Blogs are online journals written for both personal and business use. A blog may focus on a single topic or a whole range of topics and may have multiple authors or only one. The articles that appear on a blog are known as blog posts and these can be on any manner of subjects from cookery to gardening to politics. I have written a personal blog for a number of years now – if you are interested to learn more about me, pop on over to A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That and for a short explanation of what a blog is take a look at the video below.
History
The word blog is derived from the words ‘weblog’, as in ‘world wide web’ and ‘log’ as in a ‘record of events’. The Online Etymology Dictionary states the word was first used in this sense in 1998, however prior to this, the word was recorded in 1993 as referring to a ‘file containing a detailed record of each request received by a web server’. In 1969 the word was British slang for any hypothetical person, as in ‘Joe Bloggs’ and in 1860 was recorded as meaning ‘a servant boy’ in one of the college houses and also as a verb meaning ‘to defeat’ in schoolboy slang.
Why should my business have a blog?
Blogs can help drive traffic to your website, increase your sales and establish you as an authority in your area of work. A regularly updated blog will help you reach new customers, as search engines love fresh content, so the more frequently you update your blog, the more likely your website will climb the search engine rankings, gaining you visibility from potential customers.
Know your audience
Before you begin writing consider who your audience is, as this will help refine the purpose of your writing, for example, is the aim of your blog to inform, persuade or entertain? Considering your audience will help you decide on a suitable writing style, say technical or humorous; provide inspiration for your posts and increase the likelihood of people returning to read future blog posts. You should aim to write blog posts that answer the questions most frequently asked by your customers or that provide fresh insights into your area of work.
Writing style
Blogs are an informal style of writing, so don’t be afraid to write in a natural and chatty style. Use a headline to grab readers attention and add images, embed videos, use headings and bullet points to break up text and make your blog more readable.
Consider how people consume information online
It is reported that most people normally only spend two to three minutes reading a blog, so blog writing needs to be designed for busy people quickly scanning content, using an ‘F’ shaped pattern of reading, that is horizontally across the top, then moving down the page, scanning horizontally for a shorter period and finally scanning vertically down the left side to see if anything catches their eye. You may have noticed of recent, for this reason, much online content now advises how long it takes to read, so readers can decide if they have time to read an article before they begin reading.
As such, it is recommended blogs are written using an inverted pyramid writing structure. This means rather than beginning with an introduction and ending with a conclusion (known as a pyramid format), blogs should begin with the most important piece of information first, so readers get the gist of the post, regardless of how much they read. This way of writing has its origins in print journalism and is now widely used by blog authors since, like traditional newspaper articles, people may not have time to read something fully. The opening paragraph should be followed by a brief explanation that justifies the opening conclusion, which is then followed by supporting details that led to the opening statement. In other words, a blog article should move from the most important point to the least important point.
Make your words count
Blog posts should be as concise as possible. Particular attention should be paid to the following.
- Think carefully about how you start paragraphs – the first few words need to make your reader want to continue reading.
- Paragraphs and sentences should be short.
- Look out for repeated words, especially if in close proximity.
- Remove words that do not significantly change the meaning of sentences and remove multiple words where a single one will do.
- Avoid using jargon (visit The Plain English Campaign website for an online dictionary of plain English alternatives for jargon.)
Ready to start a blog? Take a look at the websites below.
Sources
- Nielson Norman Group: F-Shaped Pattern of Reading on the Web
- Nielson Norman Group: The inverted pyramid
- Online Etymology Dictionary
- The Guardian: How to write a successful blog that also promotes your business
- The Plain English Campaign: The A – Z of alternative words
- WordPress: Introduction to blogging
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