I’ve watched my blog traffic grow from zero readers to thousands of daily readers. But I don’t need these numbers to tell me that I’m a good blogger.
I get daily offers from public relations firms and potential advertisers, but this “love” doesn’t tell me that I’m a good blogger.
And your comments. While they do make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, they are not a metric I use to gauge my blogging success.
How do I know I’m a good blogger?
Because every word I write sounds like I am saying it.
Seriously. If I read this post (or any that I write) aloud, it would sound natural rolling off my tongue. To me, this is blogging success – posts that capture my voice. I am a true believer that a blog is a conversation, and if I’m representing myself, I want the words I type to sound like, well, ME!
Aside from making sure that your blog post has captured your “voice,” a tone that is unique to you, there are several other benefits to stretching out those vocal cords to read blogs that you write. Before I ask you to read your last three blog posts aloud, allow me to present several other benefits to reading out loud.
A BLOG IS A CONVERSATION. If you write the way you talk you have a better shot of connecting with your audience – and keep them coming back for more.
REDUCE AWKWARDNESS. Even the best writers churn out some funky thoughts. Reading your words aloud is the quickest way to ensure that the sentences you are stringing together make sense to ALL readers.
TONE CONSISTENCY. As a blog owner, it is your job to enforce a consistent style on all posts. How else will you differentiate your blog from the gazillion others? Whether you are edgy, funny, informative, or all of the above – be sure that it shows in every post – even guest posts!
GRAMMAR ERRORS. Run-on sentences. Sentence fragments. Confusing semi-colons. Punctuation that requires a reader to stop in their tracks must be used properly. Read your work aloud and see if you are “grammatically correct.”
Now it’s your turn. Go back and read three recent blog posts you have written. Read them aloud, then come on back and let us know if you learned anything about the way you are writing. I’ll bet you will.
Author: Andrew G. Rosen
After working for FOX News and MTV Networks, Andrew G. Rosen founded Jobacle.com, a career advice and employment news blog. He is also the author of The Exit Guide: How to Leave a Job the Right Way.
Hey Andrew,
You hit a good topic here for me. I do a lot of video blogging and you would think this would be the easiest way to appear “conversational” as a blogger. The funny thing is, in the beginning, for some strange reason I would talk to the camera almost like I was a TV anchorman. The LAST thing blog readers want to see. It must have been from years of programming from me watching TV when I was younger.
With some coaching and a lot of practice, I have been able to get very comfortable and effective keeping my videos conversational and the feedback has been great. People much prefer it this way and the same applies to writing. I bet a lot of bloggers will get a good insight from what you have written here.
thanks
justin
I love this topic and I can certainly relate to the previous comment about sounding like a news anchor. It took me a while to realise that all I need to do is write as though I am talking to my friends. I have found that doing this makes people more relaxed and inclined to read more. Although my traffic is not very high as my blog is new, the visitors I do get, stay on my site for quite a long time and I believe this is because of the information I offer and the tone that I offer it in.
Great post, thanks for sharing.
It’s amazing how many times I will revise my posts before finally publishing them. I am constantly finding myself writing words that I would never use is real-life. I have to keep reminding myself that nobody wants to read a post that sounds like a dry text book entry. Being myself and talking to my readers the same way I would talk to someone who is in the room with me is always my goal now.
Hey Andrew
I try to write how I talk, however sometimes it is not always grammatically correct
I go for all of that advice and guidance, thanks, but as Don Crowther taught me years ago, social media, blogging is about a special form of communication.
You see, what you write and say out loud before you click send better be more about delivering information to your special audience (target), that contributes, makes a difference, as they use to say out here in California, and now world-wide, making a difference in other’s lives, over and over again, as you become the go-to guy or gal on that subject.
Conversation, what you have to say, is just the byproduct of your core intent to help people, and yes, done well it comes across natural; I like the word authentic.
John McLaughlin,
Online Stock Trading, Day Trading – Consultant / Coach
Edit: Removed the complete link farm, as a commenter you have the opportunity to leave your link in the URL farm, if you need more links, feel free to purchase ad slots.
Franky Branckaute.
You know more about your farm than I do.
When I make a contribution to the ongoing discourse, readers go to my website for a lot more.
If you want to help that effort put back the website URL withing my commmentary, otherwise good luck with the disconnect you cause.
John
My bad, my name is the URL – we all learn easy or hard.
Take care
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