[FYI: Last year I wrote a Blogger’s Style Guide to help people in the organisations I was working for start writing posts and publishing them on the company blog. Many had never written anything beyond an email before but they did know their subject far better than I, so they just needed a good briefing in style, tone, structure and so on. This is that starter kit for company bloggers, consisting of 10 mini-posts in all.]
How is blogging different from other types of writing?
Blogging is a different type of communication. The style tends to be: informal and conversational; easy to read rather than big blocks of copy; human not corporate; real rather than perfect; a space for you to talk about what interests you.
Your opinion is valuable – in fact, the best posts are often ones that tell a reader three things:
- what has happened, what is the issue of interest
- an explanation of what it means, some context
- an opinion on what you think about it (if blogging for a company, this will probably be the company line)
As you can also see, you can also speak directly to your reader. (Hi, by the way.)
The other big difference is that your reader can easily say ‘hi’ back. They can respond to what you are saying – and you can have a conversation about the subject of your post.
Think of it as a dinner party that you are hosting. What are you going to say? Hopefully something that will interest them. So, what will interest them? I’m glad you asked. Next up in this series is: ‘What readers like (or ideas for your posts)’.
Subs' Standards 