How hard can writing be? You just have to type what you’re thinking, right?
Well, it doesn’t quite work like that—even if your spontaneous thoughts and observations can be a good starting point.
A few tips apply when writing for an audience.
Write with passion
You’re probably blogging because you want to share something—a unique way of life, your passion, a story, or a skill. If you are passionate about it, it will show. Don’t force yourself to write about something you are not comfortable with or not interested in—readers will feel it.
Blogging shouldn’t be a chore. This is not school; you don’t have to write a minimum number of words on a set topic. For instance, I can’t do book reviews for the life of me. I spent my high school years dissecting Victor Hugo’s Castigations (the title of the collection of poems says it all, trust me!), and while I’m still an avid reader, I turned down book review offers because it’s just not my thing. No one enjoys reading a tedious review.
Offer context
Blogs create their own little universe, with occasional mentions of family members or particular life events. If your blog is mostly for friends and family, that’s fine—they know you. But if you want to build a bigger readership, make sure people understand what you are talking about.
This is why “About Me” and “About this Blog” pages are important. Don’t hesitate to link to previous related articles to add context and information. Finally, go easy on private jokes only two or three people can understand—otherwise, it feels like you are intentionally excluding your readers.
Stop with the constant navel-gazing
Some people live amazing lives and can write about themselves without boring the audience to death. But 99% of us are just regular folks, and frankly, a detailed account of your life isn’t very interesting unless you are an exceptionally good writer.
I know Justin Bieber “wrote” his autobiography at the tender age of 13, but most of us aren’t quite ready for the challenge yet.
Don’t take yourself too seriously
Relax, it’s just a blog! Some readers will disagree with you, some will troll you, and some will ignore your efforts to have the best blog ever… who cares?
Don’t take yourself too seriously and accept that you are one blogger out of millions. Have fun—and please, don’t start dragging readers into your blogging drama.
Use spell-check
On the practical side of writing, I really encourage you to use spell-check. A few typos are forgivable, but when they pile up, articles can be a real pain to decipher.
I tend to write my posts in Word to catch most grammatical errors and typos, and I’ve seen a huge improvement compared to when I used to write directly in the WordPress editor.
Use online tools
There are tons of free online tools to improve your writing. For instance, non-native English speakers will find WordReference very useful (and if you have a question, their forum is awesome!).
I also use synonym dictionaries, Visuwords (an online visual dictionary), and Wikipedia (for place names, historical events, etc.).
Typography matters
Arranging text and selecting fonts isn’t only aesthetic—it has functional goals. For instance, it’s hard to read a message when there are no capital letters after a period or when there is too much inconsistent spacing.
Some plugins, such as WP Typography, offer intelligent character replacement and styling for ampersands, quotes, acronyms, etc. The font family you choose also affects the reader’s experience. Courier or handwriting fonts may feel “funky” and original, but they are hard to read and shouldn’t be used for long texts.
…And so do editing and reviewing
Ideally, everyone needs another set of eyes to catch grammatical and spelling mistakes. Most of us don’t have the luxury of a dedicated proofreader at home, but you can always set your text aside for a while and review it again with fresh eyes.
You’d be surprised by how many typos and mistakes you’ll catch.
Keep your articles under 1,000 words
I tend to think articles under 200 words fit best on platforms such as Twitter or Facebook, and articles over 1,000 words can be too long to keep readers’ attention (to give you an idea, most press releases are around 500 words).
I’m the type of person who likes to write a lot, but I learned to check the word count and to do some serious editing if I’m close to my self-imposed 600–700-word limit.
Don’t forget that writing is subjective
1 + 1 = 2 (or so I’ve been told). But writing isn’t an exact science. Two people can write about the same event very differently.
Yes, grammar matters—but there is no perfect way to write. Develop your voice and be proud of your achievements.
And this is probably why I’m still stubbornly blogging without AI in 2026.
i’m one of those who check and check and check my blog entries over and over again to ensure there are no typos and other silly mistakes.
blogging needs passion, and i think to be able to write like a writer is awesome – the innovative use of vocabulary, the structure of the sentences, the metaphors – these can make a boring essay turn alive! 😀
Writing is an art indeed! Your posts are always well written, I like them. You should blog more often though 😉
Writing is an art and it takes practice to get better, no?
Definitely. I feel like I improve over the years 🙂
Thanks Zhu for the tips, sometimes I do have a burning desire to vent about something but tend to let it ‘circulate’ for a while in my thoughts.
I didn’t want to get too personal really but if I have to really put across something I suppose I will.
Well, it’s okay to share good times and bad times. I guess my point was, don’t be a drama queen and only blog about personal issues!
I so much echo your navel gazing & dragging readers to your blog.
I know a set of certain people on my blog who come only to seek new links & to do that, they check if a new reader has commented. If yes, then they click on that new person’s link, leave a comment on their blog and lo! They get a new visitor to their blog.
I detest such people making me feel as if I am doing a social service for them. These people are not interested in what I write & invariably their comment would be “great shot” or “nice post”.
For God’s sake, don’t comment if you don’t have anything to say or contribute. Nobody expects you to comment on each & every post.
Thanks for the tips. I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t updated my blog as much as I’d like to and sometimes I wonder if I should close it instead.
Have a great week,
M.
“Don’t take yourself too seriously…” That’s a great tip and one I try to follow. Every once in a while, though, I do get a bit personal and serious. For that, I blame my sympathetic and supportive readers!
Well, it’s not a rule to be followed all the time! I guess my point was, don’t build an entire blog around personal drama.
Great advice, I really like the one about don’t take yourself too seriously as well, as I find those blogs are annoying to read and I don’t usually go back to them. I also like your tip about writing with passion, it’s what makes great writing stand out.
Simple tips but it’s true, isn’t it?
Love your advice, as usual, but I can’t stop thinking how far my blog is from being a good blog. At the same time, I don’t mind not having a great blog as I don’t feel like writing as I did in journalism classes and over-think my copy. Plus I’m not that good of a writer in French.
I guess I just like doing what I do and I’m thankful that it brings me some readers 🙂
I like your blog! I don’t see anything wrong with it. I guess it shows advice don’t always apply. We all have an goal we aim for but anything in between works too!
Sometimes I read my archives and cringe when I see a typo or grammatical error. I’m pretty anal about stuff like that! I’m forever revising posts within the first day or so after posting.
I try not to make edits after I publish the post otherwise I know it will never end! But I’d love to take the time to review some of my older posts, my English has gotten much better now and I’m sure I left some mistakes I wouldn’t make now.