How To Become A Better Writer In 6 Simple Steps

If you are going to make anything out of your blog, then you should know that "writing skill" is a necessary skill you need to possess. Truly, you can't become an incredible writer overnight, but again, you're not as bad as you think.

All you need is some little motivation and inspiration. This article will expose you to 5 simple yet powerful tips you can use to improve your writing skill incredibly. Hang on, friend -

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How to Be A good Blogger

Being a good blogger is not something so difficult to achieve, there may be a thousand and one rules to follow to be a good blogger, but I have narrowed down the million points to the best of my knowledge. I hope you do gain something by reading this.
    Below is my list of complied points for being a good blogger:
1) Be yourself :
     My number one rule to being a good blogger is to be yourself. Write in your own style and in your own voice, and you will be surprised at how well you will do as a blogger.
2) Choose a Niche for your blog:
    A niche (in its simplest of definition is the people to which you are directing your blog content to). Choose a niche which you know about well so you never go out of content.
3) Know your readers well:
   Even before you write your first blog post, it is worth the effort to take the time to study the kind of audience you are marketing or directing your blog contents to.  Some criteria to watch out for are: their marital status, their age, education level, location and so on. These might not be the only things to look out for, but they are worth studying.
4) Relate with other bloggers:
    Seriously, to get your blog going, it is an inevitable activity that you must carry out for the good of your blog. This has so many advantages of which i can manage to mention a few here, because, it really is a topic on its own. Relating with other bloggers especially those in the same niche with you will not give your blog exposure to a larger audience but help you build back links which in turn increases your pagerank and the perceived value of your blog in the eye of our dearly friends (search engines).
   Really, the importance of relating with other bloggers can not be over emphasized, engage in it, and you will have me to thank for it.
5) Be ready to improve:
   Yes, you will have a lot of areas to improve at as a blogger. Your writing skill, you communication skill, your thinking skill are just some of the major areas you will need to really improve at if you really are going to be  good blogger.
6) How consistent can you be?
   You can never be a good a good blogger if you lack consistency. Go ask the big bloggers.  As a blogger, you need to set a particular time range which you will update your blog. Are you convenient with  putting up a blog post once a day, twice a day, once in two days or probably even once a week.
   Just set an achievable time frame, and let your readers know you for it. You will be surprised at how loyal some of your readers can get due to your consistency.
     What happens if you have three or four posts at hand, and you only post once in three days, it will just be nice if you can hold it off and release them as scheduled. Read: How to schedule blog posts in blogger.
7) Write good content:
     Well, like the saying goes: "content is king". There is no substitute good content. Work well and spend time to create quality, unique and original content, and you will have both search engine and humans addicted to your blog.
  Your turn: Now it's time to hear from you. Is there anything you would like to add or subtract from my list? Let's talk.

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Difference between a website and a blog

Is there really any difference? you may want to ask, yes there is and also, there is not.
What prompted me to write this post was when someone asked me this question which I found interesting to answer.
          Basically, a blog is a type of website but with a different kind of format. A blog is more of an online diary. A blog is updated on a regular basis (may be many times a day, once a day or even weekly). Blogs are usually updated by writing articles to fill the the blog, these articles are called "posts". 
Usually, a blog is mostly free and easy to set up, requiring little or no knowledge of web design skills.
   Popular Platforms for blogging include blogger.com , wordpress.com and tumblr.com. Blogger is absolutely free and the easiest to use, especially for a complete newbie. You can read on how to create a blog with blogger here.
A blog may be updated by an individual or a group of people(authors). Some blogs provide information on general topics while some are based on specific topics (usually called niche blogs). A blog is quite easy to maintain, considering the fact that you have little back end stuffs you have to carry out on the blog and also little or no cost to run it. But I advise to get a custom domain for your blog, to at least make it professional.
       Blogs also encourage interaction between the author of the blog and its readers. A blog can be created separately or integrated as part of a static website.
       On the other hand, a website is a collection of static pages (although, that is changing recently), displaying specific information. A website is mostly used for professional or official purposes. Like showing information about a company. But today, we are having a lot of dynamic websites or social forums where contents are also updated regularly, therefore, almost reducing the distinction between blogs and websites.
        Many bloggers actually blog for the fun of it, and they enjoy the joy of been able to pour out their mind on the internet. And even, some bloggers go as far as making money from their blogs.Some even turned blogging to their full time job (though I don't know so many bloggers who have done this). Read: How to make money blogging.
       Let me also add that, most blogs are specifically created to solve a particular problem or the other. Readers can check in, look for the information they want, read it and comment.
      Blog and websites do have a lot in common, but they are meant to serve different purposes.
I hope I have been able to clear your doubts concerning blogs and websites now?
    Your turn: it is time for you to have your say. Let's talk.

