How to write blogs humans want to read

In the rush to make sure robot sweepers log your site, you can forget to create content people actually want to read. Here’s a checklist to guide your efforts.

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This article originally appeared on PR Daily in May of 2018.

Here are 10 steps to take before every blog post:

1. Just start writing (or recording).

The first thing you want to do is sit down and write.

If you have a topic in mind, just write (or record, depending on your format). Communicators sometimes overthink the process. It can be overwhelming to think about everything that comes after the writing part.

Yet, the hardest part is getting ideas out of your brain. Once you do that, you can go back and do the rest. Don’t worry about anything else until you have a draft you’re happy with.

2. Write in active voice.

We all tend to write in passive voice. It’s because we write like we speak.

Don’t worry about editing yourself as you go. You can revise sentences to be active after you get the words on digital paper.

If you need help with active versus passive, the Purdue Online Writing Lab can help.

3. Get your Flesch reading ease score.

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