Have you ever noticed how the articles written in famous newspapers or popular blogs have always “something” more, which makes them look very professional?
In contrast, the posts that you may find around online or in poor quality blogs, are written by amateurs, and every time you read this low quality content you leave right away, thinking to suggest the authors to rewrite again and again.
What do they have, in addition, the writing of those who seem so professional?
Perhaps, only a good care and attention about the content, which very often you tend to forget, for haste or lack of experience.
In order to look “professional“, you should always observe some simple rules.
Below you can read six tips on how to create professional content, to keep in mind when you are going to write for a blog or for any other online or offline platform.
1. Imagine an Effective Title
Nothing is more important and able to attract the attention of the reader as a good title.
The title should be, in fact, the extreme synthesis of the content : it must be sufficiently short but clear, and it should contain all the key elements which would be developed in detail within the article.
In the specific case of the internet and writing for blogs, post titles should also be search-engine friendly.
Many of your potential readers in fact reach your pages from the search engines, by looking for certain keywords. Needless to say, therefore, that these keywords must be mentioned in the content, as well in your titles (and of course in your tags, description, etc).
2. Add a Relevant Picture
A picture is worth thousand words. The splashes of color are the first thing that the human eye will notice when looking at something.
It is therefore obvious, that an image associated with your article will be crucial to attract the reader’s attention on your content.
Image should be “beautiful”, but relevant!
On the other hand, a “bad” or irrelevant image to the topics of your blog is likely to have an opposite mirror effect, damaging the quality of the article.
You should choose media carefully, then.
3. Write a Synopsis
A synopsis is nothing more than a hat, an introduction to the piece being able to explain in a few lines what will include the content of your article.
Give readers a clear idea of the issues that will be addressed, redirecting them to reading your content.
4. Add Quotes Where Necessary
Writing phrases and statements of prominent people (or popular bloggers in your niche) will surely give a more professional look at your content.
Not only you may look more professional, suggesting to the reader the idea that you have documented extensively before drafting the article, but you will give also a more reliable and true look at your writing.
5. Properly Format the Content
All bloggers should have a keen eye to the text formatting. Unlike newspapers, for example, you can not rely on graphics and proofreaders that reinterpret your pieces and make them “presentable”.
Furthermore, you need to keep in mind that, unlike the printed paper, reading from a video screen can be very tiring for some people, and it must be facilitated as much as possible, if you do not want your audience stop after only reading the first few lines of your article.
You should then properly format your content!
You can put in bold the words and phrases you want to give particular importance, and you may want to use italics with foreign words and not very common in your language, with quotes and an emphasis on specific terms or definitions.
Be sure to not overdo it, because otherwise you will end up with the opposite effect, undoing the effect of marking just these styles and worsening the readability of the entire article.
Another basic rule is to break the content into more logical sections.
A single compact block of text would challenge even the most devoted and patient reader : it is better to divide it into sections, perhaps by assigning each of them a secondary qualification, remembering to enter relevant images.
6. Proofread Before Publishing
Carefully review what you have written before the publication is very important: this should be a very basic rule of any good blogger or journalist.
But it is almost never done. The reason is simply explained.
When you put the word “Finish” to your article, you are tired and eager to see it published. You do not want to read the text because, after all, you wrote it and you know exactly what you said. And, even if you force yourselves to read it again and again, most of the time you do it casually and quickly, proceeding “to jump” over to publication.
You can simply make a pause for some minutes. Take a break. Then you can proofread the text, in order to find a number of errors or best ways to express a concept that at first you had not realized.
Once again, a refined and clean work will increase the general professional tone of your writing.
What do you think? Do you have any additional tips to make your writing more professional?
About Erik Emanuelli
Great post! I always read my article casually and quickly and jump to publish. I will take care next time . Again thanks for post …specially “point 6″.
Glad you liked the article, Gaurav!
Yes, proofreading is very important before hit the “Publish” button!
Excellent reminders in a well-written, succinct package. Thank you, Erik.
