How to Write an Effective Blog Post
The web is a much different medium for writing and reading than the printed page. First and foremost, reading from the screen fatigues readers because the light from computer screens tires the eyes. Interestingly, computer users blink less when they stare at a computer screen, which causes their eyes to dry out – a mild irritant. These tips are to help you write better blog posts, but they are really about how to preserve your audience’s eyes.
Inverted Pyramid: Use the inverted pyramid style of writing. This style of writing puts the most important fact or idea of your blog post at the very top of the entry. You organize information in descending order from most to least important.
Using Bulleted Lists: Listing items in your post will help readers consume information quickly. This type of formatting does three things:
- Reduces the time readers spend consuming information.
- Increase the ability of readers to scan your post.
- Helps readers remember key points for later conversation.
Use Subtitles: Breaking up large blocks of text will help your readers understand your post and hone in on information that’s important for them. By using subtitles, readers are more apt to comment on a particular post because they can directly reference the information they want to comment on later.
Write Tight: Our English teachers taught us to write concise sentences that convey complete and concise messages. There is no other medium where this is truer than writing online. Writing concise sentences will help your readers devour your blog posts. It will also help them remember the information better. This creates a better environment for readers to add a comment and engage the conversation.
Calls to Action: Getting people to talk about your book is a good thing, but driving those people to the order page of your book on Amazon or Barns & Noble is better. Right? Calls to action lead readers to your book. You never want to say, “Buy My Book.”(That’s too overt!) But inviting new readers to “Read the first chapter of my book for free” will entice people visiting your blog, joining your Fan Page or following you on Twitter to click through to your book Amazon or Barns & Noble listing online.
