Well… There are millions of things to keep in mind while writing a blog-post; I am just listing three items because these are the critical ones that stay in my mind constantly regardless of what type of post I am writing. There are hundreds of types of articles in the blog-world, for instance, travel stories, recipes, fashion items, information posts, stories from experience, life lessons, essays, so and so forth. To a blogger, the common denominator among all types of articles is the importance of audience in writing. Therefore, keeping audience’s convenience and psychology in mind is important to make sure that there is a synergy between the audience and the writer.
I feel that, the followings are the most important aspects that we (I and Dear Wife) generally keep in mind when we write a post.
Readers’ time is precious
We all, now-a-days, spend too much time on emails, phones, and social media. People try to cut-down time-consuming activities that are not directly relevant to their work or not important for their lifestyle. Everyone tries to save time. It makes perfect sense — the more time I will be able to save the more time I will be able to give to my family. Therefore, a long and tedious writing might drive away the audience unless the content is super unique. The summary is, readers’ time is precious.
Not to overload the reader with a lot of information
Processing too much information is time-consuming and creates a cognitive pressure in reader’s mind. From content-provider’s perspective, providing information is a competition in this modern age of Internet. My feeling is that whatever information a reader tries to collect, those pieces should be clearly stated in an uncluttered and simple to see fashion. I have a tendency to collect information from a post by glancing over it quickly. I guess, many of our readers do that too. In Computer Visualization, there is a phrase — Overview first, zoom and filter, then details-on-demand. 🙂 I think, an overview first and details-on-demand strategy for blog webpages is a great way of presenting the content of an article, especially to make sure that the information provided does not overwhelm a reader.
We are not graphics designers and we do not have the expertise to make interactive visualizations. We simply try to itemize the paragraphs with headlines so that the purpose of a paragraph becomes clear from the headline. Sometimes, we use gradient-based colored backgrounds to separate different items. We do not know how easy these items make the reading though.
Accepting differences and respecting opinions
Difference in opinion is the beauty of the blogging world. One thing we always keep in mind that our words must not hurt anyone. It must be made clear in our writing that what we say is not the only opinion in the world. It is easy to hurt people with opinionated topics and comments, and make our world a fragile one full of mistrust and misunderstanding. We do not want to disrespect anyone knowingly or unknowingly. We like to keep our world open to accepting differences. The wonderful culture, religion, and beliefs of all people of all nations, tribes, and ethnicity are equally respectable.
Concluding remarks: These are just some of the crucial items I keep in mind when I write a post. Not that I can always do something to address all the items. I am pretty sure every blogger has her/his own philosophy. Please do not hesitate to share what items you keep in mind when you write a post, or what would you expect from a blogger when you read post.
Subscribe to receive our newsletters and notifications on new posts. Your email address is safe with us. It will not be distributed to any third-party.
I have been publishing online regularly since 2010, however, my first article appeared in a newspaper in 2001. Over the years, I have learned many lessons on writing.
The first thing I consider when I sit down to write is: who is going to read my article?
Once I identify my audience, it becomes easier to write.
The second thing that I consider to be very important is: how different is this article to other similar contents?
Providing unique and original article is my main aim.
I guess this answers my previous question how you pick your articles for discussion. I appreciate the 3 things you have indicated they are very much precise and direct. On my own perspective it is really annoying to read all those long and comprehensive articles when in fact time is precious now a days. Or else it goes directly to the wait list inbox. I mainly check on the the simplicity of the topic. Then the graphics if there is and lastly how long the content is to make sure I can budget my time consumption before actually engaging and reading the article these makes it more convenient on my part.
I think the important thing for both the writer and the audience to understand is that we all have different opinions. That is the current problem with the world, we fight and argue with each other because we all have different opinions when we really should be respecting each other and their opinions (to a certain extent of course). It’s also important, like you said, to not overload the audience with too much information. No one likes to read a large wall of text.
You made points with this. I was that kind of person that was into writing long articles for my readers without knowing that it sometimes bore them up. Since, I discovered and always made simple and unique articles, the participation of the readers have increased.
You got good points there. I also expect those things from a blogger. Very long articles with too much information can be very tiring to read. Lazy readers, especially millennials will not even invest their time on it especially after having a long day at work. I also consider splitting the article into logical paragraphs having 3-6 sentences to make it readable. This also gives rest periods for the eyes. And lastly, I make sure that the content of my article gives justice to its title, especially if the title is really catchy. The readers really look forward to reading a mind-blowing article that matches its catchy title. No one wants to frustrate a reader, right? As you’ve mentioned, time is precious to readers. I hope my answer helps and thank you for sharing some good points there.
Thank you for providing additional expectations, especially the one regarding the title and content. Have a wonderful day.
This is very informative sir. I am planning to be a blogger and I am sure this one will help! Thanks for sharing!
I guess that writing the information in a short format will attract a reader more than writing the same information in a larger content. This will make the reader interested by our article and want to read more writings made from us!
I agree with you. Brief highlights can make a detailed article further readable. Thank you for visiting and commenting. Best regards.
