{"id":410,"date":"2017-05-11T15:29:47","date_gmt":"2017-05-11T15:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/?p=410"},"modified":"2017-05-11T16:12:13","modified_gmt":"2017-05-11T16:12:13","slug":"how-to-write-killer-blogs-and-linkedin-articles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/2017\/05\/11\/how-to-write-killer-blogs-and-linkedin-articles\/","title":{"rendered":"How to write killer blogs and LinkedIn articles"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m putting together some toolkits for Hallam staff who are using social media to tell their stories and engage with their audiences.<\/p>\n

So this is the first in a series. It’s a simple how-to guide for people who want to write blogs and LinkedIn articles.<\/p>\n

I’ll repost this under a new ‘Toolkits’ sub-heading in the social media guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What should I write about?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Your blog \u2013 whether you’re hosting it on WordPress or posting it on LinkedIn \u2013 is a window into your expertise, and you as a communicator. A good blog isn’t used as\u00a0somewhere to store research papers and resources, or a method of sending out information. It\u2019s a way for people to get a sense of your expertise, your ideas and your values.<\/span><\/p>\n

So you should write about those things. Your expertise is what makes you different. Your ideas are what people will take away from your blog, and your values are what will keep them coming back.<\/span><\/p>\n

A great way to get started is to write about something that\u2019s in the news, and examine it through the unique lens of your expertise, ideas and values.<\/span><\/p>\n

How many words?<\/b><\/h3>\n

The ideal blog post or LinkedIn article length is anywhere from 600 to 800 words, depending on the amount of rich media that you\u2019re including in the post.<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting the structure right<\/b>
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Your first paragraph is important. Along with the headline, it\u2019s the hook\u00a0that convinces the reader to read on. <\/span><\/p>\n

Try a few different ways of opening your post, and run them by friends and colleagues. You could reference\u00a0a recent news event, explore a personal reflection, or make a dramatic statement. <\/span><\/p>\n

Once you’ve hooked them, your reader is likely to skim-read, so use section breaks, sub-headings, lists and bullets to break blocks of text up, and keep paragraphs short (one to three sentences).<\/span><\/p>\n

Images and videos do the same thing, and\u00a0they can help you illustrate a point. Make sure you have usage rights for visual assets. You can use the search tools on Google image search to find images that have been labelled for reuse.<\/p>\n

\"Always<\/a>

Picture captions can be a fun way to highlight a key point and re-engage the reader<\/p><\/div>\n

Embed URLs as hyperlinks, and set them to open in a new window, so that your readers stay on your blog.<\/p>\n

You want to take your reader on a journey throughout your post, so promise them something juicy (revelation, insight, facts) early on, then deliver it in the middle section.<\/p>\n

Wrap things up with key takeaways and learnings, but don’t worry about making your ending too neat and perfect. You can leave loose ends for another post.<\/p>\n

If you’re in doubt about how to end the article, pose your readers a question. Ask for feedback, opposing views, other sources.<\/p>\n

And remember: your blog post is supposed to be a conversation-starter. Ask for comments, and respond to them. Maybe you’ll get ideas for a follow-up post.<\/p>\n

Language, tone and\u00a0punctuation<\/b><\/h3>\n

Unless you\u2019re writing for a niche audience, plain language is a good idea. So, if you want to reach a wider audience, keep jargon to a minimum. <\/span><\/p>\n

Avoid cliches and archaic words and phrases (use \u2018while\u2019 instead of \u2018whilst\u2019, for example). Your sentences should be a maximum of 30 words long. Your grammar and punctuation are important, but don\u2019t use overly-complicated punctuation (I heartily recommend R L Trask’s Penguin Guide to Punctuation<\/em>, by the way \u2013 it busts a lot of myths).<\/span><\/p>\n

Use exclamation points sparingly, and only ever one at a time. Question marks can be used as and when you need them, and are also solitary characters.<\/p>\n

Pay attention to the rhythm of your writing. Vary the length of your sentences to add pace and dynamics. Try it. It’s fun.<\/p>\n

And it’s fine to start the odd sentence with ‘and’ or ‘but’. But don’t overdo it.<\/p>\n

Your tone of voice should be warm, personal and direct (‘During the event, I was amazed to learn that…’, ‘By now, you’ve probably noticed that…’). If you’re writing something from a position of authority, you can afford to have a more authoritative tone of voice, but beware of sounding pompous.<\/span><\/p>\n

I don’t recommend writing about yourself in the third person. Ever.<\/p>\n

Remember, a blog post isn\u2019t a news bulletin\u00a0or an announcement. It’s more than technical writing: it should give the reader an insight into the situation or issue from the author’s point of view<\/em>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Your blog’s not just informative: we want to see the human being behind the words.<\/span><\/p>\n

Different approaches to headlines<\/b><\/h3>\n

Write the headline last. You want to address the reader directly, so make it engaging. It could be counter-intuitive and subversive (‘Why face-to-face meetings are making you less productive’) \u2013 if that gives you a springboard into an interesting argument. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The list-article format (‘Six ways to manage your inbox’) works for some people, but don\u2019t use it for every blog post, because your blog will start to look like clickbait.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some common\u00a0approaches for blog post titles:<\/span><\/p>\n