A different perspective.
By Martin Dower
Penny wrote (we say penned!) an article last month title “Writing for your readers. Not you.” and it struck a chord with me. I agree in principle with much she said don’t totally agree.
You see, I’ve writing for the web for nearly ten years. I didn’t learn how to do from a Youtube video, or even read “10 tips to make you a better blog writer” (sic), I simply shared my thoughts honestly with no ulterior motive.
I know it’s important to write well for SEO and “content is king” but just sometimes you should write for other reasons. And then today I read this fab article and it sort of became clear.
- If your authentic, then putting your stuff out there will find readers. The act of a reader “getting you” (as Jessica Hagy says) is much more powerful than some transient “Top 10” list
- You can’t, nor should you, try to protect what you write. Plagiarism is the highest honour you can receive and, besides, it was you idea and concept first – and you’ll have the creative talent to come up with the next thing. The content and ideas thieves can’t do that.
- Don’t avoid conflict and opinion. Not everyone will like, or even agree with what you say, and you may be wrong. To don’t take it personally, you’re to be applauded for sharing the opinion in the first place
- It’s sometimes good to write for yourself. If the act of writing (sharing) is not liberating the write about something else. And don’t score the quality of what you write by the numbers of readers.
- Writing is harder than you think so avoid being too critical of your, or others, writing. Try to read through the poor grammar and typos and seek out the heart of the message.
- Life is too serious, a lighter approach is better and will be appreciated
Thank-you Jessica, I have unashamedly violated your point number 3, but your article resonated so very strongly with me. And you put it in a far more eloquent manner.
