3 Key Points to Perfect Your Blogging Skills

Each time you go to write a blog post there are questions to be answered and key factors that need to be addressed. Of those key factors there are three that help you to maintain truly effective blog posts. These three areas can either make your blog a viral hit or can bury it in obscurity depending on how they are executed.

The three main areas of effective blogging are:

• Layout/Structure/Format
• Attention Grabbers
• Content

Layout/Structure/Formatting

Remember that no one is obligated to read your blog. The way you structure your blog posts can make the difference between a read article and a skipped article. Even if they just skim through the article you have achieve more than you otherwise would have. Start off with a spectacular title to draw them in. The make lists, bullet points, subheadings, and add pictures. Anything you can do to keep their attention and not have your posts look like big chunks of unappealing text, with the exception of misspelled words. 

Pull together all you have to share in that blog post to create a cohesive whole.

Under no circumstance is misspelling a word acceptable as a credible source of information. Make your sentences short and to the point, sticking to one concept or idea per sentence. You are providing a service, not rambling off on tangents about your last family trip.

Another few easy but simple formatting tricks to help your blogs become skimmable are the use of bold text to highlight key points or ideas, italics to draw readers to specific words, or a different font size to emphasize a point.

Also the judicious use of spacing paragraphs can give the air for your article to breathe and not feel so stuffy and boring. Just remember that you are writing a blog, not a novel, and your readers don't want to spend the next hour reading one post. If they do actually read to the end they probably won't remember everything they wanted to or needed to and leave feeling disappointed. Keep your reader in mind in regards to length.

Keeping each blog post short, simple,and to the point will make a more lasting impression on your readers.

Attention Grabbers

First of all, start off with a headline that will cause searchers to be drawn to opening your blog, that will stand out from the rest of the average titles, and will promise rewards for those who do read it. Then those first opening paragraphs need to validate your title or prove that the title is really telling the truth. You want your readers to feel like they made the right choice in clicking on your blog without making them read the entire post. Give a little as you go along.

A big factor that goes into writing an effective blog post is not wasting the readers time. Do whatever possible to avoid letting your reader feel like they're wasting their time, because the second they do, they will leave and not come back. You blog should get to the point, be concise and straightforward and give the readers what they are looking/asking for.

Your writing, no matter how hard you try to avoid it, shows a piece of yourself. It's not always obvious and it doesn't have to be but find your inner passion for whatever topic you are writing about and the reader will feel it as they read. A half-hearted attempt of a post will be more readily apparent and rejected when compared to a well thought out or impassioned post. Write with passion but don't forget your keywords. If you need to, write out your post however you want, then go back and your keywords where you feel they will fit best. In the end, don't be afraid to make bold statements, you are trying to get them to be inspired to do what you want them to without demanding it.

Content

While this may seem similar to the section before it is not. Content is not just about catching the readers attention. Once drawn in and attention held there has to be some substance to it. Your posts should follow a logical sequence within themselves. For example, if you were giving advice on dating you wouldn't start off with asking someone out, skip to marriage talk, then talk about meeting parents and first date jitters. There is a natural order to every topic. Look to see what order works best for what you are trying to get across in the post.

Be believable. If you go off and starting spouting off random facts that you think are right, you may lose people quickly as well as your credibility. Portray yourself as the most knowledgeable person on the web who is sharing what they know. People are more likely to read articles and blog posts that they can tell are written by real people, and not spewed out onto the internet for mere publicity's sake.

To help make it sound more like you is to write how you talk. Many people have a "writing voice" that is completely different from the way they speak. For example, when writing you might use words like portray and expound but when you talk you say shows and explain. Don't try to use words that sound more professional because you may not be targeting the executives and high-end professionals on your site.

One way to know if you are writing how you talk is to read your post aloud. If you stumble on words or hear yourself saying things you don't usually say then you can fix it. Talk to your readers, not the faceless void of the internet. You want your readers to connect to what you are saying, not to the pictures you put on there. Be consistent about your writing style as well, since this affects your voice.

Lastly, don't be afraid to state your opinions but in a non-confrontational way, what better way to learn than by sharing and hearing other people's opinions. Spark a discussion or leave them with a burning "call to action" they just can't get out of their thoughts. Your goal is to have them thinking about your blog even after they've left it.