How to write a Technical Blog
“I hate writing, I love having written.”
— Dorothy Parker
Writing an appealing blog is a challenging exercise in itself. Writing one that includes technical terms? That’s a whole other game.
Writing allows you to solidify the notions you are trying to explain. At times, you may think you understood what a technical concept means, but when you challenge yourself to explain it in writing, you struggle. That means you haven’t fully mastered the subject, and writing about it allows you to organize your thoughts in a clear way. If you have a hard time explaining something, chances are, other people won’t understand it too and may search online for an explanation, which means more traffic for your site.
So how do you write an effective technical blog?
- Start with your goal. Your readers should know, within the first few lines, what you are trying to accomplish.
- Streamline the message. Bullet points are preferable to dense text. Go easy on your readers’ eyes! Technical blog readers are expecting to learn something from it. Key takeaways in bullet points help them stay on track with their learning journey. They already know what to expect (first bullet point above) and now they see what it takes to get there.
- Use examples. Precise technical definitions can be dry to read. Rephrasing and tying them to practical examples are key to enabling people to understand technical models as they can see exactly how things work.
- Use images. An image is indeed a thousand words! Examples can be difficult to explain by using only words. Images can help you with that. I use Keynote (Windows users can use Powerpoint) to create graphs and images. It’s simple and, for Mac users, free.
- Summarize the concept. At the end of your blog, summarize what the reader has read, and allude to what may be coming next.
I mentioned earlier that writing a blog can improve your writing skills. Unfortunately doing it on your own can be overwhelming and monotonous. What could be immensely helpful is a second pair of eyes.
Someone who can “beta-read” your content, fix your grammar, and improve your story-telling, so that your blog not only looks professional but also tells your story.
So how do you find a second pair of eyes or a so-called beta-reader?
After realizing that there wasn’t a solution to this need, I created CritiqueMatch to allow people to do just that. It’s a platform that connects bloggers, writers, and authors to exchange critiques on their work. Bloggers can exchange posts, receive feedback on their work, and ultimately boost their writing skills.
You can polish your grammar, content, and story-telling by connecting with experienced bloggers as well as writers at all stages of their blogging careers.
1) Sign up for free!
2) Set your interest to “Blogs” under your profile, and find other Bloggers online.
3) Find bloggers working on similar subjects (i.e. Blogs in this case). Connect with them directly and become “critique partners”.
4) Exchange your blog and get the feedback you are looking for (i.e. grammar, etc). What you exchange with them is private. Critiques are rated, which means you can search for people who have been top-rated and start working with the top experts.
5) Finally, soon, you’ll be able to get paid for the critiques you give!
I have a critique partner and the feedback I received on my blogs, this one included, has been invaluable! At times my partner pointed out that some paragraphs needed a better explanation, and other times I completely missed that grammar mistake! (Even using Microsoft Word, you’d be surprised how many things a professional blogger can find on your text!)
Your blog will be out there in the cyber world forever. You don’t want it to be a sloppy text that people will dismiss. Your reputation is built upon those words. Make it invulnerable!
