How to Write a Conversational Blog Post

Sharing your business thoughts and ideas is usually pretty easy, right? You can get excited and passionate about the things you’re working on. But when it comes to writing a blog post, that’s a different story. All of a sudden, you’re a fountain of facts that look like a college outline assignment, or worse, a snooze worthy manual. You might have double checked the grammar but is the reader going to feel like he or she is attending a lecture instead of conversing with you? A good blog post really is a conversation. Your half is on the screen, where you both can see it. But you need the readers to engage their minds -thoughts and questions- in order for them to experience the post as a good read and, hopefully, increase their interest in your business.

Did the paragraph above strike you as conversational? It’s easy to miss if you aren’t watching for it! 

I’ve found that the easiest way to start writing conversationally is to visualize it. Just close your eyes and pretend (don’t do this in an office full of people unless you want a mandatory mental health day) you are talking to an actual person for a second. Notice how you speak with contractions? A conversation that doesn’t have contractions would be stiff, almost robot-like.

There should be personal pronouns in conversational writing, too. You don’t start every statement by saying a person’s name when you talk to them. If you read that last sentence without the first word, does it become more like a command and less personable? 

And finally, ask questions! In order for the reader to feel like they are participating in a conversation, they want to know that you’re interested in their thoughts and that you care about their agreement of yours. If you look over the paragraphs above, you’ll find that they all contain at least one question. Do you see how those questions aim to include you in the discussion? 

Writing a conversational blog post can be daunting at first. But with a little practice it can be a great way to help your readers feel like they’re getting to know you and your business firsthand.