[Do you like this? Please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and then share it for me!]
Video Summary
If you’re going to take the time to write blog posts, it would be really great if people would actually read them, right?
Blogs are a great way to provide relevant content to your visitors. Investing in your own blog and creating content about your business establishes your authority in your industry. And quality content keeps your audience on your website to help build your relationship with them.
So how do you write blog posts people actually want to read?
The biggest key is to write naturally, as if you’re speaking to a friend. If that’s not how you write, here are some quick tips…
Video Transcript
Hello, Jeffrey Kirk here…
If you’re going to take the time to write blog posts, it would be really great if people would actually read them, right? I know the feeling. I’ve been publishing one video every week for about 16 months now. That’s a lot of time and effort to create value for you and others.
But I want these things to be available to you when you’re looking. And I love it every time YouTube tells me someone watched one of my videos. So, thanks for being here today. And if I could make a small request, please subscribe to my channel and click the little bell so you get notified when my next video comes out.
And if you like this video, be sure to click the like button too. Okay, where were we? Yes, how do you write blog posts, so people actually read them?
You probably already know that blogs are a great way to provide relevant content to your visitors. Investing in your own blog and creating content about your business establishes your authority in your industry.
Doing this also connects you to your target audience. And this connection begins when searchers find the answers to their questions in your blog.
When you create good content, you’re creating value. And that value can be in the form of education, inspiration, or entertainment. And quality content keeps your audience on your website to help build your relationship with them.
But how do you know if you’re providing content people will read?
One way to do this is by making sure you have a natural writing style. That means you write exactly the way you would sound when you’re talking to someone.
Writing content this way makes your audience notice you and feel comfortable reading what you have to say. They can understand what you’re writing and, ideally, they enjoy the content enough to come back for more.
So how do you write naturally?
Aside from writing like how you would talk, natural writing means having a natural flow to your sentences and writing in a way that does not sound forced. Of course, you should still be mindful of grammar and avoid slang words unless they’re widely understood. Other than that, keep your sentences short and straight to the point – just like telling a story to a friend.
Okay, with all that being said, here are a few more tips to make sure you provide high quality content using natural writing…
Tip #1 – Practice reading out loud
Think about it like practice before giving a speech. But this is simpler because you don’t have to commit anything to memory.
As you read out loud, you hear how your writing sounds. That way you can adjust any awkward moments and long or complicated sentences. It’s also easier to catch grammar errors, unprofessional words, and even typos when you go through the effort to read out loud.
Tip #2 – Keep it simple and easy to understand
Though you might catch unprofessional words while reading out loud, I’m not suggesting you use big complicated words to sound professional. It really depends on your target audience. If you are publishing information about scientific experiments, then it makes sense to use words related to that. And you can assume your audience will understand them.
But if your target audience is in the general online population, then use simple and common words so everyone understands what you write.
Again, use the words you would use when talking to friends or telling stories to colleagues. But if they’re not part of your typical audience, then think about how you would explain something to your mom.
Tip #3 – Record yourself
If you’re not sure how you sound when you talk to your friends, record yourself doing it sometime. Record your own casual conversation.
You might discover the way you talk and the way you write are completely different. And it might help you write in a natural way if you can hear yourself explaining the scenario to your friend or your mom! Then take what you recorded and write it down. Of course you can adjust some words and sentences along the way, but at least you already have a general flow.
Tip #4 – Alternate short and long sentences
When reading we need variety. You would tend to get bored if every sentence or paragraph were the same length. Keeping things simple is good, but if you have too many short sentences it will look like you’re writing a script. Of course, if you are writing a script, then do what you got to do!
Same thing with paragraphs. If every paragraph is exactly 3 sentences long, the writing will appear a little monotonous.
So basically, you want to make sure there is a balance in the length of your sentences. That makes your content easier to read, gives it a natural flow, and makes it pleasing to the eyes.
Tip #5 – Write in active voice
Passive voice slips through the cracks more often than it should. Somehow writing passively seems easier than speaking passively. Of course, a passive sentence here or there is not a problem. That’s probably natural. You just want to make sure your passive voice does not overpower your active voice.
In active voice a sentence structure is subject followed by verb followed by object. In passive voice the object comes first. If you use passive voice too much, it creates confusion. I’m not going to go into a lecture explaining the differences here, but you’ll find many references online if you do a search.
Just remember, active voice is clearer and easier to understand. So use it!
Tip #6 – Avoid overusing keywords
I get it, keywords help with your SEO and your search results ranking. But did you know that having too many of the same keyword in your content will actually hurt your SEO?
If you repeat the same keywords throughout your text over and over again, it’s unnatural. No one talks that way. So if you do it, expect your readers to click the back button and leave your site. And it’s not just your readers… Google sees those words and they see people bouncing from your pages, so your site loses ranking in the search results.
Tip #7 – Read it out loud again
Before you publish, read your post out loud one last time. Make sure the changes you made all sound good together. Remember, you want it to sound natural. And forcing it to sound natural doesn’t make it sound natural. But when you go through it out loud, you pick up on the problems, and you can fix them.
And don’t worry about it if your first attempt isn’t the greatest. You’ll get better as you write more, and you can always redo the old ones.
Now that you’ve got blog posts that people want to read, how would you like to get more people showing up to read them? How would you like it if more searchers would find your business?
I’d like to invite you to a free training coming up. Look for the link here and join me soon. Your business deserves to be seen online, and I will help you get there.
Thanks for watching and have a great day!
