By Marsha Hall, Senior Counselor

Common cures for the boring blog.

It’s hard to admit that your copy is boring. But, if I am honest, I have to confess that the last post I wrote for the FMPR blog about H1N1 influenza was just that — BORING. 

Sure I made the points I needed to make, and I broke up the copy so it was easier to read. But as I look back, I realize the copy was far too formal; it was impersonal and lacked passion. 

Diagnosing the problem

I was able to diagnose the problem after attending a professional conference on social media led by Steve Crescenzo. If you have the opportunity to attend one of Crescenzo’s seminars, I highly recommend it. 

Anyway, Crescenzo commented that many of us PR professionals are employing online communication, but we are treating this medium like print. We are removing the “social” from social media by failing to engage readers; we are not encouraging them to interact. 

Guilty as charged! 

Creating a platform

As a blogger, my job is to start the message and create a platform so other people can continue the conversation and tell their own stories. It’s OK to use first, second and third person in my messages and insert anecdotes. Attention-grabbing headlines are essential! 

In revisiting my H1N1 post, I could have hooked more readers with the following headline: Don’t Let H1N1 Kill Your Business. 

Perhaps I should have led with this sentence: H1N1 could halt your business as abruptly as an earthquake or tornado. Or, I could have started with a personal anecdote describing how my own casual bout with H1N1 influenza turned into a three-week ordeal.   

Reaching readers where they live

Our job is to launch the conversation and let our audience do the rest. We must also be concise and make every word count. No formula exists for successfully writing blogs. But, if we are creative, conversational and concise, we’ll head in the right direction. 

OK, so let the discussion begin! I invite you to share your blog writing tips and insight into your favorite bloggers’ methods.

photo credit: HilaryQuinn