This guest post comes to us via Tara Swiger, author, maker and Starship Captain. She leads creatives on explorations on her site and squeals about geekery, vegan pies, and hot pink on Twitter.
So you know you need a blog, and you know what to do if you don’t wanna…but what if your blog comes out sounding awkward or stiff?
How to get comfortable and sound like a real person:
1. Talk TO a real person.
Instead of thinking of your “audience”, pick just one person. If you have a passel of friendly clients, pick one that really gets you and what you do. Now write your post like you’re having a conversation with her.
If you don’t have any clients (yet), picture your ideal client. Why does she come to you? What do you help her with? Spend a few minutes writing a loving description of your new best friend, and then write a post as if she already loves you, and you’re talking to her.
2. Write in your zone.
Kelly Parkinson has this awesome (free) assessment to figure out where your zone is. Do you like thinking about systems and applying logic? Or are you a big dreamer and picture-painter? No matter what your zone is, you can find a way to write in it…even if it means you don’t write. You can get that content out of you in a zillion ways: “write” via voice memos in your phone (and transcribe them later), have someone interview you, record a video or a podcast, take photos. Find your most comfortable way of communicating, and blog with it.
3. Check yourself, before you wreck yourself.*
Once you’ve got some words on the screen, don’t hit publish just yet. Let it sit, and come back to it. Writers insist that writing is rewriting. Even the most jumbled ideas can be edited into a clear, concise friendly blog post with some patient editing. While you’re editing, check your language. Are you using words your customer understands? Even if they’re in your field, skip the industry-speak and go straight to the point. Use words you use in actual conversations. Use words they use in actual conversations about your product.
Hey, look at that! You sound like a real person!
*Just like Ice Cube taught us
original image (without text on top) by maureen dai, for sale here