How often have you, as a blogger, been told to write authentically?
How frequently have you read the advice to be authentic and your audience will find you?
Sure, you should absolutely write authentically. Yes, if you are authentic, the right people will find you.
But…
How do you do that?
How do you write authentically? How do you balance all the social media dos and don’ts with being your true self?
Here are my 5 steps to authenticity that apply to anyone creating content:
- Write like you speak. Nothing makes your work sound weirder faster than trying to write in a way that you think sounds “smart” or, really, anything other than your natural voice. Focus on being conversational.
- Cut the jargon. Related to the point above, jargon alienates most readers. Unless you’re writing for a technical audience who you’re sure knows what you’re saying, cut the jargon. If someone has to look something up, you’ve probably lost that reader.
- Edit for concision. Aim for clarity, not length. Check out these 5 editing tips to learn more.
- Write in active voice. Whenever possible, write in an active voice rather than a passive one. Check out this blog post for the hows and whys.
- Read your work out loud. Always. You could probably do away with tips one through four if you simply read everything out loud. Trust me on this one. Here’s more.
Not one of those tips will take you much longer to complete your piece, but every single one will improve your work.