10 Great Blogging Tips for Beginners

As a Chicago marketing company, we frequently get questions about how to blog or when we recommend to clients they should start blogging, they say, "I have no idea how to do that." And comments of the like. There is a lot to know about blogging but there are some basics that can get you into a blogging-ready state. This blog is courtesy of our marketing copywriting team.

Write about something you love
Pick a theme or core topic idea that will be the generator of your content; each blog post will surround this topic. What is your blog about? Is it about cooking? What about pets? Or maybe it's about woodworking? Just make sure your blog has an overall theme that filters every blog topic and that this overall theme is you. Why does a central theme matter? We'll, if your blog is all over the place, then readers won't know what they will find on your blog, which overwhelms and confuses people and they will likely not come back to your blog.

Obviously, our Chicago marketing agency always has blogs that filter out of our love for marketing; we write about advertising, copywriting, marketing trends and news, etc.

If you are writing your blog for your business, then your overall theme is sort of decided for you. Make sure you stick to that and write topics that work within that theme. If your business is about hardwood flooring, then write under than umbrella.

Remember, this topic has to fuel you enough for you to be motivated to write about it a few times a week, if not several times a week.

Do something different
Chances are that your blog is not the only blog that will talk about that particular theme. If your blog is about cooking, then do something that will help your blog stand out, like "meals that can be made in 30 minutes or less" or "meals for people on a sugar-less diet". This can help you really stand out and find some very dedicated readers.

You can also do things like reader submissions. For example, if you are doing that cooking blog, maybe encourage your readers to send in their own recipes and discuss them on your blog; you can even take this a step further and have them submit recipes for a specific dish & then you pick a winner! Maybe that dish is "Best gluten free baked ziti!"

Be conversational 
Write the way you talk. Now, if you talk with a lot of slang, incorrect grammar, etc. then step it up a bit but still remain conversational. This is something the copywriting team at our Chicago creative marketing agency tries to do. You can still be professional and an authority in your industry even if you write blogs that carry a conversational tone instead of formal, stiff, and jargon-stuffed. In fact, one could argue that the conversational yet professional blog is a better sign of an expert; when you truly understand something, you can explain it to anyone, even someone who knows nothing about the topic.

When you write with a conversational tone, it is much easier to let your personality shine through, which is what will attract readers and help them connect with you.

As we mentioned, be watchful for your grammar; people can be forgiving if you use a comma where you use a semicolon but if you misuse "they're" "there" and "their" or even "you're" and "your" then you will catch flack for that.

Have great content
Write about things that people will find interesting. "How do I know if other people will find it interesting?" You ask. Well, is the content obvious? Or does it have tips and info in it that many people do not know?

Think about this, if you were to write a blog about, "5 Games for Teachers to Play with Students at Recess" and then write about hopscotch, swings, tag, man on sand, and football, then people will be bored. Take it up a notch! Do games that are more fun, less known, or invent some games!

Use good images 
Every blog needs to have images. This is a big mistake our copywriters see with other blogs: no images. Or bad images. If you are not good with photography, take a night class and step it up. Also, you can use things like Canva and create cool graphics for your posts, also use stock photos (but watch out for the blatantly cheesy ones).

Don't post blogs without an image. Blog posts with an image get more readers and shares than posts without them; they can have a chance of being shared by as much as 7x more.

Use formatting
The formatting of your posts should be a big concern. Now, you can have text positioned to the left or centered but our writers like posts with copy to the left. When you write with centered text, it can look like poetry.

Use headers and bold them. Also, bold important words and phrases that you want the reader to see.

Research
Make sure to study up on bigger blogs; see what they are writing about, how they write, what images they use. Take notes. Look at what you like about the blogs and what you don't like about the blogs. If you see some big blogs and get discouraged about how your blog can ever be that good, don't quit, keep going! Your blog will improve. Remember, not every blog starts out as a masterpiece.

Also, research the topic you're writing about. While you will surely know info about the topic you're writing about, some research can help you find out new bits of information and some cool statistics.

Fake it til ya make it
Lie? No. But be confident! If you sound like you are an expert in your field, people will buy it and they will trust you. Don't give out false info because you think it's right but carry yourself (in your blog) with some chutzpah!

Do good things! 
There are a lot of bad blogs on the internet and not just ones that have bad spelling/formatting. There are lots of bad blogs because they are just so the person can complain and rant. You will stumble upon these blogs when searching for good ones to model after, don't fall prey to these blogs! Yes, some of them have lots of followers, that is not a sign of a good blog.

Make some friends
This can be a toughy but is definitely worth it. When someone talks to you and leaves comments, then respond to them! They will appreciate it when you respond and be impressed if you do, too.

Does your blog need some help? Do you need help getting one started? Then email Integraphix and see how our Chicago copywriting team can help your business get a good blog!