Why Does Quality Blog Writing Matter?
With SEO becoming more and more important, sometimes quality blog writing gets put on the back-burner. While it’s important to get the most from your blog, the quality of the content is equally as vital. When blog writing, it’s easy to ramble in a nearly stream-of-consciousness style, saying whatever comes to mind, becomes relevant, or seems interesting to you. Even the best blog writers have lazy moments where they begin writing before doing the research they need to compose a compelling piece.
The value of well-written, engaging content is immeasurable, so follow these 5 simple tips for improving your blog writing. You’ll find that your content is cleaner, your readers are more engaged, and your writing exudes confidence from beginning to end. Plus, you’ll find that SEO and quality writing truly go hand-in-hand.
- Form writing habits
Guess what? The first step to quality blog writing isn’t “start writing.” Consider this: If you were getting ready to run a few miles on the treadmill, you would put on your workout clothes, download a playlist, fill up your water bottle, and do a stretch before even getting on the machine, right? But when it comes to blog writing, it’s so easy to just sit yourself down in front of the computer, open a browser, and start typing.
Preparing to write is as important as the writing itself. Find your ideal setting, choose your music (or find silence), grab your favorite drink, and take a deep breath. Banish Skype, Emails, G-chat, Facebook, and all other sparkling, flashing, ringing distractions. Focus.
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Research first, write second
How often do you start writing a blog post without doing much research first? Me too – it’s just too easy. The truth is, writing off the top of your head usually starts with one of two blogging oversights: either the subject you’ve chosen isn’t even interesting to you or you already believe you know enough about it to go on your own.
If you aren’t interested in the subject enough to research it, you may want to reconsider your post altogether. If you don’t want to read your own blog, it’s likely nobody else does. You may need to find new ideas for blog posts, like interviews or guest bloggers.
If you believe you know enough about the subject to just begin writing, good for you – but you still need to do your research. Chances are, there are other people out there saying the same thing as you and it helps to know that ahead of time. This way, you can position your blog to engage in the current conversation and build upon or even rebut what others are saying. Blog writing is about finding perspective and engaging in a conversation with readers as well as other writers.
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Make an outline
You learned how to make an outline in 5th grade and you probably hated it then as much as you’re going to hate it now. I know it stings, but I’m going to tell you what your 5th grade teacher told you then and what every teacher, professor, and good writer will tell you now: you must outline.
Here’s why: An outline helps you focus your writing so you can stay on subject. An outline helps you find the path from beginning to end so you can build an argument rather than make an argument. An outline will also boost your ability to work SEO strategies into your blog post so you aren’t cramming links and keywords in awkward places.
Can you tell I outlined this post? The dead giveaway is the numbering, but you’ll also notice I’ve worked in some links to past blog articles. That’s no accident, it’s the result of researching and outlining.
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Be consistent
Writing regularly is an SEO tip – you need to keep your blog fresh with new content to keep search engines, and therefore readers, interested in you. Nevertheless, writing regularly keeps your writing skills practiced and in tune, improving your technique.
If you write regularly, you’ll form valuable habits, you’ll generate consistent content, and you’ll remember the recent posts you’ve written that could be valuable for interlinking and SEO. In the end, you’ll build a readership that believes in your expertise because they’ll sense your confidence and clarity.
5. Review and proofread
So, you followed all of these tips to a tee which means your blog post is ready to publish, right? Wrong! You could be the best writer in the world, but you still need to proofread and edit. The best thing to do is find a kind soul who will review your post for you. That typo your spell-check overlooked will definitely stick out to new eyes and somebody else is bound to notice those common grammar mistakes you’re never sure about.
In the end, proofreading is probably the most annoying part of blog writing. When you feel like you can’t possibly spend another second looking at what you’ve written, use this tip: read your work sentence by sentence from the end to the beginning. Because each sentence is taken out of context, you’ll be more critical of sentence structure, grammar, and tone.
If you make a habit of using these 5 simple blog writing tips, you’ll find your writing gain confidence which will be clear to your blog’s readership. You’ll free up time in your writing agenda to specifically find SEO opportunities and have an easier time understanding the value of your blog. You’ll keep your mind sharp and clear for the next post, making each piece you write more and more focused. Chances are, you’ll start using these tips outside of blog writing, crafting pristine emails, well articulated Facebook statuses, and maybe even begin outlining your grocery list!
