For many bloggers, one of the reasons they blog is because they’re passionate about something and they want to share it with the world. They want to make an impact on their readers’ lives

Passionate writing leaps off the screen and into the hearts of your readers. Writing without passion is like a plain hamburger – yes, it’ll silence those hunger pangs, but once you add your favorite toppings, your basic burger turns into much more satisfying meal. Think of passion as your writing’s secret sauce that turns a serviceable post into something memorable (and linkable).

I’ve found that many bloggers worry about disagreeing with established authorities, offending someone, or simply being incorrect. However, I’ve found that worrying about being wrong tends to paralyze people – and when it comes to blogging, nothing is worse than inaction. Don’t be afraid to generate some fireworks.

First of all, if you’re going to write something controversial, make sure that your post is very well-thought-out and that you’re prepared for a debate. Be able to back up your opinions with facts and solid reasoning, and be ready for potential fallout – use logic to deal with dissenters. Passion backed up by logic is one of the best ways to really make your blog stand out.

If you think that something should be changed, or you disagree with a popular viewpoint, explain your beliefs. Tell your readers why you feel the way you do. On the flip side, your ideas may not be as controversial as you thought, and your passion could garner you even more loyal readers.

There’s much more to gain from showing your passion and pushing boundaries than there is to lose. Questioning authority, challenging popular views, and asserting your opinions in a logical manner tends to be rewarded in the blogosphere. After all, passion is what stirs people’s emotions and generates discussion, and besides, fortune favors the bold.

Last but not least, writing with passion means showing your readers the real you, and isn’t that at least part of the reason why you’re blogging?

*It’s important to remember that you should never accuse anyone of anything in your blog with iron-clad proof – obviously, libel, slander, and defamation have no part in smart business blog. Depending on your niche and community, I’d also recommend avoiding any particularly polarizing political or religious views as well.

Are you worried about differentiating yourself from the millions of other blogs out there? After all, one could view the blogosphere as a massive haystack with a few valuable, glittering needles hidden inside it – the blogs with valuable content. The search engines help people discover the needles, but it’s up to the individual bloggers to get them to use the needles to sew and make something great (okay, I definitely stretched the limits of that metaphor).

One of the best ways to be sticky is to create a site that is a feast for the senses – an elegant design and bold images for the eyes, interesting videos and podcasts for the ears, and luscious language that paints a picture in your readers’ minds. Be creative with your word selection and try to choose the most precise, accurate terms to express your ideas.

First of all, a thesaurus is your friend, whether you rely on an printed and bound book or you use websites like Thesaurus.com. Thesauri are especially valuable when you notice that you’ve been using the same words too many times and as a result, your writing is flat, boring, and/or redundant. A quick trip to the thesaurus to find alternative options can liven things up in no time, and you might discover new terms that work even better than your go-to phrases.

You don’t have to neglect SEO and your keywords to writing appealing posts, either. First of all, it’s important to integrate a significant variety of keywords into your posts – using only two or three constantly is a dead giveaway that it’s SEO copy and many people will click away (and it doesn’t matter how much traffic SEO sends your way if they leave within a second or two). After all, don’t you want people to stick around, so you get multiple pageviews, interesting comments, and incoming links?

Another way to inspire your writing is to keep a folder or set of bookmarks filled with quality writing by people you admire. You can pull it out when you’re feeling unmotivated to get your creative juices flowing. Personally, I use del.icio.us for this – I have tags for “inspiration” and “writing” and “creativity” and more in my account. Social media is for more than just connecting people – you can use it to organize your ideas, sources, and inspirations.

Last but not least, it’s important to remember that the number one way to become a skilled writer is to practice, practice, practive, and then practice some more. If you’re serious about improving your work, it’s important to write something everyday, even if it’s just a short paragraph or two, and to read the work of other writers – you never know where you’ll pick up a new technique or interesting insight.  Remember no matter how much you SEO, search marketing is still about writing great content.

Taking the first step is hard, whether you’re launching a business or writing a post. You may have tons of good ideas that you’re eager to share, but it’s tough to decide where to begin. So what’s a blogger to do?

Here’s a hint: write your introduction last.

Think about it – by the time you’ve written everything down and organized your thoughts, you’ll have a very good idea of where your post is going – after all, it’s almost done!  You might also come up with an excellent idea for an opener while you’re writing, plus you’ll have a better understanding of your piece should be introduced – have you ever written something that’s gotten totally derailed, and the conclusion and introduction say completely different things?  It happens to the best of us.   However, by writing your first paragraph last, you’re preventing this problem and ensuring that you’ll end up with a more cohesive, coherent post.

