When I first decided to become a freelance writer, I did a bit of brainstorming. These mini-sessions were usually in my car before I went in to work, or during my breaks. I would scribble down notes about my business plan, subject ideas, or even the occasional first draft.

I recently found one of my sheets of paper that had my chicken-scrawling on it. (Yes, I have rather poor handwriting, unless I take my time to make it legible.) On it, were three simple words:

• Powerful
• Relevant
• Inspiring

What came to me in a flash one night on my break, were the keys to better blogging (and, of course, writing in general).

1. Every word should be powerful. Don’t dance around a subject, especially if it is a sensitive or volatile one. Use the proper words for the situation. Many adverbs can be stripped away. “I think” and “in my humble opinion” are usually not needed.
2. Every word should be relevant. Write only what your audience needs to know. If you have a fine article about the daily lives of 13th century monks that no one wants to read, then you will not have success. Keep your articles on target, and you will gain readers to appreciate your work.
3. Every word should be inspiring. This is the key that separates good writing from great. If your reader gets to the end of your article and says, “Oh, that’s nice,” then you have not made an impression. The desired response is, “Wow! I should go do what the author said!” Even without a direct call-to-action, your words should give your readers the tools to do something for themselves.

With these simple principles in mind, your blogging will improve. You may not be able to do them all to the same degree all the time. That’s okay. As long as these are your goals, you will not be disappointed.