Blogging is a lot of fun. Many bloggers use their blogs as a way to express themselves. It’s an excellent creative outlet that can turn into a business if you are good enough.
Whether blogging for you is just for fun or with a profit in mind, you want to be the best you can be. It’s important to learn how to hone certain skills that you would like to do on a consistent basis. The only way to get better is to get help.
Blogs are all about writing. There are some vlogs nowadays that are becoming more and more popular, but writing is the way many bloggers tend to go. You may already be a pretty good writer, who knows how to avoid plagiarism in their writing, but since you are posting your written work for the world to see, you should make sure it is top-notch. There are several ways to do this.
1. Take a Blogging Course
Just like with anything, sometimes, the best way to learn something is to go to school for it. Blogging courses aren’t exactly a school, but the idea is the same. There are lectures, usually in the form of videos, assignments, and sometimes even feedback.
Some are free and some aren’t. Have a look around to see which one will be best for you and then sign up.
2. Do Some Side Work
Side work to most bloggers means doing what is known as “guest posts”. These are blog posts on other blogs, mostly used to gain recognition or to get noticed. For newbies, if you are about to land a guest post, use it as practice for writing for a bigger audience instead.
Another good option that will only help your writing is by doing some paid freelancing on the side. People need a written post for all types of things! Whatever it is that you get hired for, the more you write, the better.
3. Hire a Writing Service
Not sure how exactly a perfect blog post looks like? You need samples that are on your topic. One way to get the perfect example you can use to help you is through hiring a writing service. You can ask their professional writers to craft a few perfect pieces so you can see how it’s done.
Don’t be afraid to imitate until you find your own writing style! Make sure you decide to go with a trusted service to get the best bang for your buck.
4. Practice
Write posts you won’t publish. Journal. Write a short story. The practice is truly the best helper with writing you will be able to do. There is no magic way to become a better writer.
You just need to sit down and do it all the time. Think about the process that professional athletes go through to get great. The same has to go for you. Here are some more ways to practice:
- Use prompts and free write.
- Make a list of post titles and write them all whether they are good or bad.
- Start a journal and write about your personal life.
- Make a daily word count goal.
- Write some letters or emails to people you haven’t spoken to in a while (even if you don’t actually send them).
5. Use Some Writing Apps
Nowadays, everyone turns to technology for everything. Writing is no different. There are some really great writing applications that can help you on your journey to becoming a proficient writer.
- Zoho Writer is an alternative to Microsoft Word;
- Scrivener is a paid word processing software for good reason – it has everything you could ever need for the writing process;
- Evernote is a popular app for taking notes in whatever form suits you;
- Mindnode is ideal for mind-mapping to get yourself organized
- Grammarly is a good computer app that allows you to check grammar and spelling while in your browser
6. Reread and Check Your Work
The best help you can give yourself is to check your work. Our last writing aid app mentioned was to help you with grammar and spelling. Making sure that there are no mistakes with your writing shows that you are well on your way to becoming the best.
A good way to do this is not just to read your work, but to read it out loud to yourself. You will catch more mistakes and awkward phrases this way. If you can, ask someone else to read what you have written and get some feedback!
7. Network
Speaking of getting feedback, you can get help in the form of networking. Joining a blogging community through social media is an excellent way to have others read your stuff and listen to your ideas before you publish. Doing a quick Facebook search for blogging groups should yield some good results.
Blogging is a tricky business. You have to stay self-motivated because you are the one producing the work. However, it can be extremely rewarding. Seeing your blog grow and looking back on the journey will be a treat. Success follows hard work. Soon, you’ll be offering the newbies advice!