5 tips on how to find your voice
Image by Anastasia Gisina on vecteezy.com
Have you already thought about why we speak differently with different people? You would never talk the same and use the same language to your teenage daughter and your boss, or grandpa. We do it intuitively without any doubts. We use different language, tone and voice. The voice can be described as a style of speech. When we think about how to find the style of speech in texts, we are not talking about the fact that we need to strive to be on the level of the classics or copy other bloggers. We’re talking about finding your own author’s voice. Readers are often attracted by the author’s position.
1. Theme and idea
It is not a secret that every post has to be written with an idea. Keep your storytelling about only one topic. Be consistent and logical. Do not jump from one topic to another. Your audience can be confused about your ideas and can lose trust in your blog. The topic should depend on the tasks you set for your blog. If you are currently building a reputation, you can write more professional posts to create an image of an expert in the eyes of readers. If your goal is to attract attention and gather more people around you, posts can be provocative, aimed at heated discussions and collecting comments. This could also be a goal.
2. Storytelling
When we talk about how to find a style of speech in a text, of course, we have to mention the plot. It may seem that social media posts are not enough to create stories, but this is not the truth. Even in the size of one post, you can weave a storyline. If you write about rapid growth, success, and achievements, your texts will probably feature “Rags to Riches” story. If introspection, systematic movement, and small steps are your thing, most likely you will choose the “Siege of a Fortress” story telling us about how you gradually dealt with a problem.
3. Details
Blogs are based on values that are broadcast to the world. Part of the space can represent anything: an interior, a landscape, the appearance of the characters, feelings and thoughts. The details help the readers to build an image in their minds. They make your text alive and trustworthy. For example, if you are talking about business success, describe the start point, the obstacles you met, your feelings, and the result for sure. The details provided involve your audience and hold their focus.
4. Define your audience
Of course, you will not use the same language for teenagers and mature adults. You need to do research to define your audience. If you are writing for young people, your text would be short, and full of slang and memes. Teens and young adults love entertainment and the feeling of chatting with a friend. For adults above thirty, you should be more authoritative and persuasive using approved facts, links and famous people’s opinions. Creating personas would be extremely useful to define your audience and choose your voice. Create three personas: primary, secondary and tertiary. Describe these imaginative people. Think about their lifestyle, goals, needs, and preferences. What type of content could attract them? How will you communicate with them?
5. Language
Linguistic means are most often what is associated with style in texts. These are phrases, metaphors, refrains – whatever you use to strengthen your words. In the same description, you can add a few more important points. Even slang is a style of language. But please be careful with it. Keep in mind that if your audience does not understand you, they can leave you. Another example is one of the conditions of style in texts distance from readers. Do you communicate in a detached manner, on “you” and are you ready to immediately move on to a personal conversation, to a closer acquaintance? In what position are you in relation to the reader: do you find news from above or discuss terms as partners? Do you use quotes or humor?
As you can see, the author’s style arises not only from metaphors or epithets. And first of all – not one of them. And in order to form your own style, it is important, before everything starts from the task, to understand what do you want to say and whom? Additionally, don’t be afraid to experiment, read other authors and look for your own sound, which is what people will eventually come to your blog for.
What other tips for building your voice do you have? Let’s share in the comments.
A few useful links for you:
Writing for Social Media in 2024: Tips and Tools
Writing for Social Media: Top Tips and Tools
Starting a blog? Not sure how to speak to your audience? Learn 5 tips on how to find your voice on this blog: bit.ly/5tips-blogging #socialmedia #voice #blogging 5 tips-blogging
Dream to be a famous blogger? Have something to share with the world? Ready to start but not sure if readers would like you? You need to develop your VOICE. Read here 5 tips on how to find your written style.
Algonquin College Social Media Certificate Program 
An interesting read and certainly worthwhile as I consider my blog. I was getting a little lost in where you were going until I read your final paragraph: “…to understand what do you want to say and whom?” This seems to be really good advise. additionally I agree you can’t be afraid to jump outside your self-imposed plan to try new things.
I agree, interesting read and timely as I just posted my first blog. I did find it hard finding my voice and wondering if anyone actually cares to read about my thoughts and stories. I couldn’t agree more with the importance of consistency and authenticity in crafting compelling content. But I’m curious, what other strategies have you found effective in developing your unique voice?
I agree, and reading this after posting my first blog I definitely am having writer’s remorse haha! I found it super hard to articulate my thoughts on a topic that wasn’t personalized to me, but after reading this I think I understand a little bit more the point of these posts and how to go about doing them. Are there any tips you specifically have found have helped your writing voice?
Good points! I find that keeping a balance between sounding too formal and too casual is not always an easy task when writing for a blog. It helps when you define the intended purpose of your blog and its posts. Is it to educate others and offer helpful tips? Is it to entertain others with jokes and funny stories? Is it to share your personal stories and insights about a hobby? Or is it to write down your random thoughts about everything and nothing in particular? I think you found the right balance and your voice in your educational post. I am curious, what made you write about this particular subject?
This is a really great breakdown finding our voice in the digital age! It was super informative and covered lots of important details. I particularly agree with the importance of finding and appealing to a target audience and thinking about their lifestyle and preferences. This would show to be very effective at getting a point across! I like your point about not being afraid to experiment- this is often the best way to get information!