Writing fresh, original content isn’t always an easy task – sometimes you need more than a clean work area, a comfortable chair and your favorite beverage of choice.
You need Inspiration!
Where do your ideas come from? Do you peruse the latest magazines, newspapers, internet sites, and blogs?
Whether you’re just getting started with blogging, article writing or adding content to your website or you’re an old hand at it, a writing journal can be an invaluable tool. You can keep it on your computer, use a hand-held recorder or you can just write in an old fashioned notebook. The main point is to jot down ideas as they come to you so you can utilize them for content development.
Also, when you’re writing and on a roll and the words are just flying off your fingertips, you may want to think about writing more than one post, if time permits, so you can begin to build a library. This way, you’re one step ahead of the writing game and can draw from it when writer’s block hits or you’re schedule is cramped and you don’t have time to sit and compose.
It’s always easier to write about what you’re most interested in. Words flow much more freely and you’re having fun at the same time. However, if you have a dry cleaning business and you’re an avid fisherman, you probably won’t be writing on your website about your latest catch or the kind of pole you used, unless you find a way to weave it into your content strategy.
You’ll most likely need to write more about fabric and how to care for your garments, stain management and maybe even the latest fashion trends. I guess, you could probably write about getting that fishy smell out of your favorite sweatshirt or keeping the crease in your permanent press slacks after a good day at your favorite fish’n hole!
You could probably write thousands of pages on fishing – it’s your passion but your specific web content (cleaning topics) is where you make the money to keep doing what you’re passionate about so that’s got to be high quality, too!
When you focus on content creation, it’s a really good idea to leave it for a while if you can – go do something else for a couple of hours and then come back to it with fresh eyes.
You may think of other things to add to it, another way to say something that makes it clearer to the reader and maybe you’ll think of related topics that you can write about later.
Everyone has their own writing style. Sometimes it takes a while to find it. When you write, you need to let yourself shine through. You want to present your content in the most professional manner that you can while at the same time, injecting a conversational tone to it.
Unless you’re writing for a medical journal, preparing an in depth training manual or writing a research paper, your writing style should be easy to understand and interesting.
Don’t’ forget humor, anecdotes and quotes. Used appropriately, they can enhance your content, send a message and make it that much more enjoyable for the reader.
When you’ve completed writing your content, take the time to READ what you’ve written. Clean it up in terms of extra words, spelling and grammatical errors.
Remember, your writing is a reflection of who you are. If your article or post is laden with typos, sentences that don’t make sense because you’ve left out words or failed to delete words after you’ve made changes, you may lose your readers. Don’t skimp on reviewing what you’ve written. When you’re in a hurry, it’s easy to make mistakes – before you click the “Post” button that sends it out to the masses, be sure you’re comfortable with what you’ve written.
Your goal is to keep your readers coming back for more. Putting your best foot forward is the greatest way to accomplish this.
NOTE: If you write using Microsoft Word, use the Spelling and Grammar Checker found under “Tools” to check your document. This will help you catch spelling and punctuation errors, extra spaces between words, capitalization and other things that you might have missed when you read through your content.
Finally, you’ll want to come up with a good title for your post or article that conveys what your content is about and draws people in to read what you have to say.
Pictures and colored text are other ways to make your content attractive and more readable. Bolding and underlining also help breakup the monotony of just words.
What’s the best way to become a good writer – well you know the best way already – it’s like that old joke – how do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, Practice, Practice!
Being a good writer takes lots of practice! The more you write, the better you’ll become. You’ll get into the groove; you’ll find your voice and your style.
Your readers will be sitting on the edge of their chairs waiting to read your next article or blog post with baited breath! Your content is riveting, interesting and immensely helpful to them.
In your readers’ eyes, your Content is King!
