What It Takes to Write GREAT Recruiting Blogs
So, you are a coach who has been seeing your competition break out and start a blog...
You've heard it can give you a unique tie-in with your fans and alumni (true), and also is a great way to tell your team's story to your recruits (also true). Now, the big question: How do you write a really great blog?
That's been a question we've been getting lately. A lot of our TRS clients have started a blog as they start the new recruiting season, which is great because nothing helps tell a great story like blogs with video, pictures and a personal story.
So, to help kick-off the new year of writing and blogging, I wanted to pass along a few writing tips specifically for writing blog posts. Keep these writing rules in mind the next time you sit down to pound out your next entry into the blogosphere:
- Don't fall in love with your own writing. We all enjoy reading what we have written. Your audience, however, might not be as smitten with your writing as you are. So, don't be afraid to edit ruthlessly and cut what isn't needed to be effective and interesting in your blog post.
- Your blog post should have one central point. Stick to it. That means all of your supporting points, funny stories and the rest of the content in your blog post needs to be tied-in to your central point. Each of your blog posts should have one theme. Have more than just one theme to talk about? Great! Write a separate blog post about that topic.
- Trim the fat right from the start. Next time you write a blog post aimed at this year's class of recruits, go back and look at the first paragraph. Now, cut it out. Eliminate it. Chances are, you just cut off some unneeded fluff and opened the blog post with a more interesting sentence.
- When it comes to language, keep it simple. Don't use words that are meant to impress. Instead, keep your language simple and to the point. And once you've made your point, stop writing.
- Don't make your exaggerations lazy. Here's what I mean: Don't write something like, "Our last game had an incredibly heart-stopping ending!" Don't exaggerate, Coach. And whatever you do, don't exaggerate to the poisnt where you are no longer believable in the eyes of your recruit. Sometimes, your quest to write an exciting blog post can decend into a mess of wordy paragraphs that confuse (and maybe even bore) your reader.
- Is there a shorter, more effective word? Find it and use it. Instead of "an incredibly close game", consider saying it was "a nail-biter". Something like that is shorter, and it might cause a little intrigue that will make your reader stick with you until you get to the good stuff.
- Save the scraps. Looking for your next blog post? It may be left in the edit heap after making all of these strategic cuts that we have outlined here in the article. Find a new blog post in the discarded remains of your old blog posts.
Coach, writing blogs is easy. If you can type a Word document, you can write a blog post.
And, as many college recruiters are finding, blogs can help strip away a few layers and let prospects really get to know you. The result? More recruits engaged in your story and your program.
When you go to write your next blog post (or your first one), keep these important tips in mind to make sure what you write is...right!
Looking for more new techniques to become more persuasive recruiter? Bring Dan Tudor to your campus to teach a day-long session on the most effective, most proven recruiting techniques. We work with entire athletic departments, or individual sports. Email Dan Tudor at dan@sellingforcoaches.com for the details.