The 1 Thing Every Blog and Website Needs (Plus 2 Websites That Get it Right)
I’ll give it away right at the beginning. There’s no need to scroll down to find out what the one thing is that every blog and website needs.
The one thing that every blog and website needs is authenticity.
Whether you have a standalone blog, an e-commerce website, or a website with a blog embedded inside of it your content needs to be authentic.
It doesn’t matter if your blog or website is about providing services to corporations, family matters, or fashion and entertainment the same thing applies. Authenticity matters.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word authentic as “true to one's own personality, spirit, or character. Sincere and authentic with no pretensions.”
When it comes to websites and blogs authenticity looks like:
1. Vulnerability
The ability to allow people to catch glimpses of who you are, to learn about the very personal things that motivate you or the things you struggle with or have overcome is powerful. It makes you appear more human and builds a bridge from you to the visitors to your blog or website.
Revealing all of your deep, dark secrets isn’t necessary to be vulnerable. Something as simple as sharing why you’ve created your website or blog or a little bit about why you’ve chosen a certain path in life may be all it takes to connect on a deeper level. Businesses can show vulnerability by prominently displaying their mission statement or publicly connecting with a worthwhile cause.
Vulnerability in Action
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| Brandi Riley, Creator, Mama Knows it All.com |
Mama Knows it All, a blog about family, health, and parenthood does vulnerability the right way. In it, the blog’s creator, Brandi Riley, chronicles her experiences with motherhood, her personal health, being a wife and other personal issues openly in heartfelt posts that share her perspective on her experiences with her readers. Read a post or two to see vulnerability in action.
2. Tone
How your content sounds when it’s read (or in the case of video, when it’s viewed) often tells others a little about who you are, where you’re from and what you’re into. Tone can change from person to person depending on a number of factors including age, gender, place of birth, or specific interests and a host of other reasons. You can choose to be edgy, funny, conversational, and educational or you can combine them to reflect your unique personality.
With that said, businesses have to be a little bit more careful when it comes to tone. When the goal is to get more clients or make sales, it’s better to use a tone that won’t potentially alienate or offend. Businesses can show their authenticity by mixing humor or quirkiness with a professional or educational tone to show customers they’re different from their competitors yet still qualified to do the job.
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| Marie Forleo |
Tone in Action
Marie Forleo is part life coach and part businesswoman. Her natural and authentic way of teaching techniques for building a successful business set her apart from the crowd.
Marie’s tone is a mix of trendy and hip-hop slang and the language of self-help gurus and of the world’s top entrepreneurs. The result of her commitment to being true to her natural way of communicating is unique content that has a sound and feel of its own.
Never underestimate the power of your unique voice and point of view. What you have to say and how you say it has the power to transform the lives of the people who read your website or blog. I know it sounds dramatic, but it’s true.
Cookie-cutter websites and blogs that create the same types of content and use identical formats and the same tone are boring to read and quickly fade from memory. Memorable blogs and websites are the ones that not only answer important questions, teach us something new or entertain us but also have the number one thing that makes any blog or website stand out from the crowd – authenticity.
Author: Chanel Polk
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