Make Your Blog “Chef’s Kiss” With This Secret Ingredient
Make your audience see just what you want to tell them
Shallow content has become easier and more accessible in times of AI. But writing quality blogs doesn’t mean summarising the top 10 ranking articles on Google and calling it a day.
Some might debate that AI is getting better at creating more human-like content. And I’m not waging a war against it. But AI content is only as good as its editor. It can hardly replace humans when it comes to creating expert content that targets niche audiences.
If you don’t have a human hand working on the content (yes, not just the human touch), you won’t make the content tastier. And creating such work is only possible if you replace bland AI content with more than “just good enough” writing.
Why should the content be tastier?
Well, as AI has proved its herculean capacity to churn out thousands of decent-level articles within seconds, no wonder if the web gets engulfed in a sea of mediocre content.
It only seems crucial to make your content unique, like the special dish at an exotic restaurant you can’t find elsewhere.
Why so?
If you make them crave your content, which they can’t get anywhere else, rest assured, you’ve earned a fan in your audience.
How to make your blog “Chef’s Kiss”?
Use Show; don’t tell.
Thinking that blogs are not fiction to use show, don’t tell?
Let’s look at the essence of this most famous writing rule.
Telling entails reciting your writing. You’re telling what you want them to see.
Showing is taking readers places with you. They’re no longer listening from a distance. They’re one of the characters–a part of the story. Seeing the narrative unfold.
Show, don’t tell elevates your writing. Because now you’re not just giving readers a solution. You’re taking them on a ride of how it helps them.
The biggest part of blog writing is to make the reader the hero. Make them feel that the solution can transform their life.
What better than making them a part of the story?
Here are 3 ways you can use show, don’t tell
1. Storytelling
Now, the fun part begins. Imagine your target audience is office managers who are losing talent due to poor leadership and management.
Now consider these examples:
“Your employees can’t communicate their concerns, and one day, they leave.”
OR
“Imagine you face employee turnover. Your employees feel pressured not being able to convey their concerns. The frustration keeps piling up. All they can do is nod happily when, deep inside, they’re burning out. Until one day when they can’t take it anymore and hand over the two weeks’ notice. You lose more in turnover than you spend in acquisition.”
Can you see the difference?
By painting a picture, you lure the reader inside your story. They can see themselves in the second example and feel the pain of losing talent.
Now you have their complete attention.
2. Examples
Examples speak louder than plain text. A relevant example which continues throughout the blog gives the readers just enough information to be on the same page with you.
Let’s admit not everything you talk about in your blogs is known to the readers, especially when blogs contain product descriptions, case studies, or research.
It’s when you’ve to treat readers as your technologically challenged grandma. Imagine everything you speak needs an explanation to familiarise your readers with foreign concepts.
How, you ask?
With examples.
If you’re writing product-led blogs, instead of making the readers do the guesswork, examples make them clearly distinguish what the blog is and is not. Getting readers interested and invested in your product/service requires you to tell them the benefits they’d get out of it. Examples make the blog accessible even for the layman.
3. Analogies
This is something fiction writers live by. Nothing makes a sentence more homely than a perfect little analogy that fits the audience's tone.
For example:
“Personal brand makes your business unforgettable.”
OR
“A personal brand makes your business as unforgettable as your favourite mom recipe — one that always makes your customers recall happy memories.”
Remember, quoting region-specific analogies is treading a thin line. You might lose your readers rather than bridge them with your content.
Better to use a generalised analogy that hits the nail on the head for all audiences alike.
Analogies help drive the point home with just the right comparison. But yes, use them in moderation, please. An overdo, and you’ve ridden the blog with a yawn-worthy amount of analogies.
Finally,
Writing is all in the details. Details which only the writer who knows their readers can channel in their words.
And I must say, the list is not exhaustive. Writing is never limited to certain rules. Explore all you want and add new strategies for making your blogs more showing and less telling.
But certainly, it’s not something AI would master. The finer details that make writing complete can only be perceived by human eyes.
So, the next time you believe AI can outperform you, sit down and try these strategies to make your blog “Chef’s Kiss.”
