Why are we falling out of love with blog posts?

5 simple truths about blogging writers have long forgotten

The Internet is full of websites. Websites are full of corporate content, articles and blog posts. At times, it seems that writing yet another long read about an email marketing hack, a sales trick, or a tech trend is just as fruitless as it is pointless.

After all, people don’t really read blog posts, do they?

Here’s the thing though. No matter how many articles there are on the Internet, it doesn’t mean that there won’t be enough readership for a new one. Other authors might be awesome but they are not you which means that they don’t have the kind of experience you gained or the writing style you’ve acquired over the years.

The main problem with blog posting is not that we’ve got nothing left to say. It is in the way we are saying those things, using well-established “cliches” and calling them “writing rules”.

After the years of seeing (and writing) a ton of typical blog posts, I realized that I’ve hardly seen anything surprising on the web. It seems to me that fighting over the rankings authors have forgotten a few simple truths of blog posting.

Let’s dust them off, shall we?

Truth #1. Find that one person you are writing for

We often say that every article has to find its perfect reader assuming that there is an audience we write for. If you really have people to share your writing with, it’s awesome. But the sad truth is, we try to get a reader to read an article by writing what he supposedly will like.

Basically, to call it by its name, it’s writing for rankings.

But if creating a blog post solely for promotion is wrong, what is the right way? Perhaps, we should do it by the book and imagine our perfect reader? Write as if you write for a friend, is that what we’ve been told?

However, a simple truth I’ve found is a blog post is only good when you write it for yourself. There’s a question that you don’t see a good answer to, just bits and pieces. So, you decide to puzzle these parts together for a cohesive picture to show up. Meanwhile, you also realize that the result of your work could be useful for others.

But even if no one reads it, your article has to be not a waste of time. This approach works for every type of content. Writing a listicle, make sure that all the tools you’re including are actually those you used or plan to benefit from in the future. For a how-to article, create a piece that you’ll be re-reading time and time again when performing a certain action.

Then there’s a chance to get readership. And if not, your time will be well-spent.

Truth #2. Writing is a tool

These days, writing has become an activity. We rely on it quite heavily as a mean for promotion, self-branding, lead generation, and so on. We assume that by creating a Facebook post, we’ll get engagement, clients, and a fanbase.

And it actually might work once in a while.

But the best pieces of writing come out when you can’t resist sharing. Only the posts that we’re truly passionate about can be the one leading to a cathartic experience for a reader. How can you do that?

Well, I enjoy the way Meg LeFauve has answered the same question talking about writing “Inside out” animated movie. She states that “when you’re asking the audience to have a cathartic experience, odds are, you probably need to have one while writing”.

We talk about writing as if it’s a habit. Some say it’s as necessary for a person as brushing the teeth or sleeping. But, let’s be real, it’s not. As much as we all like to “feed on metaphors and breathe words”, at the end of the day we still feed on foods and breathe the air.

So, maybe writing just for the sake of it is not the best idea. Instead, how about doing so only when you actually have what to say?

Truth #3. We let the language use us

Everyone who’s done writing knows a fun little fact. Mostly, we start writing simply because we have an “A” in the English class. It’s common to think that if a person wields words as skillfully as one might wield a sword, she must become a writer. That, and just that. Period.

Same works vice versa just as well. The writer who writes in short simple sentences doesn’t know his craft very well. He should first learn the basics and only later he can finally start writing.

Let’s go back to the history of humanity. Let’s remind ourselves while speaking appeared and later turned to write — to transfer information and store it. As soon as it’s done, the goal of language is delivered.

So, while writing a blog post, focusing on its writing style might not be the best idea. Sure, typos can be distracting and literally interfere with the main goal of the language — to deliver information.

Still, it saddens me a lot that we do proofreading more eagerly than fact-checking. Writing your next post, think of whether its content is true, not of the writing wits. Also, we’ve got spell-checkers for this kind of things anyway.

Truth #4. Google is not enough

Blog posting has become “quick and dirty” these days. By covering as many popular topics as possible, we’ll finally get ourselves a place in rankings and boost our stats. And if a company truly wants to write a few times per week, there’s simply no time for a proper research.

These days, getting all the needed information on the web is quite tempting. Rather than buying books, research papers, or, at the very least, we compile a few thoughts of other smart people and call it “unique content”.

Only it isn’t one, is it?

A way to break the wheel of repeating the same thoughts and ideas is to go further than that. Firstly, take inspiration from the daily experience. That’s something we have that’s completely unique and no one can say otherwise. Ever.

Then, there are books some of which might never have been brought to the digital world. It could be that all the research for an evergreen blog post is within your reach — for instance, in the nearest library that’s just a few blocks away.

You can also watch movies, read graphic novels, and take inspiration from where it’s rarely taken. That would be basically every place that isn’t a website within the top pages of Google Rankings.

Truth #5. Be eager to know more of your topic.

Amongst all the advice to writers, the most common one by far is “Write what you know”. Indeed, putting our own experience on paper is a sure way to know that we’ll end up with a bunch of ideas that didn’t exist before.

At the very least, we’d have an entirely unique way of saying even the basic things.

However, sometimes our own experience is not enough. After all, there’s so much we have forgotten over time, and so much we don’t know at all. That’s why I’m not a big believer in “Write what you know” statement. I prefer another one to it

Write about what you want to know.

Being a corporate writer for a company, we don’t always get the luxury of wanting to know more about the topic. Neither we have the full responsibility of choosing our own words and the way of saying them.

However, at the end of the day, it’s all about perception. As a corporate writer, I’ve learned that every blog post comes down to angles. While one writer is focused on practical life hacks and tips, another one can do a great touch on the more abstract matter.

The most challenging part is to find where your place somewhere on the spectrum. Yet, eventually, you will. Starting with understanding what topics you don’t want to write about, you’ll eventually arrive at those that excite you.

Blog post writers might not get as much freedom or respect as novelists do, for instance. That is true. However, even managing a corporate blog or a Facebook page is, nonetheless, writing. Which is why, we should treat it accordingly, like art. It is one, indeed.