Put Some Personality into Your Blog Posts

Blogs have become an essential part of marketing businesses online. Speak to any marketing expert and they’ll tell you that running a regular, well-written blog helps boost your brand and makes your website more visible on search engines like Google. However, many business blogs fall short because they fail to engage readers in the right way.

Why Blogs Are Great

You’ve set up your website, added all the information your customers need, and provided a contact page. So, why bother with a blog? First of all, it keeps your website active—search engines like Google favour sites with regular updates. Posting an article or two each week helps improve your online visibility. Secondly, a good blog provides value-added information for your customers (like this one), making them more likely to return to your site and stay engaged with your business. Finally, a blog offers a less formal platform than the rest of your website, giving you a chance to inject your personality, share professional opinions and connect more closely with readers. Remember, people buy from people, so put some personality into your blog posts!

Writing the Useful Stuff

Too many business blogs contain information that isn’t particularly useful or relevant to their audience. Many make the mistake of using their blog solely as a sales tool to push products. This misses an opportunity to connect with customers in a meaningful way.

Interesting articles get shared. Interesting articles get talked about. Interesting articles position you as a respected expert in your field. Here are some suggestions to ensure your blog content is engaging and valuable:

Build a list of subjects that your customers will find interesting.
Put your own spin on it—don’t just copy other articles, share your unique perspective and inject your personality.
Don’t be afraid to express your opinions. After all, you’re an expert, right?
Educate, don’t sell.
Ask questions to encourage interaction and gather valuable feedback.
Keep the language simple and accessible—your goal is to inform, not overwhelm.
Blog regularly to keep customers engaged and coming back for more.
Add a human touch—share personal experiences, talk about events you’ve attended, and connect with others in your network by mentioning and linking to them.
Incorporate ‘real’ videos to bring your content to life.
Use engaging, dynamic images—we’re visual creatures, after all!
Include real case studies to show practical examples of how your product or service works.
Showcase your promotions and competitions—even professional services can benefit from fun, interactive content like a caption competition.
Invite guest posts from experts in related fields with the same target market but who aren’t direct competitors.
Humanise your brand by featuring team members—this helps break down barriers, especially in industries perceived as ‘standoffish.’
Demystify your industry by explaining jargon or compiling a glossary of terms—don’t assume your audience understands all the technical details.

Using the Right Tone

The tone of your blogs is crucial. Do you want to be formal and professional? Light-hearted and humorous? Or perhaps a little controversial? Our advice: choose a writing style that will engage your audience. You should feel passionate about the topics you write about, as that passion will come across in your writing. Unless your audience expects a highly formal or technical style, keep it simple. Even scientific or technical subjects can be made more engaging with a bit of personality.

If you’re looking for inspiration, check out how news articles on sites like The Huffington Post balance professionalism with a conversational tone.

Where Did Your Personality Go?

Believe it or not, your personality shines through in your writing—at least, it should. If you’re writing your own blog posts, there are a couple of tricks to make sure your personality comes through. Start by writing from the heart about a subject you care about and know your customers will too. Don’t worry too much about keywords or making a sale—just focus on creating something interesting. Once you’ve written the post, don’t feel like you need to publish it right away. Let it sit for a day or two, then come back with fresh eyes to review and refine it. A passionate, well-written blog post will always outshine a dull, sales-driven article.