6 Reasons Good Writers May Not Be Good Bloggers [+ Key Skills]

Table of Contents

• What is Blogging?
• Blogging Vs. Writing
• Tips to Become a Better Blogger

Let’s be clear on one thing: blogging is an art. If someone is a good writer, it does not mean that they will also be a good blogger. The skills required for blogging can be quite different from those needed for writing. Why? 

Blogging requires understanding things from a technical viewpoint, too. You cannot just know how to write and be a successful blogger. It requires an understanding of how algorithms work, what keywords are, how to rank better on search engines such as Google or Bing, how to strategically distribute keywords, how many keywords are too many, etc. 

This art requires more than just writing. It requires a drive and willingness to learn more and be adept at absorbing things on the go. It requires you to spend more time working on the backend of your blog, trying to make it rank. 

In this blog, we explore why good writers may not necessarily be good bloggers and what steps they must take to become good at blog writing. 

What is Blog Writing?

Blogging was born out of the internet. It stemmed from the idea that everyone wanted to write about something. Scientists who only published in journals could now write on websites and share their knowledge. Laypeople could learn something new and write about it on various websites. 

Source

Blogging gave birth to a new age of writing, an age of creating content. Today, bloggers make a lot of money by hacking the writing algorithm and knowing how to advertise well. Blog writing is powerful; it’s an effective way to earn money from the comfort of your home. 

Some characteristics of a blog include posts displayed in chronological order, the addition of keywords, a parent theme to maintain a community for the blog, a comments section where people interact with each other, etc. 

According to research, there are approximately 600 million blogs on the internet. That’s an incredible number! But how many of these blogs are successful? Well, not many. Most good writers think they can be good bloggers but do not turn out to be so. Let’s look at the six reasons why most good writers fail as bloggers: 

Blogging Vs. Writing

There are many reasons why all good writers can’t be good bloggers. Let’s look at them one by one. 

1. Consistent publishing

Writers may or may not have a regular writing schedule. They often rely on inspiration or brief periods in a day when they can write. This is different from blogging, which requires a consistent posting schedule. 

Source

You can be a mediocre writer and still be a successful blogger if you post regularly and know how to interact with your audience. Posting blog posts with a schedule can bump your website up in search results on different search engines. This helps your blog posts rank better, and you receive more traffic to your blog. In blogging, consistency is vital.

2. Time management

Being a blogger means being an excellent multitasker, which good writers might not be. Apart from just writing content from scratch, bloggers need to maintain their websites, look for topics that can be ranked through keywords, revise their older posts, look at off-page SEO, book partnerships for direct deals or advertisements, etc.

A blogger should be a mastermind in planning because they have to plan everything well. They need to follow a regular schedule, and they cannot afford to miss out on anything, as by doing so, their cycle might get disturbed, and they might have to start all over again. 

3. Additional skills

These days, merely writing content is not enough for blogging. You need to incorporate a lot of visual elements into the blog as well. And if you are not earning enough money, you cannot afford to outsource such tasks to a specialist. This is why bloggers must learn everything from creating infographics to shooting images/videos and editing them. 

Apart from just writing content, bloggers spend time learning these additional skills. This is why blogging is tougher than writing. 

4. SEO knowledge

It is easy to get demotivated if you’re writing online and your posts are not receiving enough traffic. And when you see it working for other people even though they might not be great writers, it can hurt even more. So what separates their efforts from yours? 

Source

The answer to that question is search engine optimization, also commonly called SEO. This technique helps blog posts rank better on Google and other search engines. One way to achieve this is through a series of keywords and key phrases strategically placed within the blog content. 

SEO works because users ask questions in a manner that is well-read by search engines. Keywords are a part of those search queries, which bloggers capitalize on by trying to construct a blog post around them. 

5. Networking

Another important aspect of blogging that differentiates it from simply writing is networking. This is also a significant part of off-page SEO, which requires connecting with other bloggers for backlinking. It requires an extroverted approach, which writers might lack. 

Source

It is significant for bloggers to build a strong network, which they can leverage to increase their popularity and grow their brand. This requires regular efforts such as commenting on blog posts written by different bloggers, emailing bloggers for backlinking, building friendships, going to blog-related events, etc. 

6. Sticking to a theme

Writers do not generally stick to a particular topic—most of their work is based on the projects and briefs they get. But a blogger has to be consistent while sticking to a theme no matter their mood or likelihood of completing a project. If a blog has to be written, it has to be written. 

Bloggers cannot afford to write about anything other than their parent theme. Otherwise, they will end up distracting their community. For example, if you blog about baking, you can’t really move away from that genre. You can potentially also talk about cooking, but not something so removed like furniture or sewing. 

Tips to Become a Blogger

At this point, you might think that becoming a good blogger is next to impossible. But nothing can be farther from the truth. There are many ways in which you can easily become a blogger. 

Source

It requires three main things: the willingness to commit long hours, constantly upgrading your skills, and being more extroverted in your everyday approach. Here are three essential blogging skills that you need to develop to be a good blogger. 

1. Build SEO knowledge

It is crucial SEO to be second nature to you to be a good blogger. You cannot expect to grow your blog if you don’t know how to optimize content for keywords and use traffic analytics. Ranking on search engines, especially Google, is a game of numbers that you will need to learn. 

Many online SEO courses can help you learn everything there is to know about SEO. But after that, practical knowledge will be your best friend. Subscribing to an SEO tool such as Ahrefs, Ubersuggest, and SEMrush will prove crucial in becoming a successful blogger. 

Secondly, you must know how to use Google Analytics, which will provide you with great insight into how your blog is performing. Learn how to read those analytics and try to see which keywords and web pages prove the best for you. You will also get information about the best-performing geographies, which you can leverage later. 

2. Learn how to manage your time

If you wish to be a good blogger, you must start practicing your time management skills right away. Work within strict deadlines. Plan better, create a content calendar that you will need to religiously follow, set aside time for networking with other bloggers, meet with advertisers, etc. 

This is not easy, and you must manage your time better and stick to your schedule. Blogging will require passion and commitment, which you must be ready to give at all times. 

3. Go beyond writing

As a blogger who writes consistently, you will be required to present your content much more interactively. Apart from content writing skills, you will need to build additional skills for creating infographics from scratch, designing charts, graphs, tables, etc. You will need to learn how to present data better.

Furthermore, you may even have to learn how to create videos to get more traffic to your blog. This will require more technical knowledge than you estimated (and long hours). Tools such as Canva make life easier, but you will need to go the extra mile to create great content that is original and unique. 

Summing Up

Not all good writers can be good bloggers, but all good bloggers can definitely be writers if they are grammatically sound. Blogging is more than just a skill, it is a art that requires going beyond the traditional writing rules. Some of the skills required for blogging include planning, managing time better, networking, being punctual, etc. 

So if you want to seriously take up blogging and earn from it, ensure you hone the skills we have mentioned above. 

Key Takeaways

• Blogging requires a drive and a willingness to learn more and be adept at absorbing things on the go.
• Blogging was born out of the idea that everyone wanted to write about something.
• Some blog characteristics include posts displayed in chronological order, the addition of keywords, a parent theme to maintain a community, etc. 
• Blogging requires regular publishing, time management, learning additional skills, SEO knowledge, networking, and sticking to a single theme.
• You will need to plan better, create a content calendar that you will be required to follow constantly, set aside time for networking with other professionals, etc., once you choose to pursue blogging.

FAQs