4 Things to Stop Saying In Your Blog Posts
As a blog writer and strategist, I write a lottttt of content. And I also read a lot of content! The second I see that someone has implemented a blog for their business, I’m hooked and it typically leads to a blog binge to see what kind of content they’re creating.
I also get an up close and personal look into the content that my Writer’s Room members create each week. Through their membership, they get the ability to submit one piece of content for feedback each week, so I spend a good chunk of time reading their submissions and providing personalized feedback so that they can confidently press publish.
Through all of this, I naturally start to notice a few common themes for how people go about creating their content and have recently been giving a lot of the same feedback over and over.
So much so that I thought it was worth making a blog out of in case you’re making these common mistakes too.
And let me be clear – I’ve been guilty of all of these before! The more you write, the more you learn and my hope is that through this blog post you’ll learn what to STOP saying in your blog posts so that you can make a few small adjustments so that your content feels more relevant and personal.
4 Things To Stop Saying In Your Blog Posts To Make Your Content More Relevant and Personal
1. “In today's blog post…” or “in this week's blog post…”
One of the biggest mistakes that I see people make in their blog posts is using phrases like “in today’s blog post…” or “in this week’s blog post…”, but phrasing like this assumes that your audience is following your content in real-time, which isn't always the case.
Unlike your social media content, many of your blog readers will discover your blogs through search engines, long after the post was originally posted. By anchoring your content to a specific time, you risk making your blog content feel outdated or irrelevant.
This is why it's important that the majority of your blog content is evergreen – meaning the content is relevant regardless of when someone stumbles on it.
➡️WHAT TO DO INSTEAD: Instead of using time specific language, write your blogs knowing that someone could read it today, tomorrow, next week, or even next year.
This will ensure that your posts have longevity and your audience will resonate with the content no matter when they find it!
2. “In last week’s blog post…” or “in my latest blog post…”
In the same vein, I often see people trying to build off of or relate to their most recent content. And you SHOULD do that!
Not only does it help your blog content flow and connect your posts together, it also builds your internal backlinks which is a big SEO plus.
But it shouldn’t be done in a way that refers to “last week’s blog post” or your “most recent post.” Because again, you never know when or where your audience is coming into your blog content from.
➡️ WHAT TO DO INSTEAD: Instead of referencing “last week’s blog post” or your “latest post”, briefly recap key points from earlier posts if they’re essential to understanding the current one and then link back to that post so your audience can easily go read the content if they’re interested.
This removes the assumption that they are following your blog chronologically and instead gives each post a chance to stand on its own!
3. Assumption language
As a business owner specializing in something specific, you probably have a pretty good idea of what your audience is struggling with. You know the challenges they’re facing, the problems they’re experiencing, and the way that they’re probably feeling about certain things.
After all, that’s what makes a great business owner, right?! Someone who knows and understands their audience and is able to speak to them directly.
While that is 100% true and you should know your audience in this way, it’s important that you never actually assume that you know what they’re thinking or feeling.
A lot of times in marketing, you see phrases like:
“You’re tired of…” or “You want to know…” or “You already tried…”
All of those phrases are assumption language that are missing two of the greatest words that you can use in your writing.
➡️ WHAT TO DO INSTEAD: Use “if you…”
When you start a sentence with “if you…”, you allow your reader to qualify themselves and let them determine if they're in the right place.
“You're tired of…” → “If you're tired of…”
“You want to know…” → “If you want to know…”
“You already tried…” → “If you already tried…”
See the difference? It might be small, but trust me, it's mighty.
4. “Hey guys” “You guys” “All of you” [insert any other version of talking to a group]
Lastly, one of my personal pet peeves (and one of the earliest lessons that I learned in my writing career) is addressing your audience with any kind of group language, such as “hey guys” or “all of you.”
While this might seem like a friendly or casual way to engage your audience, writing in this way can actually dilute the personal connection you want to create.
When you address your readers as a group, it can make each individual feel like just one of many, rather than a valued, unique visitor.
➡️ WHAT TO DO INSTEAD: Instead, write as if you’re speaking directly to one person. Even though many people will be reading your content, you want to make it feel like it's written with ONE person in mind.
This approach creates a more intimate and personalized experience, making each reader feel like you’re having a one-on-one conversation with them.
By focusing on the individual rather than the crowd, you can strengthen the connection with your audience and make your content more relatable and engaging!
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Overall, by avoiding these common phrases, you can ensure that your blog posts feel more personal, relevant, and engaging for each individual reader.
Although the changes might feel small, they really can make a huge difference in how your audience perceives and responds to your content!
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New to my world? Nice to virtually meet ya. 👋 I’m Natalie, but everyone calls me Natty (you can too) – blog and email writer for creative business owners and service providers.
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