I have seen many new bloggers who do not style their blog posts in a manner that make it easy to read in our fast paced life. I know if you read some of my older blog posts you’ll see these same offenses happening on my very own blog. I just haven’t slowed down enough to fix them. However, through the years of blogging I have learned many different ways to keep readers interested in reading my blog posts more.
Let me state, I’m NOT an expert on this by any stretch of the imagination. I do see other bloggers who have a way of capturing my attention with the way they style their blog posts even better than I do with my blog posts. You can even check out my tribe mate’s blog Written Reality as a prime example.
However, if you’re new to blogging or are wanting companies to consider working with you then you might want to heed some of my advice.
10 Blog Writing Tips
- Use your heading text correctly – Use this to separate your content into sections. For each section make a heading or a mini title for it and use H2. You do NOT use H2 text for attention grabbing moments in your text.
- Use BOLD font to capture attention– Notice I’m using bold print to capture your attention for each new tip, but I’m NOT using H2 font. Also don’t use H2 in your call to action.
- Make your images Pinterest ready – By that I mean, make a clear and concise picture that others will want to pin. Pinterest loves tall pictures best. However, that is not always the case. If the picture is clear enough and gives the reader something they are after then it will still get repinned or bring traffic to your site.
- The Only Thing Centered – The only thing you want to have centered in your blog posts would be your image, videos, and any quotes or major key points. If you can keep your key point under 100 characters, I recommend using Click to Tweet Plugin so that you can get your readers to tweet that point out for you.
- Write professionally – We all have gotten in the habit of using smiley faces, dots, and many other forms of expressions in our writing, but when you put that in a blog post it really takes away the professionalism to them. (Mind you, before I started writing for companies all the time I was just as guilty!). If you’re not able to handle this yourself, then you’ll want to work with an organization like AdvancedWriters to help you smooth things out. Trust me, you don’t want to skimp on this.
- Check Spelling and Grammar– I personally check my spelling and grammar using my Microsoft Word program. HOWEVER, even I’ve noticed it’s not catching all of my mistakes like I thought it was all this time. I personally have several blog posts that need to be highly edited even though at the time of publishing them I didn’t realize that. If did find Grammarly, which is a program that helps with editing posts and everything else we do on our computer. I LOVE it. I have the pro version and find it worth every penny.
- Paragraphs – You’re taught in school to write a paragraph with 4-8 sentences. That doesn’t go over very well in the blogging world at all. You want to keep your paragraphs to 2-3 sentences each. If you have to use 4, do it.
- Ads- It’s okay to have ads on your blog and people are getting accustomed to seeing them on blogs a lot now. However, if we’re having to play seek and find for your content it’s not going to make us want to come back. If we have to close out of pop ups to comment and share your content we’re not going to do it. If we have to wait for a pop up to get out of our way to read the content, that’s not going to work either.
- Pop Ups- Pop ups work for MAJOR businesses. They work for even big time bloggers because they already have their name well known. The way I look at it, they’ve earned the right to have that pop up blocker on their site. We want to know what they are saying and doing. If you’re just starting out though, don’t make it hard for us to get to know you or read your content.
- Be YOU! – You can still tell your story the way you want. However, if you want to be treated like a professional and gain the money that comes with it, you have to wear the right outfit. In this case, you have to wear the right kind of layout for your blog and your content.
[Tweet “New #bloggers check out these 10 Blog Writing Tips on @tidbitsofexperi #TidbitsThursday post. “]
These blog writing tips are not the end all, and there are still many other tips that can be added to this list to make them more SEO friendly and beyond. If you want to learn about those types of rules be sure to check out Kelli and Crystal’s #LearntoBlog Online Blog Conference.
Bloggers, what other blog writing tips would you add to this list?
If you’re a reader who doesn’t blog, tell me what makes you want to continue reading a blog and what annoys you?
These are some of the best tips I’ve seen out there. I’m going to make an effort to follow each one. Thanks so much for the advise…it’s priceless!
You’re more than welcome. I am always on the hunt for a new blogging question to answer. Like I stated, these are definitely not the end all of tips that should be implemented in a blog post. However, it’s enough to get your started.
Crystal, these are EXCELLENT tips, I really feel I picked up some new things here, and you are very right on each point!
Coming from you, that means a LOT to me. You’re an amazing blogger. I am glad I was able to teach you something. That just warms my heart.
Great post, Crystal! I’m always looking for ways to improve my blog!
I am too. I am a blogging tutorial junkie. I have a LONG list of resources and blogging books that I own. I’ve taken a lot of blogging courses too throughout the years. I’m a part of a lot of blogging forums too.
Love this post and had to read twice. I somehow don’t know how to make a H2 Title. I agree with all of your points though, hands down. This week, I took my Facebook and Hometalk out of the sidebar and left my PInterest in the sidebar as that is a traffic driver for me. I have a little unobtrusive facebook popup in the right hand side and that seems like enough for now.
I love the changes you’ve made to your blog lately. I’ll show you how to use the H2 feature in your blog. It’s really easy.
Great tips. I know it’s not the most professional but I feel that if I write in my own voice I need to use the lol, ya’ll and smiley faces — because that’s me and that’s authentic. If a brand chooses to not work with me because of that – well so be it. I”m pretty sure that’s why my a lot readers keep coming back too.
