If you are writing a blog post, one of the things that will engage readers will be to inject a little personality into your writing. I personally don’t like auto-tone blog posts that everyone else could have written. It seems like those posts are written by ghost writers and the blog author did nothing to make them more reader-friendly.
This really rubs me the wrong way. I think you can write about almost anything on your blog, boring or downright dry, as long as you inject personality into it to make it more interesting.
Some of my favorite blogs and websites are written by somebody who does this in almost every post. They can write about some boring topic but I will still read it because it has a piece of them in it.
I’m not saying I’m always the one to be successful in doing this, but I read enough blogs that do to feel like I can take a few tips from them. Here’s what I’ve found:
Always Include A Personal Story
Why are you writing an article or post on that topic? What made you think of the topic? Was it something that happened in your life to bring it on?
Include a short, personal story in the post or article to really make it yours. Otherwise it’s just another post about the 6 ways to save money in the kitchen. Adding some shock value to that story is usually helpful, too, but life isn’t always suspenseful, so be sure to stay honest.
Think Outside of the Box
My dad has always told me that I (like him) have an odd way of thinking. I disagree, actually, I think it probably just seems that way to him because other people aren’t his daughter and they aren’t willing to share their weirdo ideas as readily as I am.
We’re all different and that’s the beauty of life. Because of this, we all have different ways of thinking. To put more personality in your writing, I suggest that before you set off to research something for an article topic that you’d thought of, and brainstorm what you would do first.
That way, you’re not just putting elements of other people’s ideas into your post. Maybe you’ll think of something that isn’t well known yet.
Refer Back
I always enjoy those bloggers that tie things into what they have previously done. This helps to keep readers interested and increase your page views on your blog as well, but also helps things click and shift together for your long time readers.
If you are writing about 6 ways to save money in the kitchen, refer back to a post or an article that you wrote previously that touches on a similar subject. For instance, if you wrote a post about how much money you waste when you throw away food, make a comment about that in the post.
Use Images
This is a bit of a struggle for me. I understand the importance of putting images in posts, however, I struggle with using images that aren’t my own (and I don’t really like the creative commons ones). My favorite thing is to put a funny meme in my posts, which I feel definitely injects my personality into my blog, but I don’t own those memes and I’ve heard some horror stories about using images you don’t own.
If they are overused, though, many hold the stance that they are public anyway.
In any case, using relevant or funny images – or even images that you created – is a great way to add personality to your writing.
How do you make sure that you have plenty of personality in your writing?
Starting a blog? You may also be interested to read some of my other posts about the subject:
Blogging 101
- Why Should You Blog? I Have a Bunch of Reasons!
- If You’re Just Starting Out, You Should Start on WordPress. Here’s why
- Ways to Inject Personality Into Your Posts (because nobody wants to read boring stuff)
- A Post About Knowing Your Audience
- If You Want a Successful, Money Making Blog, You Should Outsource (or quit your job and blog full time)
- Make Sure You Are Running Your Blog Like You’d Run Your Business
- Learn From My Mistakes in Blogging
Should You Blog Anonymously?
Feel free to email me with any blogging questions and I’d be happy to help!
The personality-injection is what makes me return to read various blogs 🙂 The personal story part is key and often so easy to include. Occasionally I catch myself thinking that I should avoid including them, but then remember that my point is to NOT read like eHow articles!!
Great post. I agree, personality goes a long way. I am not a fan of dry posts that just state a bunch of things and have no back story.
Avoid lists! I actually don’t like hearing personal stories because I read blogs for informational content but lists are extremely boring and impersonal.
