I’ve been reading a lot of blogs lately and I’ve noticed some weaknesses. Many of these blogs have good and useful content but they are lacking in a number of other factors. Your blog posts will improve if you follow these 6 simple tips:

1) Edit & Revise

Each time a reader encounters a misspelled word, some incorrect grammar, or a sentence that doesn’t quite make sense, they hit a roadblock. Encounter enough roadblocks and the reader will give up. Poor editing reflects badly not only on your authority on the topic you’re discussing but it can also tarnish your authorship and brand.

Having to maintain a vigilant schedule of timely blog posts can make it hard to find time to edit and revise. Certainly, many of my posts are not my best writing by a wide margin. But it’s important to make sure you’re doing the best you can in the limited time you have.

  • Use spell check (this one is obvious).
  • Look for typical mistakes such as the use of there, their, and they’re. When you’re writing quickly, it’s common to use the wrong word even though it sounds the same in your head.
  • Read each paragraph and make sure you can clearly describe the point it’s making.
  • After editing, read your entire post out loud.

2) Use More Paragraphs

Most of your readers will be accessing your blog from either a mobile device or a web browser. That means they will be “web-scanning” instead of reading long form text like a novel. Keep your paragraphs to only a few sentences. Add more whitespace. Cut long paragraphs down into smaller, easily scanned chunks of text.

3) Use Statistics to Back up your Point

If you have numbers in your blog, make sure you cite references. Refer to old posts or other blogger’s posts that back up your point. If you make general statements, do your research and find facts that prove what you’re saying. Many times I’ve thought something was true only to do some research and realize I was way off.

4) Write in the First and Second Person

Write with the word you. Tailor your content to the reader. Make it relevant to them by including them. Don’t use we or them. Make it personal. Talk about your own experiences and then talk about how your blog post affects the reader. Bring them into the conversation.

5) Use Friendly URL’s and Keep Them Short

Use URL’s that reflect your content. Ideally, your blog title should be your URL also. Don’t use numbers or strange characters such as “?, =, &” in your blog URL. Keep your URL’s short.

Don’t change your URL later after you have posted the blog. Everyone is linking to it (Google, Yahoo, Bing, other bloggers, etc.) so don’t make it hard for them to find it later by changing your address on them.

Use hyphens (-) instead of underscores (_) or slashes (/) to separate words in your blog post URL.

Never make your blog post URL case-sensitive.

6) Include an Image

When people link to your blog from Facebook or Google+, these social networks grab a quick preview of your post to show on the status update. If you’ve put an image on your blog, then this image will be included with the title of the post and a short excerpt from the content.

Not having an image on your post can really hurt your readability and make your post much less inviting to click on. According to an article by Jeff Bullas, posts with images get 94% more page views.

Following these simple tips can make your blog posts more readable, more engaging, and most of all, bring new readers.