Blog Better: Six Quick Tips

This post is written by Cristina Sousa, a content specialist on Vistaprint’s Social Media team.

When it comes to blogging, it can be difficult to get started…and to keep writing. Here are six quick tips that we like to keep in mind when we’re blogging.

1. Links: A simple way to make your blog more informative is to link out to the places, people, things, etc. that you mention. It provides readers with an at-their-fingertips resource, even if your blog post is short. You can also include links at the end of the blog, if there are additional sources you failed to mention within the piece, but that you think are important for context.

2. Titles: Blog titles are important for things like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), as well as getting a reader to click on your blog when there are a lot of other blog posts floating around the Internet. Use key phrases or words, and try to include anything else you think will grab someone’s attention — questions, numbers, best-of and how-to posts, are just a few ways to spice up your title.

3. Examples: Use examples when you write about something, if applicable. Instead of just defining something, including a real-world experience always makes writing more informative.

 4. Set-up: One thing to keep in mind about writing for the Internet is that most readers have super-short attention spans. If you get someone to click on your blog to read it, the last thing they want to see is a ton of words. Think about how the blog is set up, and how you can make the content more digestible. For instance, a quick fix is to include easy-to-read, bold headings that set up paragraphs. Another way is to set the blog up as a list, or a series of bullet-points. You can even break-out tips, and italicize those key hints for readers.

5. Trust Your Instincts: If you feel as though the blog is feeling a little long, that’s probably because it is a little long. Similarly, if you start writing, and feel as though the topic is great, but there really isn’t a good story to report on, maybe there isn’t! Stop, and rethink the piece. Ask yourself questions like, “Should this be more than one blog? Is there a better topic I can cover? Is there a part of this topic that makes more sense than the whole? How can I make this more interesting to readers?”

6. Creative Writing: Use this as an opportunity to think outside the box a bit when it comes to writing. Part of the reason creating content is interesting? If you do a good job, it consistently fosters creative thinking, new ideas and interesting stories, that will act as resources for your readers.