Written on August 13th, 2009 at 12:08 am by Darren Rowse
How to Write Sharp and Snappy Blog Posts
In this post Dan Kaufman from Bar Zine shares some tips on writing Sharp Snappy Blog Posts.
When you write a story you’re lucky if you can get a reader beyond the first paragraph. This is true in print and it’s even worse online (a recent study by Jacob Neilson at http://tinyurl.com/mubtmr makes for interesting reading). After all, your post is just one out of millions online – and the difference can lie in how well written your copy is.
Writing is a craft that involves a continual learning process.
Having been a journalist and editor for the past 15 years (and I’m now a blogger as well) I still find myself learning – but there are some hard and fast techniques to make your copy snappier and more engaging. Here are some of the basics:
1) Write Short Sentences
Next time you pick up a book and can’t put it down, stop and have a look at the sentence length – you’ll often find the sentences are short and punchy. 32 words is the maximum for an article’s first sentence and while there are exceptions they ought to be rare. Aim to only have one point per sentence.
2) Use the Active Voice
Have a look at the following two sentences:
The cat chases the mouse
and
The mouse is being chased by the cat
Which one is punchier?
It’s the former because the subject (the cat) is doing something to the object (the mouse). As such, it makes sense to have the subject appear in the sentence before the object. In other words, the sentence is written using the active voice (whereas “The mouse is being chased by the cat” is passive).
Using the active voice is more direct and requires less words – and the less words, the snappier the sentence becomes.
3) Write in the Present Tense
Which of the following headlines seems punchier?
PM halts peace talks
Or
PM halted peace talks
Unless your blog post takes the form of a hard news story you should use the present tense. Even hard news headlines are written in the present tense to make them seem more immediate.
4) Use Positive Language
This means avoiding negative words such as no, not and didn’t when appropriate. You’ll see why when you look at the following example:
Troops have not pulled out of war zone
Vs
Troops stay in war zone
The bottom example reads better since, as with using active voice, making sentences positive often makes them snappier. We also changed the tense from past to present.
5) Write in a conversational tone
A lot of people don’t realise that good writing means using a conversational tone – albeit with better grammar than you would use when talking to a friend in a bar.
Avoid hype, pretentious words, jargon and acronyms – instead of impressing readers it’s a turn off. You should never talk down to your reader by using language they may not understand and you should never assume they know something they may not. Unless you’re trying to spin something or confuse, use simple, clear and direct language. As the old saying goes, if you confuse your readers you lose your readers.
George Orwell put it another way in The Politics of the English Language.
“The great enemy of clear language is insincerity,” he wrote. “When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink.”
Dan Kaufman publishes Bar Zine (barzine.com.au), where he reviews Sydney bars. He also writes for The Sydney Morning Herald and teaches online journalism at UTS.
72 Responses to “How to Write Sharp and Snappy Blog Posts” - Add Yours
Michael Alex Wasylik
August 13th, 2009 12:27 am
And that’s exactly how Orwell speaks in a conversation.
Josh Mann
August 13th, 2009 12:28 am
I might add that paragraph spacing and clean headings are a plus! Thanks for the post.
Terry
August 13th, 2009 12:32 am
E.B. White (Elements of Style) might add, “Omit needless words.”
Robert Bravery
August 13th, 2009 12:41 am
Lots of great Ideas. I am often too long winded. I battle to keep my posts and sentences short. I will indeed try and use your tips in the future to make sure that I write punchy posts.
BTW, not all posts need to be puchy, some, like tutorials are by nature long.
David Kidston
August 13th, 2009 12:42 am
Oh, Dan you have been reading my blog and it has prompted you to write this. One aim of blogging for me is to engage with the writing process and thus progress my writing generally. Thanks for this post, tis so useful to the novice like me.
Jane
August 13th, 2009 12:43 am
Thanks for this. Some good points for me as a novice blogger to bear in mind.
Jeffrey Tang
August 13th, 2009 12:43 am
Thanks for the sharp and snappy post :) Solid, specific tips for any writer or editor to learn – or at least review once in a while.
Something I would add: Don’t be afraid to use sentence fragments for emphasis – as long as you do it on purpose, of course! Fragments might be grammatically “incorrect,” but they can definitely add some flavor and “oomph” to your writing. Think of them as spice for your literary soup.
Yum Yucky
August 13th, 2009 12:43 am
I was going to say, “The girl is liking the post”. But instead I’ll just get to the point: “Love this one!”. But I also avoid long-winded blog posts, even if they’re written well. I don’t have the attention span.
natalia
August 13th, 2009 12:47 am
Totally agree, writting for a blog is much more than correct grammar and vocabulary, it’s about communication.