I agree with you 100% and when I write ,I try to write as if I am talking to people standing in a room with me. It’s all a learning experience, at least for me.The things I know now and continue to learn amaze me about blogging. Even if there is a couple of lines about a personal experience or just to show you are with your audience adds tremendous value. I use photos some I create and others that are free but always credit them. Photos are 100% important and are what catches the eye of the reader in my opinion along with a good title. Fans tell me that they enjoy coming to CBB everyday because I do my best to engage with the fans and I share experiences, not only my own but others. No one’s perfect, I’ll keep on learning and making mistakes but for the most part, I’ll write like my audience is in front of me. Make them smile, laugh, cry, ponder and motivate through words like you just did. Great tips Daisy! Mr.CBB
So then how come you don’t use more of your own pics? I also only like to use my own that I take. Then I never get confused about rights and stuff, because they’re my own! Mostly I have pictures of job sites I”m at and stuff, but sometimes I don’t and I”m just talking about my opinion on something. So I get creative. Locking down schools, I took a picture of a lock. Thanksgiving topic, I took a picture of Thanksgiving cards at a store. For this post, maybe you could’ve taken a picture of a box “thinking out of the box” or taken a pic of a camera for “include images.” Know what I”m sayin? I hear ya on pics though, the commons ones suck and I don’t udnersatnd the rules on others…so I try to just stick to my own.
I fail at adding images to my posts but I do try to do all of the other things with every post. I guess I try to write about topics that interest me for one reason or another, so I naturally interject my thoughts and voice into the topics. I think this is key.
You can definitely work to improve your writing and the suggestions you listed are great. I love images as I think they help tell a story…”A picture is worth a thousand words.” In the end, I think you have to be true to your personality. Don’t try to copy someone else’s style. It will come across as being phony.
Great post.
This is why I think the blogs that get “sold” and lose the original blogger get dull. Because the blog had a unique personality beforehand.
I just kind of write about my experiences. I too hate those generic how to or “listy” blogs. It just seems like a way to get readers from google, not actually connect with people. I think those kinds of things are OK, but like you said as long as their spin, or reasons behind the list are there.
Honestly, I get more interested in post that are more personal and with a touch of real experience rather than reading pure advice and suggestions that were quite far from personal experience. It is still interesting to read post where you can relate.
Honestly, we all write about essentially the same things. Personality is what differentiates us all. I would tell people to be themselves, just a louder version.
I’ve unsubscribed from niche blogs before because I couldn’t get a feel for what the person was really like. With personal blogs (and perhaps even lifestyle) it’s a bit different, but niche blogging like food, finance, beauty, health… it all boils down to the same information, just in a different form. Without a personal touch, it sounds very generic and it honestly isn’t all that fun to read. I can find the same information elsewhere that a better blogger wrote with a personal twist!
Usually when I write a post, I have someone in mind, and I imagine what I would want to say to them that I wouldn’t say in person because watching their eyes glaze over in person is tough. 🙂
Images are tough for me as well, as I’m not 100% of the laws surrounding them. I definitely need to add this to list of things to do to improve my blog.
Great ideas Daisy!
Haha I seriously hate dry posts…the reason I am drawn to blogs is because I want to hear about different lives and situations, not the same old credit card comparisons or whatev.
Good post! I tend to struggle with making posts more personal. When a post has personality it really can come through to the reader and will generally b more impactful as they can relate to it. I think referring back is a huge thing as many topics have so many layers that you can’t cover it all in one blog post.
Most of my long-term readers seem to like my most personal posts the best, so I try to make every post I write feel like I’m blabbing with close friends. I use real numbers that may bore some people, but I don’t mind because my real friends get bored too but they still love me, hahaha. But your main point is soooo true, I am so tired of boring blog posts…give me personality or I won’t come back, lol.
Thanks! My blog is slightly over a month old and I struggle with personalizing my posts. Perhaps it’s due to the many years of writing dry technical and business documentation. The irony is that from my experience in sales, I know that personalizing and adding a story is critical to engage an audience, and am quite adept at it in person. Reading your post is forcing me to rethink how I write, which I think is critical to the success of the findependent. Thanks!
Most of my posts have a lot of, “me” in them. Because I’m far from a financial expert, I can only speak to my own experiences. Almost of all my favorite bloggers write at least part of the time about their personal lives. I think it makes they more “real” and more easy to relate to.
Blogging is harder then it looks. Sometimes I think people run out of things to say. Id rather people not blog then write something that makes you want to yawn. Great post by the way! Glad i stumbled on your blog.
Everytime I write, I always try to express my own views rather than having some guidelines at all times. I try to be spontaneous as possible.