Blast From the Past: Blogging Tips to Find Your Voice

Finding Your Voice

I’ve said it before, and you’ll probably hear me say it again and again – in the blogging world, content is king. Search engines and visitors LOVE original content.

What does that mean? Simply put, to succeed you should write what you know and be yourself. In other words, once you’ve picked what you want to blog about, next find your unique writing “voice.”

Blogging, especially for newcomers, can be intimidating, but having the freedom to write what you want and share what you know with others is a wonderful experience. Adding the ability to promote your art via GCU card links is icing on the cake.

You don’t need to use twelve dollar words and complicated concepts. You just need the ability to write a clear, understandable sentence. And another, and another, and another… and soon you’ll be blogging with the best of them.

No matter HOW you say it, the point of blogging is to get your message across to readers. If you can do that – and you should be able to – then you’ll quickly find a natural sounding way of expressing yourself, and you’ll enjoy writing posts. That enjoyment will shine through, making people WANT to read your blog.

Here are some tips to finding your writing voice:

Daily Devotion:Reading and writing are important. Read something every day. You could be inspired. Write something every day. Writing is like any other exercise: the more you practice, the better you get at it. Don’t throw out your old writings, either. You never know when you might be moved to polish up an older piece and present it to the world.

Be Yourself: Writing a blog is vastly different than writing a formal business letter. Don’t take refuge in stiff formality. Let your personality shine through.

Quit Wasting Time: Don’t spend so many hours editing and re-editing a blog post that you run out of time to actually write. Off-the-cuff remarks have charm. Don’t focus all your energy on perfection. As long as you avoid grammatical and spelling errors that turn your prose into alphabet soup, you’ll be fine.

Don’t Worry: You don’t need to write about earth-shattering topics of importance. If what you have to say moves you, it will move other people, too. You can reminisce about the past, ruminate about the present, voice an opinion, make a statement, share your knowledge. Anything that sparks your passion!

Spread the Love: Once you get your blog started, have a look around the Internet for blogs with topics similar to your own. Get commenting. Invite people to visit you, and encourage them to leave comments, too.