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How long should a blog post be?

How long should my blog posts be? is a question many beginner bloggers

ask.
Well, in as much as most people say: " there is no particular answer to

that question",  I think I have found the right answer to that question.

My answer is that "it depends". Not what you think right? I guess I

haven't really provided answers to your question, huh?. So, it depends on

what?
It depends on almost everything,  if I may say.
Truly, there is no fixed rule as to how long a blog post should be, but

there are certain factors that you need to consider in deciding the length

of a blog post.
One thing you should know is that, if you can get your message across in

just 200 words, then fine, you are good to go. On the web today, with

almost countless number of blogs, you find blog posts with varying number

of words ranging from as less as 25 words(you are probably surprised

right?) to as much as 1000 words or even more.
David Vandagriff -popularly known as "the passive Guy" is of the biggest

bloggers so to say. What does he do? He posts excerpts from articles or

books, let's say about a sentence or a single paragraph, and that's all.
You can over to his blog at thevoice.com to see for yourself.(Interesting,

that is.).
So, enough of stories, how long should a blog post be?
I already said earlier that if you can get your message across in about

200--250 words, that's OK, but let's look more into it.
Generally today, most people who read blogs are busy people or don't just

have time to  sit down and read just one heck of a long post(considering

countless number of other blogs they have to read), so what do they do?
They just scan through your blog post to look for what they want.

That's it. What should you do? Be as succinct and as brief as you can also

making sure you include the necessary information in your blog post.
What if you must write a lengthy post?
To me, I would say that's very good and advantageous to you, how?
That would be a great avenue to break the long post into pieces

and create a series of posts, which implies that you won't run out of

content(at least not anytime soon) and you are sure to have your readers

come back for the rest of the story.
The key point I want you to hold is that, no matter what the length of

your post is, pass valuable information across to your reader.
Oh! and there is one more thing you need to consider, SEARCH 

ENGINE. Considering the fact that search engines need enough information

when crawling your blog posts, I would advice you make your blog posts, at

least between 300-500 words.
I hope this information helps you in deciding the length of your blog

posts.
Time to hear from you. How long do you make your blog posts, and 

what is the average you set for yourself? Let's talk.
Read:How to write a great blog post
Things to consider before publishing your blog post

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Day 3 - How to write a great blog post

Welcome back guys, I started a post some days ago on how to write a great

blog post. I already published two parts of the whole article and this is

the third and final post on the topic.
If you haven't read the first two parts, do so now.
How to write a great blog post
Day 2 How to write a great blog post

So, let's continue, I stopped at number 12 or so I think:
13) Make your blog posts informative:
Make research on your topic before setting out to write your posts

so you have enough useful information to give out to your readers.
14) Capture your ideas as they come:
Inspiration come at times when it is least expected. So remember

to always trap your post ideas as they come to your mind. Read my post on

tools to help you trap your ideas.
15) How prepared are you?
You need to keep generating ideas regularly so you have something

for the future. How cute is it to have topics to write on for like say 10

posts to come? Sounds awesome, isn't it?
16) Solve problems:
Most times, people read blogs because they need to find solution

