Tips for business bloggers - part 4

(continued from Tips for business bloggers - part 3)

Today, we reach the final part of the Tips for business bloggers series as part of Blog Every Day April.

7. Use plain English and a conversational style.

For blogging, I don't think any other sort of style could work. Here's me talking about the ride home from the air balloons light show I saw over the weekend:

I can't remember whose iPod was currently attached to the car kit, but Umbrella by Rihanna (no, I'm not leading-up to a Chris Brown joke) started playing. What was a quiet ride home turned into a car-wide sing-along that was enjoyed by all. Well, all except our newest travelling companion, Nele, who either had an aversion to Rihanna, R&B in general, or the idea that everyone else in the car was enjoying themselves. Either way, her dislike for the situation only added to the our enjoyment, and had us singing even louder.

Now here's me talking about the same thing in a manner similar to that found in an instructional manual:

1. someone's iPod was playing through the car stereo
2. Umbrella by Rihanna started playing
3. we all broke into song
4. except Nele who didn't like Umbrella
5. hilarity ensued

I'll have to admit the concise nature of the numbered bullet points has a certain appeal, but it's not really story-telling. When listing just the facts, an image of the situation doesn't really form in my mind.

That's not to say that an instructional style doesn't have its uses. Here's me adapting a conversational style from a point-by-point recipe for brownies:

I pre-heated the oven to 160C so that when the brownies go into it they'll start cooking. But that's not yet. First, I got one of my saucepans - a hand-me-down from my parents no less - and set that to the '2' setting, which I assume is the low heat setting, because the highest is 5. Gotta make sure it's a low heat, otherwise you might just cook the butter and dark chocolate which is next to go into the pan. I learned this lesson the hard way because I got a bit impatient with the speed at which the chocolate was melting... big mistake. I ended-up burning a little bit of the chocolate, and I did not feel good.

6 sentences into the actual recipe, and it's already got everything into the mixing bowl. 6 sentences into my story, and I'm ranting about how a pan that used to be my mothers' had burnt some dark chocolate.

"There's a time and place for everything" they say. Writing style is no exception.

8. Link to others and give them credit for ideas.

And on that note, I'd like to thank Melissa (the same Melissa who helped bring you my review of the McDonalds Seared Chicken Burger) for sending me the blogging tips e-mail which in turn gave me 4 days worth of blogging material.

Goodnight internets. I'll see you again tomorrow.