As a blogger I also find that simplicity while descriptive is the way to your readers hearts. Nice post and thanks for the extra tips.
Thank you for visiting and writing valuable comments on our blog. I was trying to find your blog. I do not know why your blog is not linked to the comments. Would you please share your blog link here in the comment so that we can visit. Thanks again.
The hardest part is finding a balance between what I really want to write and what a reader would like to read. Of course, interesting subject matter is different for different readers, which means I usually write more about what is close to my heart than providing useful information about topics like travel, house sitting or living on a budget. If only I had more time to write more blogs. Great post, by the way! 🙂
That is so true that the hardest part is finding the balance. This is the beauty of the blogging world — people may write what is close to the heart, or they may choose to seek that balance. Great comment. Thanks a lot for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful evening.
Hi there, I came across your blog and thoroughly enjoy what I see.. Keep it up! It would be great if we could support each other. I just started my own blog if you would like to check it out:D
http://www.milliesmoments.co.uk
Glad to know that you liked our blog. I will visit your blog soon. Thank you for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful weekend.
Greats points. People do tend to respond well to my shorter posts with clear direction and intent. Thank you!!
I have noticed that as well; I guess, it is natural that people like clear directions. I am glad to know that you enjoyed reading this post. Have a wonderful weekend.
You too !! 🙂
I think if a post becomes too long, it is an opportunity to split it and make more posts out of one subject.
Yes, I agree, our time is precious.
Definitely, splitting to multiple posts is always a good idea for longer articles. That helps organizing the content as well. Thanks for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful evening.
I definitely agree on that Valentina. It makes me think twice seeing that an article is too long that it takes much of my time. It may not be more posts out of one subject but a more precise topic for discussion to limit the content and give the others a much more specific and comprehensive discussions.
Yes to all! Well done!
Glad to know that you liked the post. Thanks for visiting and commenting!
Thanks for sharing!!!
So glad to know that you liked this post. Have a wonderful weekend.
Good points, all!
Glad to know that you liked the post. Thank you for visiting. Best regards.
One could argue that the type of reader one wants to attract will dictate the type and from of the content. If the author wants a vacuous and easily distracted readership then the advice and information load etc is pertinent. However, if one is seeking to attract a more patience and thinking readership then details will matter.
I hate super short post lacking in substance. I prefer well thought out post with detail and insight even if that means I spend an hour reading the post.
I most certainly agree with you. It depends on the type of the topic and the audience. I am not advocating short posts, rather I am advocating informative posts with clear organization. Imagine a book without any table of content, chapters, and sections — it will be hard to read. My blog type is such that I write on many topics that might not be of interest to all. My audience is not targeted. Some readers may read the whole post, some may go over the outlines because the topic is not relevant to their current interest. Some may feel that the topic would be interesting for someone else; therefore they share it with someone else. For example, our posts related to child development, childbirth, or financial planning might not be of interest to a reader but she/he might forward it to someone near who are seeking such information.
I totally agree that super-short posts without substance will not have much impact unless it is a photo-post or a quote-post (or something like that).
I also enjoy reading well-organized posts with details. I just wish my long-posts were more organized so that readers could easily follow.
Thank you so much for visiting our blog and writing a thoughtful comment. Have a wonderful weekend ahead.
I am happy we have common ground. I do a fair amount of technical writing — it’s part of the job but not the job — and I have had one boss complain that the writing was at too high a level. I was writing for a 12th grade/college educated audience and he wanted writing more suited for the eighth grade. I asked him a simple question which put the question to rest. “How many eighth graders did the company hire last year?”.
I also don’t target a specific audience but my writing just tends toward information density and brevity.
FWIW, I think you should write the way you write and your audience will find you. Keep doing what you are doing.
Thank you for your detailed comments. I like your statement “… you should write the way you write and your audience will find you. Keep doing what you are doing.” Have a wonderful weekend.
Very good post and information that we all need!
I am glad to know that you liked the post. Thanks a lot for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful week followed by a great weekend.
Sometimes I have lots more words, but knowing that attention span is short I try to keep them to a minimum. If the subject demands more, then other posts follow as you suggest.
Agreed! Sometimes the topic itself may demand more words. Thanks for reading the post and providing a great feedback. Have a wonderful evening.
I agree wholeheartedly! Great siggestopms. 🙂
I am so glad to know that you liked this post! Thanks a ton for visiting and commenting.
Very good suggestions! I have found that if I have a lot of information to get into the post I will break it up into two separate posts and give each a slightly different slant. Thanks for posting this it is really helpful.
Separating into multiple posts is an excellent idea! I will use multiple posts too for some broad topics. Thanks for providing this neat suggestion, visiting, and commenting. Have a wonderful afternoon.
Great points — and I’m working on Number One. I frequently want to pack too much into a post. But I love what’ you’re saying. Thanks for the gradient blocks, too. Nice touch!
? Glad to know that you liked it. Your posts are all awesome, easy to read, and rich with beautiful photos. It is always a pleasure visiting your blog. Thanks for stopping by!
Very good points.
Thank you!