I have heard people compare and contrast blogging and writing one time too many. Some say that they are basically the same thing – you write posts, therefore you blog. Others take a different stance and say that there is more to blogging than writing, and that just because you can write doesn’t mean you can blog. What is it really? Do you have to be a good writer to be a good blogger?
I suppose that both sides have a point. I have to say that I believe that to a certain degree, you HAVE TO be able to write decently in order to be an effective blogger. Let us examine a few points.
One, you need to be able to send your message across clearly. Whether you are writing an article for a magazine or you are writing a blog post, you need to get your message across. In order to do so, you have to be able to write coherently.
Two, you need to know the basics of proper spelling, punctuation, and the like. While you may be good with words, glaring mistakes with regard to spelling, punctuation, and grammar will turn people off. It is true that not everyone is a grammar Nazi, but being correct in this regard adds credibility to your blog.
Three, you need to be able to play with words in order to maintain a captive audience. You might have the most interesting ideas to share, but if you do not think of your audience and try to keep them interested, then you might very well fail.
As you can see, those aspects of “formal” writing apply very much to blogging. No matter how you look at it, writing and blogging have many things in common.
On the other hand, we also have to realize that one need not be a Pulitzer awardee to become a good blogger. As bloggers, we do not need to be so strict and formal with regard to styles and writing rules. Perhaps more important than these rules are the things that you can do to promote your blog and increase your readership. What are these things?
One, you have to pay attention to your wording. Key words have long been an important part of writing for the web. People search for information using these key words, and if you focus on a specific topic, then you ought to find out the key words that are most relevant to this topic.
Two, you have to interact with the rest of the blogosphere. More than offering your own content, do not hesitate to link out to other blogs and sites which may have relevant information for your readers as well.
Three, place high importance on comments. Word your posts so as to incite comments from your readers – good or bad it doesn’t matter. The idea is to start a discussion. More so, remember to reply to comments in your blog AND comment in other blogs as well.
Writing IS part of blogging, but do not make the mistake of thinking that all you need to do to maintain a successful blog is to churn out words.
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Originally posted on December 6, 2009 @ 2:49 am