Giving Your Blog a Unique Voice
Giving your blog a unique voice is paramount important. Why? Because your
blog needs a voice.
Like
Pavarotti, it can resonate with power that is full of sophistication.
Or, like Dave Grohl, it can scream and shout with
disenfranchised angst.
It
can even sing sweetly like your grandmother or quietly hum in the background
like the Andy Griffith Show theme song.
But make
no mistake. If you are going to build a tribe-if you’re going to relate to your
audience and make a difference at all-your blog will need a voice.
Why
your blog needs a voice
Your blog
is not you. It is not your personality.
It
does not have your brain or your body or the sum of your life experiences. It
cannot think for itself. It doesn’t have a soul.
But it
needs a voice.
Your blog,
regardless of how you’ve branded it, is separate from you. It can, by no means,
represent all the complicated nuances of your persona.
Even if
your blog is about you, it’s not you. It can’t be. Your blog is an entity that
is separate from you and needs to be treated as such. Give it a voice. And make
it unique.
A
blog’s voice is exclusive
If you’ve
been blogging for a while, you’ve probably already realized that there are
certain topics on your blog that get more attention than others.
You may
have even seen that people have started to associate your blog with a certain
idea or theme.
You may have vented on your blog in a burst of uncouth sarcasm and anger only
to find that your influence grew, albeit accidentally. You acted ridiculous,
and your audience loved you for it. Who would’ve thought?
These are
all examples of blogging voices.
A voice,
with respect to your blog, is a feel or style evoked in your writing that
causes the reader to personalize what she is reading.
Your
readers begin to construct a person based on the voice of your blog. And when
that happens, your blog ceases to be all things to all people and becomes
something very particular to a certain group of people.
And that
is okay. That is the whole point.
How
to create a voice for your blog
If you’re
already blogging, look back at some of your most popular posts and ask
yourself, “What kind of mood was I in when I wrote this? What emotions am I
portraying here?”
Observe
the vocabulary you used, even the punctuation and formatting style. These are
all essential elements in creating a voice for your blog. The trick here is
replicate what you were doing when you were successful and do it again (and
again).
If you
haven’t started blogging a lot, you can start from scratch: ask yourself what
you want your blog to sound like.
The voice
of your blog should be a natural tie-in with its goal. Here are some examples:
- If you are selling real estate online, your blog voice might be personal, attentive to customers, and professional.
- If you are doing technology reviews, your voice may be snarky, clever, and terse.
- If your blog is a personal blog about your life, your voice might be sincere, passionate, and vulnerable.
A good
exercise (whether you’ve been blogging for a while or are just getting started)
is to brainstorm a list of 10-20 personality attributes that you want your blog
to have, and then cut it down to three to five key aspects that represent your
blog’s voice.
The next
time you write a post, consult that list and use it as a checklist to ensure
you’re writing style fits the personality you’ve created for your blog.
Next
steps
If you’ve
effectively created a voice for your blog, you will inevitably exclude some
people (because you simply can’t write for everyone), but you will also create
a more loyal readership.
A writing
voice on your blog will strengthen your brand and give you focus. Furthermore,
it will create a lasting impression with your readers, allowing you to better
fulfill the long-term goals of your website in a more sustainable
way.
way.
Does your
blog have a unique voice? What does it sound like?
Source: Jeff Goins
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