Arif | DebugLife.com
August 13th, 2009 12:48 am
Great post and well written!
I think Mark Twain said it best:
“If I Had More Time I Would Write a Shorter Letter”
Some of these writing tips are pertinent not just for blogging, but even one’s daily business life.
On a recent post on my blog, I ranked business communication skills as #1 to train for.
-Arif
Lawrence Sykes
August 13th, 2009 12:49 am
Some excellent points! I started my last artice http://www.ratracewinner.com/beating-fear-will-help-you-escape-the-rat-race/ with a set of intriguing questions as follows:-
‘Do you fear leaving The Rat Race and your comfort zones, are you a afraid to take risk and undertake new challenges for fear of failure? Does the thought of loosing your inhibitions give you panic attacks, and are you worried all the time what people think of you?’
I am hoping these will ‘hook’ the reader in to the remainer of the article.
Richard @ netParticles
August 13th, 2009 12:54 am
Reread your text and see if there is more you can trim since people say that less is more. Remove any superfluous or low generic words such as “also”, “like”, “often”, etc.
It is recommended that every blogger needs to take some writing lessons or read about writing. After all blogging is similar to journalism.
FaithBarista Bonnie
August 13th, 2009 12:57 am
#5. “Write in a conversational tone.” Totally true. I’ve noticed more comments came my way when I did this, than when I wrote in a more formal, factoid-fomercial tone.
#1. “Write in Short Sentences.” This is tough one (as you can see in my response above!).
Mike from Drop Ship
August 13th, 2009 1:00 am
Your blog describes some important points that a blogger might be missing on.
Dave Doolin
August 13th, 2009 1:01 am
I write a lot of info-heavy tutorials, but these same rules can be used for those as well.
Yet another article to print out and put in my 3 ring binder.
We Fly Spifires
August 13th, 2009 1:04 am
Interesting stuff although I’m inclined to disagree with it – I don’t think there’s a formula to follow for good writing. I think it’s a talent, natural or learned, that just flows from within. Teaching yourself to write in short, punchy styles may be good for certain things but it’s not necessarily the voice that every blogger is looking for.
Still, interesting article, thanks! :)
Julie:Tenerife
August 13th, 2009 1:13 am
You also have to learn to let your own voice come through. Even if your blog is written with potential buyers in mind I am sure they’d rather buy from a person than a word perfect drone. Don’t so obsess about punctuation that you forget about personality. ;)
Donna Payne, The Web Coach
August 13th, 2009 1:17 am
My 14 y/o daughter makes a good editor – if she doesn’t understand right away, I re-write it. :)
@thewebcoach
InternetHow Blog
August 13th, 2009 1:22 am
Good tips. However, you need the add few more points regards to usability. Such as font size, spacing, and also color. These things effects the readers to continue reading your article, if your site is full of text content.
Also, first impression is also very important. If you welcome your visitors with clean and simple design, they will be more interested with the content as well.
Kaushik | beyond-karma
August 13th, 2009 1:37 am
Great pointers. My rules are similar:
Write like I speak.
Vary sentence length, structure and vocabulary
Write in the present, write in active voice
Rewrite to simplify and pare down
SURVEYS FOR MONEY
August 13th, 2009 1:38 am
Basic but yet very effective tips that we as bloggers sometimes forget to do. All useful ways to keep your reader engaged.
Alvin
August 13th, 2009 1:42 am
I’m always find it is hard to start the first paragraph and maybe I should try different approach to attract the reader’s attention when they come to the post. And, I find this post is very useful and is a good practice to let the reader continue reading and hopefully they will even leave their comments or thoughts on the post.
The iPhone Blogging
krissy knox
August 13th, 2009 1:43 am
I need to write in shorter sentences and remember to use the present tense. I am conversational!
krissy knox :)
follow me on twitter:
http://twitter.com/iamkrissy
Shajib
August 13th, 2009 2:06 am
sometimes its need a long sentense…
However.. Thanks for the post.
Shajib
http://www.livecafe.co.cc/
Jarie Bolander
August 13th, 2009 2:14 am
A useful book I just finished reading is “Writing Tools” by Roy Peter Clark (http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=78&aid=103937). He does a great job giving you ways to sharpen your prose and how to craft great sentences. It’s worth a look.
Jarie
Karen
August 13th, 2009 2:19 am
@We Fly Spifires: I see what you’re saying about it flowing from within. I find, however, that those people with that talent and flow often follow those guidelines without thinking about it.
