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Writing has always been a long-term passion of mine. As a blogger for just over a year now, I’ve learned that what works in the world of journalism, and standard novel writing, works the same in the blogosphere. That being said, as a blogger, there are a lot of tools writers should understand before delving into the medium.

For starters, every writer should know their audience, and knowing the audience will determine the tone or “voice” of the blog. I see three levels of “voice,” being professional, educational, and informational. While cross pollenation exists, most of the blogs will fall into these three categories.

Professional Blogs

If you write for your business, or write for a business as your main outlet for creativity, then you are writing a business blog. This is defined as being the humanistic approach that companies and businesses are taking in order to connect with their existing clients and prospective clients.

As a business blogger you have a certain level of fiscal responsibilities for your writing that the other two formats do not have to worry about. Still, a successful launch of a corporate blog can rally a community together that is unimaginable for the other formats.

Language, grammar, opinions, sentence structure, and transparency are all items that business bloggers must be absolutely aware of. Companies like Dell, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, and Ford have all been extremely successful in this new medium. Their approach to making contact with their community is easy going, but still maintains the responsibilities a business has to its paying customers. It’s a cyclical relationship where one feeds the other, and the cycle continues.

Educational Blogs

Looking at teaching something? Perhaps you want to run a DIY blog. If you’re interested in sharing your know how with the online world, then you’ve got yourself an educational blog. While expertise in your field is important, expertise in an educational blog is vital.

Sharing information that others can benefit from is an excellent way to garner support and attention from enthusiasts, believers, and other interested parties who want to learn what you make available. A business blog “voice” will turn off your readers because they are looking to be taught, bought.

You’re not trying ton convince them to be a customer, you’re trying to inform them on something you are confident in your knowledge about. Educational writing tends to be more lengthy because every step must be documented and you can assume nothing.

Informational Blogs

Finally informational blogs are simply just that, informational. There is no real rhyme or reason for these blogs other than sharing parts of your life, experiences, and ideas. Things like life blogging, hobby blogging, celebrity blogging, and other Hollywood and entertainment blogs are just informational.

The vast majority of blogs out there are informational, some more noteworthy than others. Language and grammar are not necessarily as guarded, sentence structure is typically thrown out the window. And why? Because the writer takes ownership of their style, and because they do not represent a business, and they are not looking at educating anyone on a particular topic, these writers write for fun, because they find it interesting to share their lives and interests with the world.

Please note, that blogs can be a mixture of a few or all combined. Writing is a unique form that can be shaped and molded as you write. You might have intentions of your post being one way and ultimately turn into something else entirely.

Where does your blog fall and are you truly reaching your target market? Chime in and let us know your experiences as you started your blog.

Photo Credit UBC Library Graphics

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