Reese Ryan recently posted..Three Reasons to Write the Premise BEFORE You Write the Book
Glad you liked, Reese!
I agree stupendous post to make your content compelling. A good font, title, picture and grammatical correct content will please your readers. Always right keeping your readers in mind and not crawlers. Good read, Thanks.
Smith Warnes recently posted..Website Development & Joomla! ® CMS Solutions
Thanks for the kind comment, Smith!
Great reminders, thanks!
Ashley – Embracing Beauty recently posted..Homemade Cough Remedies – So you can rest better!
I always write an introduction paragraph for my posts. However, I rarely redirect the reader to the rest of my post. I assume that they will do that. Could I be wrong? Do you think that maybe they need to be told?
Well, Gylnis,
if you mean redirecting your readers from a snippet of your post to the antire article, then yes, you should mark and underline how to see the entire content.
If not, I do not think you need to do it, as your readers have already the full story in front of their eyes!
Don’t you think so?
That’s what I thought too but seeing that I’m not an expert, I thought I should check it out. Another blogger I know who is an expert in blogging had said that readers often need to be told the obvious.
Glynis Jolly recently posted..Reach for Your Goals
I think in general readers in the internet, but above all the surfers of the web are “lazy”, if you understand well what I mean.
So yes, you should always “help” them,
redirecting to what you want them to read,
helping them find what is interesting in your site,
or even bringing them to your Call to Action page.
Somethings are obvious for you, they are not for your readers.
Great advice! Thanks for sharing what is a simple but effective list of things to keep in mind. Writing is like many other intellectual pursuits and needs structure and a plan to work out well. Your common sense approach if we follow it can only help us to succeed as writers.
Frank Woodman recently posted..Obama or Romney Makes no Difference Financially
Thanks for the kind words, Frank.
Simple is better!
Great tips and it helps me a lot. In writing, one of my major problem to start is what will be my title for that specific topic. I was supposedly brain washed when I am going to think. Glad to know this tips. Thanks!
Ashleen Moreen recently posted..Timber Sliding Doors To Make Best Use Of The Space In Your Home
Yes, Ashleen, the title is the basic thing to catch the reader’s attention!
Glad you liked the article!
I like to add one more thing here, also give solid example within your post to prove your points. Don’t just say anything if you can prove it then it gives good impression to your readers and helps you to establish yourself as an expert.
You’re right, Aasma.
Showing practical example of what you say means professionality.
Thanks for pointing that!
Hi Erik,
You make some very relevant points in creating content that is both professional and easy to read. I would add bullet points as well as keeping paragraphs to a maximum of four sentences. Many people like to skim through content and if something interesting catches their eye, they will stop to digest more carefully. That is why I think it is important to help guide the reader towards the highlighted parts of your content.
Liz Hancock recently posted..Blue Nile Launches New Monique Lhuillier Designer Engagement Rings
You’re right, Liz.
I like to keep short paragraphs. A maximum of 4/5 lines is good.
Thanks for your comment!
Hi Erik,
These are certainly something to consider when writing posts, particularly the proofreading part. I don’t understand why some bloggers fail to proofread their posts when they only publish a few times a week. When you proofread your work, you can at least find some of the grammatical errors or typos that you’ve made so you can correct them. Proofreading is not only respect for your work, but also respect for your readers.
Yes, Felicia, proofreading is sooooo important!
Hi Erik,
Honestly thanks for sharing this on your blog, I’m just starting out with my own blog and I like to study every piece of information about blogging I can find.
I’ll try to stick to these guidelines when I write my posts, I haven’t yet developed a writing style I can commit to…
Have a nice weekend, cheers!
Philip A. recently posted..Guest Posting – Why Should You Write On Other Blogs?
Hi Philip,
I am glad you liked the article.
My best wishes for your site.
Be sure to follow my blog updates!
Learnt two new things. Synopsis, quotes. never seen much in most of the blog posts. Thank you Erik