You’ve finally made the commitment. Decided to delve in, sit down, and write what you know: it’s time to blog. But do you know what you’re doing? Though you might think you do, there’s a lot more that goes into a blog than typing some words on paper. There’s a method. Whether you’re trying to direct traffic to your website with keywords or generate revenue through ads, blogging is an art. It’s the creative side of marketing.
Before you write, take note of these Dos and Don’ts:
DO:
- Short and Sweet: Keep your blogs short and to the point. No less than 300 words for search engine purposes, no more than 500 for risk of losing your audience.
- Casual and Conversational: Use a tone that people can relate to. Keep your vocabulary at a second grade reading level, if possible. It makes it easier for your audience to skim without losing much of the content.
- Photos and Pictures: Whenever possible, use a photo or picture to emphasize your point. Any sort of graphic will do. This helps break up the text. Bullets are another great way to make a blog more readable.
DON’T:
- Fancy Fonts: Stay away from fancy type work. Use a serif or sans serif. Keep the bold, italics and underlines to a minimum (unless you’re writing a list like this, of course).
- Negative Nancy: Stay positive. You’re representing your brand, so don’t create a negative image for yourself by constantly complaining or bashing another person or company. Be informative, be positive, be creative.
- Glitched Grammar: Always, always, always edit. Make sure your grammar is flawless. There is no quicker way to lose an audience than with a simple typo or grammar mistake.
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When it comes down to it, blog like you would speak with a customer. It’s the best way to become relatable to your audience. But even with these tips, there is much more to a blog. To find out more, contact Red Mallard today.