Blogging is dead. Long live blogging

Blogging is dead. Long live blogging.

In the age of social media saturation, getting eyeballs on your online articles feels nearly impossible. Everyone’s a publisher. Everyone’s peddling their half-baked opinions and “hot takes”, vying for those precious clicks and shares that represent the only currency that matters anymore: attention.

So how do you cut through the noise? How do you write blog posts that people actually want to read in an age of info obesity and literary anorexia? Forget everything you learned in school about writing. Throw out Strunk and White. The old rules no longer apply.

Here are the new rules:

Write like you talk. Informal. Irreverent. Like you’re chatting with friends over beers. Stiff, stodgy writing will get ignored. So will fake enthusiasm. Write like a human, flaws and all.

Story first, lesson later. Don’t start with an instruction manual. Start with a story. Stories captivate readers and make them care in a way that lectures never will. Bury your message inside a story and let the readers discover it for themselves.

Ruffle some feathers. Strong opinions and contrarian views attract attention - and shares. Don’t be afraid to call out elephants in rooms or poke sacred cows. But back your opinions with facts and evidence. Outrage without substance is simply noise.

Include visuals. Blog posts with eyecatching images get more attention. But don’t just drop in stock photos as an afterthought. Images should add to the story or idea. Should evoke emotion. Should make readers look twice.

Keep it short. In the internet age, attention spans are measured in seconds. So keep your posts scannable, skimmable. Include headings and bullet points. Include a final summary paragraph at the end to hammer your main point home. Less is more. Always leave them wanting more.

If you want your blog articles to compel readers, you have to first break all the rules. Then make your own. Throw out everything you thought you knew about good writing and start from scratch. Ruffle feathers, raise Hell, and have an opinion. Your writing should be a conversation, a call to arms, a reason to give a damn. Give away your best ideas for free. Be authentic and raw. Make it personal. Make it matter. The rest will follow.

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