Content Mastery Guide

Editor and Ghostwriter

3 Ways to Improve Your Blog Writing Right Now

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© bradcalkins - Fotolia.com
© bradcalkins – Fotolia.com

Do you wish more people would read and share your blog posts? Watch what happens when you take a few simple steps to create higher quality content.

#1 Replace passive language

Want tighter, more impactful writing? Replace passive verbs with active verbs. In a recent post, Lynn Gaertner-Johnston challenges readers to see how quickly they can eliminate the passive verbs from 10 sentences.

While active writing is typically more clear, direct and concise, Lynn also identifies four times when passive verbs work as well as or better than active verbs.

Take Lynn’s challenge: How Fast Can You Change Passive Verbs?

#2 Write with conviction

Do you take the wind out of your writing by adding disclaimers? Business rebel Ash Ambridge echoes something my sister Ruth said early on as my editor – “It’s your writing; we already know what you think.”

Ambridge continues,”Prefacing a statement with ‘I think’ sounds like you’re asking permission for your thoughts.” As an entrepreneur it’s common to sometimes feel like an imposter or like nothing you write will add value to the sea of information out there.

Sound familiar? Here are some suggestions:

Read Ash’s post: Starting a Sentence With “In My Opinion” is Bad for Business. Here’s Why.
Get bossy with your blog.
Write (and speak) with conviction.

SlamNation – Taylor Mali – "Like Totally Whatever" from DevlinPix on Vimeo.

#3 Proofread

As powerful and convincing as your writing may be, writing and publishing errors can repel people before they receive your message.

While you can always edit a blog post later, it’s well worth taking a few moments to proofread before you publish.

Ideally, walk away from the post for a few hours or a few days. It’s amazing what you’ll notice when you see it again with fresh eyes. Just watch out! Since you know what you meant to say, your eyes will trick you into seeing that. Read the post out loud to catch these tricks, and use this five-step readability checklist.

How you do anything is how you do everything. When you commit to writing well, you show the world the quality of your services, your business, and your character.

P.S. If you liked this post, you might enjoy the Blogging Tips newsletter, delivered weekly to your inbox! Sign up here.

How to Pare Down a Long Blog Post

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Whittling-woodWhen I recommend 500 words as the optimal length for a feature article (such as a "how to" post or thought leadership post), some clients have trouble sticking to that length.

Please know that I'm not trying to inhibit your creativity or water down your content. If a post really needs to be 750 words, then let it be.

Usually, though, tighter writing and editing will reveal the truth: You can make your point in far fewer words than you think you can.

To the client who inspired this blog post, you know who you are. I hope these tips are helpful to you, as well to others whose posts may be overflowing. 

  1. Stay active – You'll use less words with an active voice (the dog bit John) than a passive one (John was bit by the dog). 
  2. Tighten up your story – There are many benefits to telling a personal story in your blog post, but sometimes you just need to cut to the chase.  
  3. Focus, focus, focus – Don't try to cram everything you know into one article. Focus on a very specific topic, and then turn your attention to the next post.
  4. Break it down – Maybe your article is actually a blog post series in disguise - check out these tips for how to divide it. 
  5. Be ruthless – Ruth is actually the name of my sister/editor. If you're Ruth-less, without an editor of your own (hey, we do that!), then you MUST be ruthless with your self-editing. 
  6. Watch for repetition – When you're in the flow, the same important point may pop into your head more than once. Don't censor yourself in the writing stage, but edit out these repetitions. 
  7. Take time for quality – Above all, give yourself time for editing (and ALL four phases of the writing process). Avoid planning to write and publish the same day.
  8. Walk away for today – Ideally, you'll want to step away from the article after you finish, so you can come back with new eyes another day.
  9. Read it out loud – You'll catch lots of errors this way. Also be sure to shorten and simplify any run-on sentences. 
  10. Ask for help - If you've done your best and the article is still longer than you want it to be, ask someone else what you can cut out. And if you've already edited, this person can tell you if the article still makes sense. 

As writers we can get pretty attached to our words – they all seem essential. Yet with a little work, time and distance, you'll see how much crisper your writing can be.

How does that lead to more business? Plain language makes it easier for your readers to get your message and benefit from your expertise. Then they'll remember you when they're looking for more help on the topic.

Are you interested in more blog writing strategies? Check out the series, How to Write a Blog Post. Here's the first post in the series. 

Social Media Writing Sin #2 – Misspelling and Mistyping

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It's no secret that I am committed to the quality of your content. And that includes the quality of your social media writing.

Your social media posts have a job to do – whether it's to attract new followers who share your way of thinking, deepen your relationships with your community, or invite people to take an action or click on a link.

Doh

Typos are embarrassing enough, whether they're caused by spelling errors, commonly misused words, or just a slip of the keys. Combined with grammatical errors or confusing sentence fragments, these writing issues can cause needless embarrassment, lost readers or damage to your reputation or credibility.

Social Media Writing Sin #1 – Texting Like a Teenager

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Texting-teens Yes, I know that it's difficult to say everything you want to say when social media platforms limit the length of your posts (on Twitter you've only got 140 characters!).

Yes, I know that you want to capture your up-to-the-minute musings via your mobile device – and that you're only using your thumbs to do it!

But you're still writing, and quality still counts.

Using texting-style abbreviations like UR or GR8 may save you space, but it comes at the expense of your credibility. If your ideal clients are teens, then go for it, but otherwise, I challenge you to write your messages using full words.

While some of the people I love and respect the most (you know who you are) use plenty of these abbreviations, they already had my love and respect. If my first impression of them had been what I saw on Twitter … who knows?

The upside? This self-editing and enforced brevity will help you focus your writing.

Bonus tips:

  • Abbreviations aren't the same as acronyms (e.g., LOL for laughing out loud or WAHM for work-at-home mother). Go ahead and use those, as long as you're sure your target audience knows the terminology. After all, do you really want your readers to need a dictionary to understand your message?
  • Swearing is something else that's best left to the "cool kids," unless it's truly who you want to be in your brand. Or check out how this blogger shared both "clean" and "sailor mouth" versions of her "Should I Work For Free?" chart.

Warning: Indulging in this social media writing sin can lessen your credibility and limit the effectiveness of your online writing.

Thanks to @AmyCourser for the link to the text messaging glossary!

My Top Five Social Media Writing Sins – Revealed!

Five Writing Resolutions that are Worth Keeping

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Want to write more and better blog posts this year? Then

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  1. I will plan out my writing time and topics.
  2. I will write masterfully, always pausing to step back and ask, “How can I make this even better?”
  3. I will read my writing out loud before I send or publish.
  4. I will publish more frequently than I’m publishing now, by first getting more consistent, and then gradually increasing.
  5. I will share my writing with as many people as possible, in as many places as possible, while always aiming to treat each reader as if they were the only one.

My newest book will help you with all these resolutions, with five sections devoted to how to:

  1. Plan Mindfully
  2. Write Artfully
  3. Edit Skillfully
  4. Publish Consistently
  5. Share Widely

Write Your Way to More Clients Online: How to craft captivating content for newsletters, blogs and social media is available from Amazon.com and Coaching Toys.

NEW: Write Your Way to More Clients Online is now also available for your eReader.