COMMENTS
I agree fully - as you find and express your authentic voice, more readers will be drawn to your blog.
Remember, a blog article in 2009 doesn't even have to be an article :-) It can be a picture, video, chart or other multimedia posting. A blog article should be short, provocative, and start the conversation, not War & Peace.
Not being a great writer probably even helps you as you use a language ordinary people use and understand :)
Yes you are right. I also think so, I am not one good writer but always try to improve my blog article when I write, Before writing article on any topic I always study lot about that topic.
I had the same trepidation about writing on my first entrepreneurial website
start a cleaning business. But I did very well with some copy editing from my partner. I now have a writing partner that does all of the writing for my 4th
online business
Completely agree here. I have a proofreader for EVERYTHING that I post on the web and for a while it was frustrating how my content got hacked up but as my proofreader got more accustomed to my style she's able to weave what I mean into what I should say a lot easier.
Trust me I'M THE WRONG ONE TO TALK ABOUT BEING A GREAT WRITER but I did start an extremely popular and award winning blog that I'm extremely proud of now.
The lesson... JUST DO IT! If you create "remarkable" content then it will have value to people even if it doesn't build expert credibility as a writer.
Great post! The more I teach new entrepreneurs how to establish their own online platform, one of the biggest stumbling blocks for professionals has been the move from writing"corporate speak" to "authentic" "Blog Speak!" Thanks for simplifying the process. Takes an engineer?
Can't wait to check out the book Brian. I'm about to go pick it up from the post office now. Also, thanks for your inspiring words! It's posts like this that help me keep chugging along.
It's all about connecting with an audience. Writing never stands alone; it is a vehicle for the connection of people and ideas--just like social media.
What makes someone is great writer is the ability to make a point clearly, in your authentic voice, with enough attention to grammar and structure issues so that your audience knows what the heck you're talking about, regardless of format. The reality is very few (honest) writers excel in every format. So, I'd amend your headline to read "You Don't Have to Be A Great BOOK Writer to Be A Great Blog Writer."
Full disclosure: I"m a writer and an editor and would never put "corporate speak" in the category of good anything.
Good point. I enjoy reading your blog for the quality of the content. Your writing is well organized and easy to scan. Thanks for all the great resources too!
The information in your blog is what makes it great. Are you writing about topics people want to read? Are you sharing information readers need?
The longer I write my blog, the better I get at finding that authentic voice. My advise to anyone thinking of starting a blog is jump in and keep writing. It
gets better with time.
Outstanding ideas may drive traffic despite poor writing, but I think it sends the wrong message to suggest that writing skills are inconsequential. Quality writing is important to convey your message as well as build credibility. If the point here is people should not be discouraged from blogging because of their writing skills, I think the message should be: "To create a successful blog, start writing." That would be a positive message, inspiring and supporting best practices.
You are so right.
A lot of people are afraid of just sharing some small thing or another and they have yet to realize that that's what a lot of people want.
It's about sharing and having conversations that illustrate who we are, and what we know and that's it.
Thanks for the insight Brian. At our software company we are trying to encourage several of our employees to contribute to our blog. I'm going to circulate your post to give them the confidence to share their remarkable ideas!
Blogging was difficult for me at first because I wanted everything to be technically correct but in doing so, I lost much of the personality behind my writing. Plus it took ages for me to post anything because I was constantly editing and revising to make it so.
Thankfully it finally dawned on me that it was more important to converse with my readers than to tell them in the most technically correct manor. This definitely has helped my become a better blogger.
I completely agree with your post, especially about the part of being authentic. Even though I do a lot of collaborative writing for authors and speakers, their voice must remain genuine. Writing from the heart is much easier and sometimes better received than what solely comes from the head. If you are already an expert in your field don't feel constrained to be an expert when writing about it. Seek out quality resources. We can't all be great at everything. That is one of the most common fears of my clients who are speakers, which I address in my recent post, Why Speakers Fear Writing Books http://bit.ly/10QZp1 - Christine
Authentic is defintely the key.
Conversations with your readers is a lot of work but great for figuring out what they are interested in.
Thanks Brian,
Very encouraging. I'm off to write my second post!
BTW, I think what you are saying holds true to brand development too. You don't need a high priced brand consultant (I'm a recovering one myself) to interview you, go away, and come back and tell you who your company should be.
Perfectionism is boring. It is better to be authentic and sincere.
-- Axle Davids
You don't have to be a great "writer" anymore, but you do need to understand how to write for the web. This isn't really that hard, but it's still a skill that far too many people lack.
All great comments here...so great, I don't have anything to to add, but I wanted you to know I read and enjoyed them.
Interesting story! I completely agree with you about not be a great writer to write a great blog. What I believe is, one should have great idea to write a great blog. No one checks whether grammar is correct or not until the matter written in the blog is interesting and moving. If the blog is interesting to read then it will have more subscribers, more visitors thus, it will be a great blog.
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I find writing very catharsis; it is as easy as if you were talking with a friend.
If you realize that you must use proper English with some grammatical aplomb,
This means that your vocabulary must be more than every second word a swear
Word. Life must be informative, and one must be able to realize that you are unique
For there is no one like you, and there cannot be anyone like you. You must operate out
of your own inner core self. If you work with this principle you will surprise yourself.
I have been writing for over fifty years, and have since publish four books, one audio and the fourth is being published as we speek.
Paul D. Hudon Author