Adam Baird
August 13th, 2009 2:25 am
I especially like point #5. Being conversational is essential and will encourage others to join the conversation. Asking questions of your readers is a great way to get some comments and get the conversation going.
Karin
August 13th, 2009 2:30 am
Thanks for #1. I will keep that in mind.
Jay
August 13th, 2009 2:51 am
Great post. I find it’s not only easier to read something that way, but it’s also easier to write that way as well.
chicago web design studio
August 13th, 2009 3:05 am
Excellent information here. I’m going to start blogging soon, little things like this really give me a good push. I never realized how news headlines utilize the “present” to get my attention until I read this post.
Amy Bayliss
August 13th, 2009 3:11 am
Thanks for the great tips! I write a few tutorials on my blog and have found them to be quite long so what I did was begin to divide them into series. This makes for a better post and creates return traffic. Thanks for all of the great ideas!
Kosmo @ The Casual Observer
August 13th, 2009 4:06 am
A favorite author of mine once suggested reading a few comic books to get into the “snappy” mindset. All action, no padding.
I’ll admit that I’m sometimes guilty of writing overly complex sentences.
Surender Sharma
August 13th, 2009 4:29 am
You are absolutely right.
If we can say in few words and directly then why should we write
in longways?
Ben
August 13th, 2009 5:26 am
Yeh, nice tips. Excessively long posts are a put off imo.
teratips
August 13th, 2009 5:28 am
nice and good tips, thanks
http://teratips.com
Min
August 13th, 2009 5:37 am
Making note of these tips for my posts.
familycalamity
August 13th, 2009 5:38 am
Great post. I feel like my writing isn’t where I want it to be. This will help.
Konteyner
August 13th, 2009 5:41 am
Multiple sources are reporting Facebook is testing “Facebook Lite” – what some are calling a Twitter version of Facebook. Mashable, RWW have more, TC got an official response from Facebook, which makes it sound like it’s not a Twitter competitor. Interesting. Reminds me of my prediction on the two companies back in January.
Ralph
August 13th, 2009 6:58 am
Great reminders!
The short sentence thing was hard for me at first but after 2 or so I get the majority of them down to a good length.
Lynn
August 13th, 2009 6:58 am
I appreciate this post very much. Being a brand new blogger, it’s all very helpful to me! Thanks.
Prasanga
August 13th, 2009 7:02 am
I think it is all the important tips you have to give up. I am very happy with these tips they are short and to the point. Easy to understand and mainly useful and have lots of value for us. Thanks for sharing.
Tom Harvey
August 13th, 2009 7:22 am
Great advice, I’m new to blogging and still developingmy style so the pointers have and will prove useful.
Shannon
August 13th, 2009 1:36 pm
This is very helpful because I can write, but grammar is not my thing. Thank you VERY MUCH for these tips!
Rahman Mehraby
August 13th, 2009 5:03 pm
I’m also a big fan of writing one topic per post. This helps me stay to the point and don’t beat around the bush to support my main idea. It’s been helpful so far.
Mr. Mask
August 13th, 2009 8:36 pm
I think this is requires practices…
Especially you, who use English language as a secondary language …
Like me using English language as a second language …
This is quite difficult to apply in blogging …
Anyone agree with me?
Mr. Mask
The Owner of http://www.Ultimate-Gaming-Laptop.com
kelly
August 13th, 2009 10:48 pm
Great tips!! I tend to write long posts and so trying to make my own posts shorter! Thanks!
ITrush
August 14th, 2009 12:01 am
Very nice.. looks like short and direct to the point is good, hope to implement it. Thanks for these wonderful tips Darren.
Mens Gucci shoes
August 14th, 2009 12:41 am
Great post. I feel like my writing isn’t where I want it to be. This will help.
Khürt
August 14th, 2009 2:03 am
Great tips! Thank you.
I am often told that write at a 10 or 12th grade level; that I should write at an 8th grade level. Why bother to learn “big words” and their meanings if I am never to use them?
David Stillwagon
August 14th, 2009 2:29 am
A unique style combined with good writing structure seems to keep the readers coming back
Selma Vedor Fernandes
August 14th, 2009 2:51 am
Great stuff. Helpful in a lot of areas. Not only for my blog (after reading your tips I went to analyze my posts and ups…) but also for writing/reviewing contents for e-learning. Thanks.
fas
August 14th, 2009 5:15 am
Those 5 tips go a long way in changing a ton of things, great stuff there.
L-Jay
August 14th, 2009 5:51 am
There is certainly no High Art in blogging.
Blogging is writing for mass art. So if you write for 12 years olds (like newspapers do) with short attention spans and low vocab you’ll never get it wrong.
