Standing out among all the other writers on the vast internet by using your own unique voice will make your career. Developing your voice may seem like a daunting task, but don't sweat it. Knowing your target audience, deciding on a specific style, and simplifying your writing are the top three ways to help you start a successful blog. Then, you need to consider how you talk in real life. It sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t folks!

Who’s Your Target Audience?

Knowing what you'll write about for your blog is easy, but knowing to whom you're writing for is a bit more difficult. Who you’re writing to can change the voice you use while writing. Think about the age group, gender, and financial state of the audience you want to t arget. Are these people more buttoned-up or are they looking for a friendly voice?

An easy shortcut? Viewing your audience as a single person. What's this person's personality like? How does he or she dress? What music does he or she listen to? Knowing your audience's personality is essential to knowing how they'll respond to your blog.

Here’s a tutorial on using formal and informal tone when writing.

This sets you up for the next step: choosing your writing style.

The 4 Writing Styles

Choosing the writing style for your blog is as simple as matching your writing to the content you're blogging or the product you're marketing. The four main types of writing styles are:

Expository
Descriptive
Persuasive
Narrative

Tailor your writing style to your blog audience and to those you want to reach. Expository writing is good for informing your audience, while descriptive writing is used to describe a certain recipe or product. Persuasive writing is used to convince your audience to believe something, and narrative writing is important when you wish to convey a story to your audience. Use the style that works best for your blog.

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify

The third step is knowing ho w to simplify your writing. After choosing the writing style that will best fit your audience, the next step to success is writing content for your blog. Keep your word choice simple and your sentences and paragraphs short. Blogs are frequently read on mobile devices, so sticking to these guidelines will help keep your audience interested in your content and avoid skimming out of boredom.

Writing a blog is hard work, but following these three simple steps will keep your writing clean and straight to the point. Knowing who your target audience is will help you to build a trustworthy brand as well.

Listen to Your Natural Voice

Now, that you have those three steps out of the way, go visit a friend, go to the grocery store, call your mom, call a customer service line. While you do these things, listen to how you talk. Are you straight-forward? Blunt? Extra friendly? Silly? Funny?

If you can’t decide, ask your friends what they think about how you express yourself.

You know I’m the No-Fuff writer. That’s because I like to get to the point, on a page and when I’m telling a story to my friends and family. I don’t add extra. Sum yourself up like that. Take all of these notes and try to remember them when you write. Fold your natural voice into your writing.

Ready to take your blogging to the next level, but don’t know how or where to start? Let me help! Getting into freelance writing or writing for yourself doesn’t have to just be a dream. Grab my No-Fluff Freelance Writing Starter Pack to help build your business today.