If you are writing for a blog, throw the rules out the door. Blogger, author and consultant Mark W. Schaefer teaches us eight ways to connect to your readers!

2. Blog readers are SKIMMERS who scan
their inbox or blog reader to figure out
what posts are worthy. So a headline
that says “My views on soap” or
“Thinking back” don’t cut it. You have to
GRAB ‘em and make them read.
Characteristics of great headlines:
 Catchy
 Descriptive
 Contains keyword
 Tweetable (short)
 Also, any headline that indicates a
numbered list is going to attract
more eyeballs. Busy readers like lists.

3. In school, we are taught to
write linearly. A beginning, a
middle, an end. That does not
work on blogs. You have to tell
the ending first. I call that
writing upside down.
Busy readers are going to be
bored and frustrated if you
don’t tell them exactly why
they are there and what the
pay-off is. So start with the end
… and then explain it.

4. There is no science behind this
chart. I totally made it up. But I
have also written about 2,000
posts so I have some sense about
these things!
You have to EARN the right to go
long. If you are Malcolm
Gladwell, you have earned the
right to go long. If you are just
starting to build your audience,
don’t challenge them with long
posts unless it is something
extraordinary. Somewhere
between 500 and 1,000 words is
golden.

5. Subheadings rock.
A sub-heading is like a mini
headline – like what you see
above this sentence.
Subheads draw attention
down the length of the blog
post and breaks up the block
of gray. This is especially
important in a challenging
reading environment like a
smartphone.

6. In journalism school I was taught to
keep my “voice” OUT of my writing.
Just stick to the facts. The best blog
writing weaves your personal narrative
into the discussion and lets your
personality shine. When somebody
wants to write a guest post for {grow} I
challenge them to write a post that
ONLY they could write.
Dig deep. Be you.
That is the heart of originality.

7. This is easy to
remember. Try to make
every blog post R-
relevant, I – interesting,
T – timely and E –
entertaining. If you can
do that consistently,
you will be creating
share-able blog
content.

8. Throw the rules out
the door. Write like
you speak. Even. If.
It’s. Choppy.
After you have written
your blog post, read it
out loud. If it doesn’t
sound like you simply
talking to your
audience, lighten it up.
Just tell them the
story.

9. If you want to encourage
comments and engagement,
you don’t have to have all the
answers. You just have to ask
the right questions.
Although you wouldn’t
normally end a whitepaper or
news article with a question, it
makes perfect sense for a blog.
Right?

10. If you enjoyed this
presentation, you’ll find lots of
other great social media tips
and time-savers at my blog
{grow} which can be found at
www.businessesGROW.com.
Please connect with me on
Twitter and Facebook, too!
All the best, Mark W. Schaefer

11. Mark W. Schaefer is a globally-recognized blogger, educator,
business consultant, and author who blogs at {grow} — one of the
top marketing blogs of the world. Mark has worked in global
sales, PR, and marketing positions for nearly 30 years and now
provides consulting services as Executive Director of U.S.-based
Schaefer Marketing Solutions. His clients include both start-ups
and global brands such as Cisco, AT&T, Johnson & Johnson, and
the UK government.
Mark has advanced degrees in marketing and organizational
development and holds seven patents. He is a faculty member of
the graduate studies program at Rutgers University and is the
founder of Social Slam, a national social media event that takes
place each April. He is the author of two best-selling marketing
books, Return On Influence and The Tao of Twitter. In 2012, he
was named by Forbes magazine as one of the Top 50 social media
“power influencers” of the world.
Mark has appeared on many national television shows and
periodicals including the Wall Street Journal, Wired, The New York
Times, and the CBS NEWS.