When you’re a professional copywriter, there are easy ways to tell the difference between a professionally written blog post and one written by an amateur. If you’re an up-and-coming freelance blog writer or trying to skimp on paying for content, here are some key differences between professionally written blog posts and those written by amateur writers.
Written in 2nd or 3rd Person
If you look closely at a post written by an amateur blog writer, you’ll notice that much of the content is written in first person or “I.” They’ll relate their personal observations and ideas to what they’re trying to say. While some professional blog writers may occasionally write in the first person, most of their posts are in second, “you,” or third, “they.” This is because they know that it’s more engaging for readers and professional to write in second or third person.
Lacks Personal Information
Professional blog writers know that readers don’t really care about their opinions and life stories that don’t relate to what readers need. Readers want facts supported by evidence. Consider these two statements below:
- As I watched the Super Bowl with my best friend Hal, I thought about the Doritos commercial on TV. I knew I wanted to get Doritos to eat because of the commercial. So I said to Hal, “Hey, do you want to run to Wal-Mart and get Doritos?”
- Doritos sales went up after the super bowl commercial.
The second statement says the same thing the first one does, without the information people don’t care about.
The Synonym Game
Some writers think great writing means using more complicated words. Therefore, they’ll use a thesaurus to find more complicated versions of words they want to use. However, professional writers know this makes for weaker writing. Sometimes, the words don’t even mean the same thing.
- The manager gave me a discount on the paint because the shade was slightly off.
- The official accorded me an allowance on the varnish because the shadow was lightly awry.
Most examples aren’t this obvious, of course, but it does highlight how professional blog writers differ in a pretty significant way. If you need a professional copywriter or blog writer, I’d be glad to help. Email me directly at [email protected].