Publications / Blogs / Social Media
Writing organizational newsletters and magazines can go a long way to highlight and promote new initiatives, trends and industry leadership. I also write feature articles and blog posts, social media content, Op-Eds and columns for CEOs, senior executives and biomedical scientists. Since I assume that people don’t have lots of time to read, I try to get to the point quickly and guide the reader with effective headlines and sub-headlines.
Simple formula for writing blog posts
Choose your blog post topic
- Pick something you’re passionatabout. When you care about your topic, you’ll write about it in a more powerful, emotionally expressive way, and you’ll be willing to stay with it.
- Pick something your readers are passionate about.What does your audience care about? It’s important to know so you can engage them. And don’t be afraid to go negative. The human negativity bias is legit.
- Get inspired by other writers.Don’t plagiarize what your competition is writing but you can put your own spin on the subjects they’re writing about. What new information or ideas can you bring to the table?
Pick one clear angle.
You’ve got a topic. Now, what’s your angle? Avoid a broad approach—get specific. You’ll get overwhelmed if you pick a huge subject like French cooking and try to cover it all. Instead, go with “10 Easy Steps to Make a ____________.”
Get organized
No one wants to try to fish a few salient points out of your long-winded article. Best to organize your thoughts with a simple outline. Not only will it make writing your blog post easier, it’ll help you make your message focused and clear for your readers.
Open strong
Think of your opening paragraph as an advertisement for the rest of your blog post, the thing that keeps your reader on the line. You have about two seconds to hook readers.
Write naturally
The one thing you have that other writers don’t is your voice. Cultivate it! Write as though you’re telling a friend about some cool new stuff you’ve learned. Use your own natural, conversational tone and use anecdotes. Keep your language simple and direct. In other words, just be you. No one else can.
Write emotionally
You can create interest by using emotional language to write on topics your readers care about. How do you know people will care about your topic? Because you care about it!
Close strong
Now it’s time to write a powerful close that will help cement your post in your reader’s mind, create engagement, and encourage social sharing. There are many ways to do this, including a short summary of key messages or a call to action.