Improve Your Blog Writing With These 10 Effective Tips

I’m getting a lot of questions about blogging these days.

Friends and strangers are all emailing me, asking the same thing:

Am I doing this right?
Unfortunately, the majority of the time, the answer is no. But not for the reasons you might think:

  • N ot as a result of their poor writing skills.
  • Not because they don’t have a good design.
  • Not because they aren’t promoting their work and getting their name out there.

The simple reason a lot of blogs struggle to succeed is because of lack of focus. Many bloggers haven’t taken the time to develop a unique purpose for their blog, and as a result they’re just writing — with little thought as to what they’re hoping to accomplish.
Consequently, the anxiety and frustration. They’re moving in a direction, but not sure where they’re actually headed.
This a natural tendency (confession: I did this for four years). But eventually, it’s time to get serious. And every serious blogger eventually moves away from a lack of focus and starts to tackle blogging more intentionally.

So what do I tell these people?

I walk them through this lesson and others in my free blogging course, and I show them a simple exercise that has helped thousands.

Before getting started

The following is my fundamental writing guideline, especially for blogging: [specialbox]The more you narrow your focus, the more you broaden your audience.[/specialbox]
The majority of bloggers believe that their blog has a focus. They don’t. They really only have a subject. It’s important to identify three core areas of focus for your blog to succeed. Here’s a nifty exercise I learned from a speaking seminar. It was intended to help us write a speech, but it works for writing, too.
Consider your topic (what you want to write about), narrow it down to a theme (your particular angle and focus), and then set an objective (what you want to accomplish) before you start writing.

Subject

Your writing’s broadest section is the subject. It can be stated in a word or two, probably, but most bloggers struggle to identify it. In order to find your subject, try asking yourself:

  • What am I passionate about?
  • What area of expertise or interest do I possess?
  • What topics could I write about for an entire year without running out of ideas or motivation?

Exercise: Think of one-word responses to the aforementioned questions for ten minutes. Don’t waste too much time. Let intuition guide you. Then, pick one (and only one).

Writing, for instance

Theme

The subject is condensed into the theme. It’s similar to a subset of your main topic, or a particular focus. You can find it by asking yourself:

  • How can I break this subject down into its various components?
  • What do I want to concentrate on?
  • Is there a specific manner in which I want to attack this issue?

What will my “voice” be in my writing? (e.g. Humorous, sarcastic, practical, anecdotal, etc.)
Make a mind map or a list of key phrases that describe your topic from various angles for 15 to 30 minutes. Then, choose the one that makes the most sense and gives you 10 ideas for writing right away. Example: How writers can use the Internet to build a platform for their writing.

Objective

The main takeaway, or goal, is the objective. If everything else fails, this is what you want your blog to do. If you are unsure of yours, consider the following questions:

  • What do I want to accomplish with my writing?
  • What kind of impression do I hope to leave?
  • What is my aim? How do I quantify it?

Exercise: Spend five to ten minutes responding to the questions above. Consider your true goals very carefully. Not having visitors is sufficient. When you get the traffic, what do you intend to do with it? Consider the factors that would make the time you spend blogging worthwhile. It should be an action verb. Is it bringing in money? Increasing your authority? Increasing authority? Put it in writing. For instance, to gain work as a freelance writer and establish credibility. As you begin to practice this exercise (if you’re not doing it already), you’ll find that it’s easier to come up with ideas for specific posts.

Although it may appear restrictive, it actually provides quite a degree of freedom. It’ll also make it easier for you to connect with your readers and call them to action.
Ironically, more writing opportunities open up when you concentrate on a single goal. It doesn’t make sense, but it works.