One great way to make your blog more engaging is to write your posts in a conversational way – as though you’re chatting to the reader over coffee.
When you do this well, your posts will put the reader at the centre, hold their attention, and encourage them to comment.
The problem is, a lot of bloggers write in a rather stilted, formal way.
Perhaps it’s how they were taught to write in school, or they’ve got used to writing quite formal documents in their job.
However experienced (or inexperienced) you are with writing, these tips will help you create more conversational posts.
#1: Write Directly to the Reader
When you write, imagine you’re writing to just one reader. Address this person as “you” and don’t be afraid to use the word “I”. (Yes, this is usually a bad idea in an essay for school – it’s fine in blog posts.)
Depending on how old you are, you may have been taught to use the word “one” in this context, such as:
When one begins blogging, one often has questions…
This sounds old-fashioned to most readers today. Instead, you can simply write something more personal, like:
When I began blogging, I had a lot of questions…
If you’re just starting blogging, you probably have questions…
#2: Use Everyday Language
Avoid using long or complicated words unless you really need them. Here are a few you can probably rewrite:
ascertain = find out
enquire = ask
occupation = job
obtain = get
If your topic requires a lot of jargon, then try to spell out acronyms the first time you use them in a post (unless they’re extremely common ones). Explain any terms that might confuse your readers.
#3: Avoid the Passive Voice
The passive voice weakens your sentences by hiding the subject (the person or group taking an action).
Passive voice:
Some mistakes were made last week.
Active voice:
I made some mistakes last week.
It’s not necessarily wrong to use the passive voice, but you’ll normally find that rewriting passive sentences brings your writing alive.
#4: Use Contractions
Like me, you might have been taught in school to avoid contractions in your essays – writing “do not” instead of “don’t”, for instance.
In the blogging world, it’s fine to use contractions. In fact, it’s expected, and your writing will seem stilted and stand-offish if you don’t.
(Just take a look through this post and you’ll find plenty of examples!)
Do you find it easy to write in a conversational way, or is this something you’re working on? Share your thoughts and tips in the comments…
Would love to here from you...