Blogging. An excuse for poor communication?

The wonderful thing about blogging is it provides an open forum for musings, information sharing, and conversation between people with similar interests. Not to mention that it adds fresh content to a website, which is good for SEO rankings and link generation.

But often blogging, especially commenting on blogs, is done when the mood to say something strikes. And more often than not, people who blog aren’t professional writers or communicators. Does that mean it’s forgivable to construct a cloudy message or make the odd spelling error?

Credibility is important to your business. A carefully written and constructed blog will go a long way toward upholding your reputation. So taking a little extra time to ensure that your blog message is clear and purposeful would be prudent.

Tips for blogging to say what you mean

Write your blog posting in a text document first. Composing on a blank piece of paper comes easier than trying to write within a template with distracting links and instructions.

When your blog posting is complete, walk away before publishing it. Taking a break rests your eyes and your brain.

When you come back to your blog post, read through it again. Then, read it backwards to spot any spelling or grammatical errors. Reading copy backwards stops the tendency to skip words.

Ask a colleague to read your blog to be sure that, aside from it containing errors, your message is clear and understood by other readers.

Posting a blog comment

Posting a comment to a blog is a little different because you’re writing in an environment other than your own. How many times have you followed a thread where several responses were from the same individuals trying to fix their errors or explain what they meant in the first place?

Take your time to respond. Read your posting over forward and backwards. Ask someone in the room to give it a quick once-over to ensure it makes sense. Then, you’re ready to submit it, knowing with confidence that you won’t have to apologize, correct a mistake or clarify something you said later.

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