We all know that the headline (your title) and the opening paragraph (in publishing it’s called the lede) are some of the most important things to consider when you’re composing your posts.  Of course, these things are also some of the most difficult things to write well (related: North x East has an excellent list of 10 Ways to Write a Great Lead for a Blog Post), so it does pay to devote extra time to your intros.

Just make that extra effort at the end of your post composition time, not the beginning.  You may be pleasantly surprised at how productive you become.

Yesterday I talked about the importance of using the correct spelling, grammar, and puncuation in your posts, because it seemed logical to start a series on writing with the basics, and because words are the backbone and the heart of your blog.   Now it’s time to discuss how you can use those words to make a powerful impression.

One of things that makes writing compelling is the active voice. Using the active voice is attention-grabbing and usually results in clearer, more direct prose than the passive voice. You should use the active voice when you’re telling a story and you want to draw the reader in.  Here’s an example of each voice:

In a sentence written in the active voice, the subject acts:

The smart business blogger wrote an excellent post.

In a sentence written in the passive voice, the subject is acted upon:

The excellent post was written by the smart business blogger.

Although writing in the passive voice is not necessarily wrong or always a bad idea, using it all the time can lead to flat, uninteresting writing or awkward sentence construction.  The passive voice is a good call, however, when you’re writing about observations or research and you want to maintain objectivity- academic and scientific writing is typically done in the passive voice.  Also, sometimes it’s just the best way to convey your intended meaning (check out this article from Essay, I Say for more advice on when to go with the passive voice).

That said, there’s no denying the fact that the active voice is more compelling.  It’s clearer, more comprehensible, and less wordy, and when it comes to blogging, simplicity and brevity are key.  Don’t believe me? Take a look at some of your favorite bloggers – I’ll bet they use the active voice more often than not.

The ability to write well and communicate in a clear, precise manner are necessary skills for anyone who wishes to create a compelling blog. After all, email, blog posts, or other forms of written communication are essential to doing business and interacting on the web, so you need to make sure that your words stand out from the rest (in a good way).

The purpose of this series is help bloggers of all kinds make an impact with their words.  Quality writing is particularly important when you’re blogging to promote yourself or your business, because your blog is your introduction, your opening statement, and your business card, resume, and other credentials all rolled into one.

I’ll start with spelling grammar, and punctuation, because those are the building blocks of language, and therefore your blog. Some people argue that these things don’t matter at all because the web is an informal medium, but these people are wrong. Proper grammar and spelling are like clothing – yes, you can wear a ratty t-shirt and sweats everywhere, but you won’t get the respect you would in a nicely tailored jacket.  It’s a fact that people judge others by their appearances, and on the net, your words form a major part of your appearance. You wouldn’t wear a wrinkled shirt to an important meeting, would you? Edit and spell-check your posts, and if you’re unsure of something, look it up.

Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com are excellent starting points if you have spelling or usage questions (it’s also a good idea to look up your keywords in a thesaurus in order to find alternate terms and phrases searchers may use in their queries). Of course, if you are using more academic or technical terms, you’ll need to find a more niche-specific resource.  Also, don’t overlook the basics: try googling your grammar questions, or search the Grammar Rules: The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation (a very comprehensive site on English grammar, including an excellent blog).

Of course, blogging is more conversational than other forms of business communication, so you don’t necessarily need to obey the rules to the letter. Things like one sentence paragraphs, using “and” as the first word of a sentence or ending one with a preposition are all acceptable in the name of style.  However, it’s absolutely essential to know the rules before you can break them properly, and it’s just as necessary to be aware that there are few conventions that you just can’t disregard (correct usage of there, they’re, and their, for instance).  The Copyblogger has two excellent posts on grammar and spelling rules that you just can’t break without appearing stupid.

Yes, carefully proofreading your posts may take a little longer, but when you’re using your blog as a promotional tool, it’s worth it to make sure your message is being read clearly and correctly.  It’s also important to remember that we all make mistakes (hey, that’s what the “edit” button is for), but there is no excuse for sloppiness and lazy writing.  Your readers are your most valuable asset and they deserve the best blog you can possible create.

After all, only your reputation is at stake.