You have a great personality.
Your friends love you, your partner thinks you’re hilarious, and you were voted most charming in high school.
But when you sit down to blog, it can be quite a challenge to get that sparkling personality into words.
And it’s really important that you do, because when your blog oozes with personality, your readers will connect with you more, and you’ll be able to gather an audience and spread your message more quickly.
Here are 5 fun ways to get the awesome “offline you” into your blog.
1. Do a “personality inventory” on yourself
Have you ever seen something and immediately thought, “That is so [insert your best friend’s name]?”
That’s because you know him or her in and out.
The goal of a personality inventory is to have that same deep understanding of your own personality, so that you can translate that into your blog.
Here are some questions to get you started:
- Ask close friends the top 3 adjectives they would use to describe you
- Think about what you like to wear – are you a jeans and flip flops kind of person, or a perfectly ironed dress kind of person? Your clothing says a lot about who you are.
- List 5 quirks about your personality that make you different. (One of mine is my weird dog voice.)
- What are some words and phrases you tend to use a lot? Ask your friends and family, listen to yourself speak, and brainstorm a list of at least 5 things you love to say.
- What is your favorite food? Are you a coffee drinker or a tea drinker? It’s amazing how integral food is to our lives, and how much we can connect with others over a shared love of a certain dish.
- Where is your favorite place to hang out? A coffee shop? A bar? Outside in your backyard?
When you have a better understanding of your personality offline, you’ll be more prepared to bring that personality into your blog.
2. Be super specific
Being specific in your writing is SO important.
I’ve helped lots of new bloggers improve their writing, and that is almost always one of the first pieces of advice I give.
That’s because specificity makes things more vivid and concrete. And when you get specific, you really bring your readers into your world. Your writing goes from bland to bursting with awesomeness.
Consider these 2 sentences:
- Social media can be a real time-suck.
- Have you ever posted a selfie on Facebook, and then spent an hour refreshing the page a gazillion times to check for new likes?
Did you notice how much more relatable the second one was?
That’s because it was way more specific. We can all recall a time when we wasted a ton of time refreshing Facebook hoping for new likes (or at least I can).
3. Tell stories
By sharing stories, you help your readers relate to you.
Michael Margolis of GetStoried.com says something I love: That your readers really connect with you when they can see themselves in your story.
Weave stories into your blog posts. Use them to introduce your topics in an interesting way.
Pepper them throughout your posts to give concrete examples your readers can relate to. Add a story to your “About” page that gives your readers a glimpse of your journey.
Here are some storytelling pointers:
- The best stories have characters who experience change. Like in Harry Potter, when he went from being a sad orphan to a wizarding hero, that was pretty awesome, right? What kinds of transformations have you experienced that you can share with your readers?
- Share single moments of insight. Stories don’t have to span decades, or even weeks. Often the best stories happen within the space of a few moments.
- If you can capture moments of vulnerability and challenge in your life, do it. Being human is way more relatable than being perfect.
- Remember the previous point about being specific? It’s especially important in storytelling.
4. Go back through your posts and inject personality
If you’re used to dry, academic writing, it may be hard to start busting out posts that are brimming with personality right off the bat. That’s what second drafts are for.
After you’ve written a blog post, go back through it and read it out loud. That will help you find any boring or awkward parts. Delete boring or unnecessary parts, and fix up the awkward ones.
Then go back through again. This time, search for sentences that could use a little spicing up. If you come across a phrase or two that absolutely do not sound like you would say them to a friend, ask yourself, “How would I really say this?” Then rewrite the sentence in a more personal way.
Another great way to inject personality into your posts is to add a few little “asides.” Those are little quips in parentheses that make your readers feel like you’re letting them in on a joke.
They’re the equivalent of being at a dinner party and leaning over to the person next to you and saying something under your breath that isn’t intended for the whole table. (Don’t pretend you’ve never done that. I know you have.)
5. Use branded images in each blog post
A few months ago, I started using branded images in my blog, and it literally changed everything for me.
I got WAY more traffic with Pinterest and my whole blog started looking pretty freaking awesome. Not only that, but when people see one of my blog images, they know it’s mine so they can connect it with my writing.
Using branded images in your blog is a great way of creating a blog personality that goes beyond your own website and lives in the social media world, as well.
Choose photos that reflect your personality and your brand. For example, if you have a sarcastic sense of humor, look for ridiculous, quirky photos. If you are more down to earth, choose photos that are warm and friendly. Then add a headline with your unique fonts, pop in your logo, and you’re good to go.
So…let’s do a little recap, shall we?
To have a blog that sizzles with personality:
- Do a personality inventory.
- Be specific.
- Tell stories.
- Intentionally inject personality into your posts.
- Use branded images in each post.
Your unique personality is why your friends and family love you so much. When you learn to translate that personality into your blogging, your readers will fall in love with your blog as well.
