#37: How Good Does My Writing Need to Be Online?
Show Notes\n\xa0\nSummary:\nEpisode #37: How Good Does My Writing Need to Be Online?\n\nNot long ago, writer, poet and blogger Christina Hubbard asked me, \u201cHow polished should a blog post be?\u201d\n\nShortly after she asked that, I saw a presentation by a\xa0successful young online entrepreneur who suggested that blogs can be a little sloppy; people reading online don\u2019t mind an error here or there. Blogging\u2019s casual, he said, so don\u2019t worry about it\u2014the mistakes make you more real.\n\nI couldn\u2019t help but notice a similar message from another young online entrepreneur who trains business owners how to communicate their message more clearly. She urges people to get their message out there. Don\u2019t let perfectionism hold you back, she says. Better to get the message out into the world than to wait forever and never take action because you\u2019re afraid it\u2019s not perfect\u2014or you keep trying to make it perfect.\n\nWhat do you think? Is the first person right? Do people expect blog posts to be messy?\n\nMaybe some readers don\u2019t mind. But then I think...well, I\u2019m a reader. I'm also a writer, a writing coach, and an editor, but as a reader, I disagree. I spotted many typos in someone\u2019s webinar a few weeks ago, and maybe it\u2019s because of my work\u2014maybe a typical viewer wouldn\u2019t react the same\u2014but that sort of lowered my trust in the presenter\u2019s message.\n\nI advise writers to produce their best work every time they write.\nThree Big Reasons to Publish Quality\xa0Blog Posts\nIf you've\xa0wondered\xa0how good your\xa0writing online needs to be, I have three big reasons to give it your best, even if it means publishing less frequently.\n\n1. It\u2019s a first impression to readers. People arrive at your website a lot of different ways: from a link on someone\u2019s blog, from a link in social media, through a search, from a referral. They could arrive at a post you published last year or yesterday, and if this is the first time they encounter you, they\u2019re going to make a quick decision about what kind of writer you are in the first few lines. If it\u2019s riddled with errors, delivers little value, or doesn\u2019t flow well, what impression have you left them with?\n\nGive every article your best effort, because with a good impression, you could convert a casual one-time visitor to a subscriber to wants to read more from you.\n\n2. It\u2019s your online portfolio. You may have a tab on your blog where you present an official portfolio, but everything you publish on your website becomes an unofficial contribution to\xa0your portfolio. Not only casual readers who could be converted to fans or followers but also industry influencers could find their way to your home online.\n\nImagine if the post you churn out without a lot of effort ends up being a publisher\u2019s first encounter with you. If this person is going to recommend you to an acquisitions editor or make a decision about offering you a contract, why give them a reason to hesitate? Show them quality work anywhere they might land on your site.\n\n3. It\u2019s a key element to building your platform. Some of us have been told that our platform depends upon frequent and consistent publishing online, to bulk up our site's content. To pull that off as one lone blogger is asking a lot when we have so many other tasks. In order to stay on\xa0schedule\xa0and keep up the pace, we might be tempted to push something out before it's ready.\n\nBut you want to deliver value to readers and build a reputation as someone who has ideas, answers to questions, solutions to problems, and thoughtful input on a topic or theme. Better to take your time and write fewer posts that will be saved and shared and build your name in association with that field or genre or topic than to spit out a few short posts that didn\u2019t contribute much to the bigger conversation.\n\nPart of building a platform is to become a resource or spokesperson for something. Even if it\u2019s poetry or storytelling, you want to be known for quality work. More frequent posting may or may not increase our exposure...