to a particular problem. Why not take the time to find out what the

problem is and solve it for your readers?
17) How well are your readers connected to you?
Sharing your personal experiences once a while can create some kind

of emotional bond between your and your readers. Just try it and see.
18) Relax:
Don't make things too hard for yourself by trying too hard to

impress everyone. Feel relaxed whenever you are writing your posts and let

it flow naturally. Going hard on yourself can make you commit lot of

errors, which your readers won't like.
19) Vary length:
When you need to keep things simple, write short posts but make it

 as informative as possible and when the need arises, write posts that are

as long as you feel. Just remember, the catch here is to make your blog

posts as informative as possible.
Read: Things to do before publishing your blog posts
20) How much time do you have for your blog?
You need to set aside a particular portion of your day to attend

to your blog. Take the time to source for ideas for your posts, write the

posts, review and edit as fit.
21)Write often:
Truly, you can only get better. As they say, "practice makes

perfect". Remember, to be a good writer, you need to write very often,

there is always room for improvement, you know.

Bonus 1: Don't stop practicing, Practice makes perfect. Always remember,

It's in you.
Bonus 2: Don't forget to tell your readers to subscribe
Bonus 3: You can't please everyone. Just do the best you can do and

continue to hone your skills.
Your turn: I want to hear from you.

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How to write a great blog post -21 fool proof techniques-

Every blogger wants to be able to write interesting and sensational blog

posts that keep readers salivating in anticipation for the upcoming posts.
Well, for me, I used to think it is hard to write a good and great blog

post, but what I have realized is that "thinking of how hard it is; is the

worst thing am doing to myself". In this article, I will show you the

techniques I use to get myself going and which you can also use to write your subsequent posts.
1) Have you started yet?
Of course, to write anything good, you have to put aside the "what can i

write" thoughts and get your pen rolling. Stop procrastinating now, put on

your PC and starting typing (or your pen and paper).
2) How catchy is your blog post title?
Fact has it that: "your post title is what will determine whether readers

will be interested in reading your blog post or not". To write a good and great

blog post, you need to learn how to use interesting and attention catching
post titles.
3)Use Images:
Do you still remember this? "A picture is worth a thousand

words". Well, that quote still applies to writing a good blog post.
There are different sets of readers who read your blog:
i) the impatient readers: these category of readers are very busy

people and they have no time to read all of those lengthy texts, they just

skim through your post to look for images that can explain what your post

is about to them in just a glance. If your image is self explanatory

enough, they might even take the time to read your entire post.
ii) another set of readers are those that love to learn by 

visual aids. They might read your entire post, but still, they might not

get you until they see an image or video that makes it clearer to them.
So, by using images in your blog posts, you are killing many birds

with one stone.
4) Be conversational:
Hey, your blog post is not another essay competition. When writing blog posts,

be as conversational as possible and try not to make everything too

formal. Nobody wants to bored by another lecture room session. You will

agree with me that explaining something to a friend will make itself easier to

understand compared to " a boss explaining a concept to a worker". Your

readers are your friends and try to be as friendly and informal as

possible. (Read:Common mistakes bloggers make).
5) There's love in linking.
Yes, there is. Use the links, they are there for you to use. Some of the

benefits of linking and linking well are that: it makes navigation easier

for your readers, therefore improving user experience. And you know what

that means? readers keep coming for more.
 The second benefit of proper linking is the fact that it optimizes your

blog for search engines.(Read: Tools to help you trap your ideas).
6) How informative is your introduction?
After readers must have clicked through your blog title, the next thing they will see are the first three or four lines of your post. Will they read your post all the way down? well , that depends on how interesting your introductory paragraph is.
So, try to make your introductory words contain certain key words that will make readers interested in reading your post fully.
 OOH!!! It's like this post is getting to long, I will try to stop here and continue in the next post.
Subscribe in the subscription box below so that you get notified as soon as i update the post.
Your turn! Now, its time to hear from you. What are the techniques you use to write your blog posts, or if you have questions. Let's talk!
Read:What is guest blogging?

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