audience.
5. Proofread Your Work
Bloggers sometimes think that because they are writing in a more informal setting, they don’t have to edit or proofread their work. They may feel that they can write something as quickly as possible and share it with the world immediately. However, even if you feel this approach is more authentic or if you are aiming for a stream-of-consciousness style, proofreading can still be useful as it allows you to catch confusing or embarrassing mistakes. Simply making a few changes to your work can make your piece stronger and help your readers enjoy your writing. This final step can make all the difference in creating a successful blog post.
Conclusion
Writing a blog post can be challenging because there are so many kinds of blogs. Some of them are personal, some are for business purposes, some focus on very specific topics, and some communicate any random thoughts that you decide to share. Whatever subject you decide to focus on and whatever style you want to use, communicating your ideas in an understandable and engaging way is crucial to reaching your target audience. Contact iPlume today to see how our blog writing and editing services can help you on this journey.
