As you prepare to launch your blog, you’ll want to be certain that the subjects you present for your readers are topics they will enjoy reading about. Yes, you want to write on themes that are fun and interesting for you, too. But so many new bloggers make the critical mistake of completely forgetting their audience (and their short attention spans) and the millions of other bloggers they are competing with. To help keep your blog a place that your readers will want to come back to (and where you’ll be excited to return regularly to share your thoughts), here are some tips on how to write blog posts that are interesting: 1. Write what you don’t know Author T.C. Boyle says: “The professional dictum has always been write what you know, but I say write what you don’t know and find something out.” This maxim holds just as true for travel writing and blogging as it does fiction. When you explore a topic that forces you to dig around and uncover new information, the very process of discovery infuses your writing with the joy and wonder that invites others into your world…and encourages them to stick around and develop an appetite for more. As you research something new, you’ll often find you come away with fodder for even more blog posts. 2. Vary your posts So, you’ve decided on the theme of your blog. That doesn’t mean that you have to write about your main subject every single time you sit down in front of the computer. You’ll build a following quicker and more easily by introducing new information and highlighting something different with each entry, rather than revisiting the familiar repeatedly (another common blogging mistake). Using the element of surprise is a way to keep your blog fresh. For example, if your overall theme is traveling the world on a shoe-string budget, then occasionally offering a post on splashing out for a night of five-star luxury would be a refreshing change for your reader. 3. Use at least one striking image every time Sprinkling images throughout the writing is even better (you know how daunting it can feel when you’re faced with a long, unbroken chunk of text)…but one photo that conveys your central theme at the top of the post will go a long way toward capturing your readers’ attention and letting them know right from the start what you’re talking about. One of the biggest complaints readers have about blogs is that because the writing is more informal and most bloggers don’t have editors, the posts can meander. Adding an image will also serve to keep you centered as you write, constructing a virtual boundary that pulls you back from veering too far from the topic at hand. And, once you get up to speed with your blog, you’ll find that images can help with your overall SEO efforts. And the more readers that find their way to your blog, the higher your potential earnings. Share on Facebook [Editor’s Note: Learn more about opportunities to profit from your travels (and even from your own home) in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel. Sign up today here and we’ll send you a report, Get Paid to Travel as a Travel Writer, completely FREE.]
