During my time as a professional blogger and as a social media consultant, I have come across many business owners who “fancy themselves writers.” While I applaud anyone who has honed the craft of writing and who is well-versed at stringing words together, it is an art form.
There are many entrepreneurs who have undertaken amazing business ventures — from kicking off and maintaining successful networking events, to academics to purveyors of products. These same business owners, though feel they should be “out there” spreading the word about their ventures, and I agree; they should. BUT I caution them, if you don’t have either the talent for writing for the masses or don’t have the time to study the skill and learn to write for the masses, it is a task best left to professionals.
For as many words as I write a week and as many blog posts, articles and social media sentences I string together, there is a method to the art of putting those words together. Think about it, you could be the most adept economist out there but if you want to spread your theories to the lay person, are you able to distill the information you know so that it will be interesting to individuals who aren’t economists? Think Freakonomics or The Tipping Point. If the authors of these tomes had simply “fancied themselves writers” their books would likely not have been as accessible to the “average person.” But because they knew how to take their theories and make them interesting, people flocked to buy and read these books.
When you’re writing for the internet or for print publications you don’t need to dumb your work down, but you do need to make it: a) interesting and b) filled with information that they can take away and use in their daily lives. ie. If you’re a master knitter make your blog posts or articles useful to the reader so that rather than touting your own knitting success, give me a way to achieve the goal of becoming one myself.
I applaud anyone and everyone who starts and keeps up with a blog or who keeps scoring print publication assignments. Interesting writing is an art form no matter the medium — print, online or e-reader.
What have you done to hone your writing skills lately?
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