Tammy,
You do it so little that I barely notice it in your posts. It’s not like you do it in a repeated pattern ALL throughout your post like I’ve seen in some other bloggers posts. You still add the friendly flair to your posts, but yet the OVERALL post is laid out in a nice professional way. You’re right the way that you do it does come across as being you and authentic. There is a fine line between being you and being you as a professional, if you know what I’m trying to say?
I don’t know that I would add any. Your tips are spot-on and I agree with ALL of them. I see so many blogs that violate your guidelines and it is sad. If you happen to see any errors on my site, PLEASE let me know so that I can correct them. BTW, I just installed Click to Tweet and will try to work it in.
I love Click to Tweet. It does help with my posts getting more traffic and it also helps with Twitter interaction. It’s an awesome Plugin. Thank you for the words of praise on my tips.
These are some great tips. I think they would work great for bloggers just starting out.
Thank you. I actually wrote it for a few of my blogging friends who are just starting out.
I love the be you, each blog is unique to it’s writer. Don’t conform to what others want you to be if it is not what you want to be.
This is very true. I think we should all share our stories the way that we feel comfortable doing them.
Great tips! Even if you’ve been blogging for a while, it doesn’t hurt to be reminded.
Thank you.
Great advice for new bloggers! I always click away when I see blogs with centered or hard-to-read text. Good stuff here. Stopped by from SITS!
So glad I had your company. I’m glad you put in your input about the centered text and how it makes it hard to read and makes you want to leave.
Thanks for sharing these tips. Glad you shared this today on the SITSGirls sharefest!
Your welcome. I love the SITSGirls sharefest. It’s the highlight of my week.
Fantastic tips, thanks for sharing! I think the most important is to be YOU!
Definitely. No one else in the world is going to see or appreciate something that way that you do. That to me is what makes blogging so successful.
You nailed it. I am still learning and I have learned quite a bit just by reading so many blogs. I have never understood the centering of text and writing how you speak. I understand and can appreciate an ad or two but I ..personally.. want to read the bloggers material not hear about the next Jimmy Dean Sausage flavor. Connecting from SIT Blogging.
I love the way you put that about the ads verses the content. Thank you for putting your input on the subject.
A well written article is hard to find these days in the blogging world. I read a lot of blogs and I am amazed by the lack of telling of a story I am seeing. Its really bad.
I don’t always write a story, but I do try. I know I have a lot of things I want to share, but not enough hours in a day.
Great tips, we all need reminders this is perfect.
Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed the reminder.
Okay, I center too much text. And can we use H3 or H4? I feel like H2 is so big a lot of the time. I used to use those all the time, and now I am trying to use the bolding more, etc. Great tips!
You’re welcome for the suggestions. I actually think H2 on our themes is really good.
Great tips! I agree on all of them. Pop Ups are my #2 pet peeve, #1 is the use of captcha. If you want me to leave your blog use thise 2 techniques.
Great tips! Pinning for others.
Thank you so much for pinning. I’m glad you think they are good tips.
Great Tips– Just like every other form of writing, blogging has its own style and it pays to follow those simple rules for your readers.
So true. I believe we all should be ourselves, but following the standard form of blogging makes life easier for the readers.
These are great tips! I’m a new blogger just starting out so I am going to make sure to keep these in mind going forward. Thanks!
Thank you for stopping by. I’m glad you found something useful from the list. Feel free to ask any blogging questions you may have.
Found these tips to be very helpful! Most of them I’ve already heard a time or two but it was a great reminder and loved hearing your perspective! By the way, found you via the Messy Beautiful Love launch team and am enjoying checking out your site!
Thanks for these tips! I had never thought to use the H2 setting before to make it easier for my readers. Great suggestion!
I’ve been at this blogging thing a long time and I can tell you my biggest pet peeve are funky fonts. Yes, I know it looks pretty. But let me tell you, a lot of folks can’t read them. Especially in long block paragraphs.
Funky Fonts is a tough ones. Sometimes I think something looks good together and when I get my second set of eyes to look at it, I find out how out of whack they really look together.
Great tips, but personally I don’t like pop ups. #KatherinesCorner
I don’t like pop ups to much either, but I do feel that once you’ve earned popularity and credibility then you have the right to have them.
Great article. Pinned. We had so much fun partying with you at our last party. We hope to see you tonight’s party at 7 pm. We love to see what you have been working on!
Happy Monday! Lou Lou Girls
I’m glad you enjoyed my company at the party. I will do my best to be a part of it again.
My tip is to be genuine. Say what you want to say. Don’t say what other people want you to say or what you think people want to hear. Product reviews and sponsored posts are fine, but use your own voice when writing them.
Such a great bit of input. This is so true. If a blogger doesn’t put their own voice behind the product review it loses it’s value.
Hi Crystal! I’m stopping over from Let’s Get Real today. These are great tips. I’m guilty of being very conversation with my writing. I certainly would have to clean that up in order to be more professional.
I honestly think that the bloggers who are very conversationalist in their blog posts are the ones who gain the most interaction from their readers. However, I’ve learned that it seems make some companies shy away from working with them.
Everything on my blog is centered within the post because I am that anal and love how it looks. I definitely agree with a majority of these tips.
On your blog, having everything centered looks really good. Of course, you also organize everything else right in the blog post too. On some of the blogs I’ve seen it on it though having their text centered makes it really hard to read.