Let's face it, not many of us are actually gifted writers. Most bloggers aren't going to win a Pulitzer prize for their writing. And yet, there are millions of bloggers out there. And many of them are actually successful with their blogs. So, if they can succeed at it, why can't you?

I want to take a minute to digress and tell you a little bit about my blogging journey. This is my 75th blog post. I started writing my blog in January 2013,  literally 5 months ago. In that time I have written 75 blog posts! This is crazy to me! I've never described myself as a writer. I did fine in school when it came to writing assignments but I never excelled and was far from one of the best in my class. One of my really good friends, however, she was a very talented writer. And being the perfectionist that I am, I always compared myself to people like her. They were so talented and wrote so eloquently. So, if I couldn't compare to them, then I just wasn't meant to write. And that was ok with me. I never had the desire to write a novel or write for a magazine or anything like that.

But then, for some crazy reason, I decided to start a blog. I had no idea what to expect and really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had read a few blogs over the years but nothing with great regularity. Being the creative, design oriented person that I am, I knew exactly what I wanted my blog to look like. That was the easy part for me. But the writing, that was the hurdle to overcome. How was I going to connect with readers? Who would be interested in reading my posts? Would people actually come back again? What was I going to write about when I ran out of ideas?

To be honest, I got cold feet after a few blog posts. That perfectionist in me reared its ugly head and made me question if I could really do this well enough. Two things happened: one, I silenced my inner perfectionist, and; two, I actually had people reading my blogs and connecting with me. Even though my writing wasn't perfect (although I think I tried too hard to make it perfect), I was "succeeding", even if it was in a very small manner.

So, after five months, am I a seasoned blogger with all the answers? Of course not, but I've learned a lot and I'm enjoying every day and every post. And here's what I've learned from my experience and from reading hundreds of blogs every week: you don't need to be a great writer to be a successful blogger.

Being a great writer in the traditional sense is antiquated and irrelevant for blogging. People don't want to read long-winded, never-ending sentences. They don't want to feel like they need a PhD to understand your elaborate grammar and complicated paragraphs. Think about what you like to read. Chances are you enjoy simple, easy reads, that you can relate to. Right? So, write your blog that way!

It doesn't matter what your topic or your niche is. Write for the general population of your peers. Keep it simple and easy to read. Keep your sentences short - one thought per sentence. And another great tip, write the way you talk! Keep your personality in your writing - this is what makes you unique! Making people feel comfortable and relaxed when they're reading will keep them coming back for more.

Just because you write "simply" doesn't mean you're writing in an uneducated manner. Some of the best blogs I read are extremely technical and cover some very complex material. But I don't want my brain to hurt reading overly technical jargon! Reading someone's explanation in plain English, is one of the best things! And think about it like this as well, as Albert Einstein said, “If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough”. Think about some of the most complicated career fields: doctors, engineers, tax auditors, etc. These people spend their lives learning complicated concepts and reading technical novels. I can promise you that they, just like the rest of us, enjoy an "easy" read even more than a scientific journal dissertation.

So stop judging your writing abilities and start writing. Imagine you're sitting down talking to a co-worker or friend. Start typing as the thoughts come into your mind's conversation. Before you know it, you'll have a number of paragraphs strung together.

If you're worried about your grammar skills or writing style, write your post in Word (or other similar software) and run a spelling and grammatical check when you're done. Make your edits and do a quick review. Read your post out loud - yes, out loud. Hearing it will make you realize if something doesn't flow properly. Make those necessary edits to correct the flow. Then, come back to the post 24 hours later and re-read it. Make any additional changes to make it flow better or correct anything that stands out now. Run another grammar and spell check. Then, hand your post over to someone else to review. Once you've completed these steps, you're ready to go live. Post it, share it, and start working on your next post. The more posts you get behind you, the easier it will be to write the next ones.

If you don't consider yourself to be a writer, don't over complicate the situation. Make it easy for yourself. Write about what you know, what you're comfortable with. Write like you're talking to someone over lunch. Keep it conversational and easy to read.

Following this process will get you off to a quick start. You may evolve your writing style over time but you can't evolve if you don't start!

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