Wasim Mughal
August 14th, 2009 6:16 pm
Thanks Buddy!
This article helped me ver much, though I am a newbie but interested to initiate my blog with home work so I decided to teach myself. Doing this I reached your website and
I really Found This one of the BEST!
Regardsssss!
Errol Moo Young
August 15th, 2009 1:12 am
The 5 suggestions for writing sharp, snappy blogs overturned much of what I’ve been doing. I have much to learn in refining my writing style such as writing in the present tense and using more positive words. Thanks.
Yves
August 15th, 2009 5:26 am
This is fantastic.
I was terrible at writing out of school and never really paid much attention about writing clearly….
After I got interested in trying to build a couple of blogs and started re-reading my articles it became clear that I needed to think about it.
I’ve improved… at least I hope I have!
;-)
I liked this article alot, wrote a couple of thoughts about it on my blog.
Peace!
Gary Stephen Callaghan
August 15th, 2009 10:09 am
This is such a great article, some really helpful and insightful tips there. Espeically for me just becoming a blogger is a hard task but with people such as yourself giving all this great, free knowledge to us helps us dramatically.
John
August 16th, 2009 1:34 am
Thanks for the article. I definitely will be applying these techniques in my new blog http://www.livingwithballs.com.
Wallpapers
August 16th, 2009 5:32 am
Numbers 1 & 2 I learned just recently. The other points I didn’t know about.
Thank you for the post. It’s the best one I read all day.
Anna
August 16th, 2009 7:56 pm
I started a blog after seeing how quickly it was indexed…within 10 minutes whilst on my other regular websites pages could take months. I love writing my blog and have found that by keeping it short, positive and by not taking myself too seriously that I am gettting feedback and people coming back on a regular basis. The google adsense revenue isn’t great but pays for the hosting and the odd coffee and cake! I try to keep it relevant to one specific category ( living/life in Spain) and so far it seems to work. i do it for love not money, but when you do make some money, well that’s the icing on the cake!
Ebizel Diary
August 17th, 2009 2:31 am
Great Guest Post :)
Jason
August 17th, 2009 7:52 am
I need to get into the habit of being more concise in my writing. I tend to go off trying to explain things in too much detail when I should just get straight to the point.
You can’t fix stupid!
Abhinav Kaiser
August 17th, 2009 2:53 pm
These are nice tips. To add onto it, it is important for bloggers to address readers directly by using words such as ‘you’.
Batul
August 18th, 2009 5:15 am
Excellent information & tips. Information like these makes vision clear and strong. I’m goin to start blogging soon!
Many Thanks
Lydia, CluelessCrafter
August 18th, 2009 5:23 am
It’s also important to recognize that Knowing your audience makes a huge difference in the way you deliver your message. If your blog speaks to a specific niche, the language you use should reflect the qualities of that group.
I agree that keeping it short and avoiding long paragraphs (mea culpa!) are the keys to cultivating readership.
Rick Cadden
August 18th, 2009 11:36 am
Thanks for the great tips! I am a new blogger and need tips like this. Have a great day!
Rick Cadden
Igor Helps You Succeed
August 18th, 2009 6:16 pm
Great post.
I loved the examples and the comparisons.
Thanks for sharing, definitely a lot of lessons to learn.
Igor
Jason
August 19th, 2009 12:41 am
Interesting. I never thought about the tense on the writing effecting the quality (ie Present VS Past). Also the use of positive writing. The troops seems like a good example of that.
This really does a good job of covering just about everything!
Joshuantaylor
August 20th, 2009 3:24 am
In many ways, this article is what is wrong with the web. One reason people don’t read on the web is that the content on the web is written like this. If we wrote more engaging and educated content, (some) people would read it.
I propose we start writing BETTER content instead of SHORTER content
ContentWritersRevenue
September 14th, 2009 8:18 pm
I think you have made some great tips for everyone to read. I also believe writing short sentences is a must. When you write long sentences, you may lose interest.
I have been a content writer for many years. I am also paid to create blog postings for my client. Wonderful tips. :-)
http://contentwritersrevenue.yolasite.com/
Melanie
jj-momscashblog
September 15th, 2009 1:27 pm
Wonderful tips for all of us, especially for me where every new post is a learning experience. One never knows if it’s written well or if you should of spent more time on it..Time will tell or your readership will tell you. thanks for the great info. copied and pasted it into a file just on writing tips!! Thanks jj
patchkabel
September 22nd, 2009 4:44 pm
Thank You Darren. A very precious piece indeed. Its unbelievable how its easy to get carried away at times whilst writing. Much appreciation for your generosity.
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