Are you interested in blogging for the Online Learning Consortium? Here are some tips from guest blogger, Lucy Adams. You can submit your blog post here.
So you’ve entered the blogging sphere. Or perhaps you’ve been here for a while. Either way, there’s always something to learn, and a new tip or two to try. Writing posts that people actually take the time to read requires some skill. We have entered a new age of reading that is important to understand if you want to captivate readers. Online users are easily distracted, and tend to do a lot of scanning. Think about it: almost everyone online has a social media account. How do you use social media? Click and scroll. Read a quote or a few sentences. Click and scroll some more. So what’s the key to get your readers reading your post and making them come back for more? Here are some top tips.
Your Content is Amazing
Posts that go viral have amazing content. This doesn’t just mean that it’s interesting. It means that it’s well written and engaging. Writing is a skill, and all skills should be practiced for upkeep and improvement. What you have to say does matter, and people should know it, but unfortunately they won’t if it isn’t posted in a way that is appealing, and part of that is aesthetic.
Posts are Easy to Read
When someone sits down with a book, they have a different mindset than someone who is surfing the web. By this I mean that posts should appeal to the eyes. They shouldn’t be too long. If a post is on the longer side, it should be broken up into shorter paragraphs and have some white space. Add subtitles and pictures. Have a look at this post and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Even long story-telling posts can keep the reader engaged by using this method even though it’s not the traditional way of a narrative.
Think of a Good Title
The title of a post is something that is usually the first thing seen. Therefore, it needs to draw people in. Some different title options that do well are-
- “How to”
This shows the reader they will be learning something, and probably with steps.
- Lists
It’s best to include numbers here, for example, “Top 10 reasons…” or “6 ways to…”
- Something catchy
This is a rather open-ended one, but if it has an element of humor or is a play on language, then it will get more attention.
Be Informal
Good posts connect with the readers. Even if it’s an informational post, or discusses something of a more serious nature, don’t have an overly academic tone. Use the second and first person. Pose questions. Take on a friendly vibe. Make it heartfelt. All of these things will make your post more appealing, and have the reader want to subscribe or return later to read more by you. It’s all about understanding your audience.
Make it Easily Searchable
Depending on your reason for writing, you may or may not care about getting the maximum amount of people reading your post. No matter what though, at some point, we all want to be noticed. That’s why you are already reading this. In that case, you will have to learn a bit about SEO, or search engine optimization. This basically means using certain words or phrases in your writing that are popular way to search for the topic you are posting about. It takes a bit of time and finesse, and you don’t want to over-do it or it will make your writing awkward and obvious, but it’s worth it to learn the basics.
Be Unique
With so much already on the Internet these days, chances are that the post you are writing is already out there in some way, shape, or form. This could be just the topic idea. If you Google “How to write a great post”, there are about 323 million results. So how will your post stand out? By making it a bit different from everyone else’s. You have the knowledge, the experience, the story, whatever it may be, that other people don’t. Share it!
Staying on the topic of being unique, you have to take from here what works best for you, and leave what doesn’t. There are no rules set in stone, just options that have worked well in the past. Staying true to yourself and your style, as corny as it sounds, is something that should always come first, because otherwise your readers will eventually see right though you.
About Lucy Adams
Lucy Adams is an outsourcer from edublogawards.org. She’s a writing guru that is constantly open to new suggestions and ideas. Feel free to share interesting themes you have in mind and don’t wait any longer to start a mutually beneficial collaboration.