When we use the passive voice, it means that our writing is often wordier and seems detached or aloof. The reader is required to put more effort into thinking about the sentence in order to correctly understand it. With passive voice, the reader doesn’t know who or what took the action until they get to the end of the sentence. It’s very different from how we usually talk or make sense of events. All of this means there’s a greater chance we’ll be misunderstood, and as writers or bloggers, that’s the last thing we want.

Active voice: clear and concise

On the other hand, the “active voice” is consistent and logical. Sentences written in the active voice are usually shorter and more assertive. They also require less brainpower to interpret, and although they might lack formality, they deliver clarity.

Yoast SEO (“the #1 WordPress SEO Plug-in”) recommends using the active voice for the majority of our blogging and only using the passive voice in 10% or less of our writing.

Having said this, I need to note that there are exceptions:

1. If the “actor” in the sentence is unknown or irrelevant, it’s OK (and makes more sense) to use the passive voice. When the actor and receiver are switched around, because the actor isn’t (or can’t) be identified, using the passive voice makes more sense for the reader.  
2. When you want to focus on the receiver, then it also makes sense  to use the passive voice.  This works when the object is more central to the subject then the actor. For example: “Joan d’Arc was burnt at the stake on May 30, 1431 by the English.” Passive voice works best here.

Summary

When you’ve finished your article or blog post, scan it for the passive voice. If you find it, see if there’s a better way to express that thought by using the active voice. If there is, change it. Your audience will appreciate it because readers typically prefer articles that provide useful, unique, and engaging information. Using the active voice will improve your writing, and it could boost your website’s search engine optimization (SEO) as well. Win-win for everybody.

Other articles you might like:

-6 Ways to Use Storytelling in Your Blog Posts

-Use a Thank You Page to Grow your Subscriber List or Customer Base

–Balancing Consumer Personalization with GDPR Regulation

Questions?

[email protected]

My Contact Page

About the author

I developed Image and Aspect because I believe that professionals need to have an impactful web presence. One that showcases their unique talents, skills, and abilities as well as their values and style. A presence that focuses on social engagement and connection.

I’m passionate about what I do; I like helping fellow humans, I like having all kinds of social connection with others, and I want to give back, to make the world a better place.

I do much of the designing and coding myself, and I also have a wonderful network of professionals that may contribute as well; photographers, copywriters, branding experts.

I love designing and coding beautiful, elegant and responsive web creations. I ALSO teach and help others who want to learn how to do it themselves.

‘Tips and Snips’ is my blog, and it’s full of information and inspiration to help transform any online persona from “meh” to AMAZING! Sign-up HERE to get blog posts right to your in-box every Friday! I write about Design, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Branding, Vlogging, Color Theory, HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, WordPress, Social Media…anything you’d want to know to get yourself noticed online.

Visit Image and Aspect to learn more about your web presence options

Diane M. Metcalf, M.S.

Your website is your brand’s personalization headquarters

The transition to GDPR compliance absolutely created more work for businesses. Now that we’ve done the hard part, let’s take a look at how using your visitor-data could help demonstrate your company’s concern for your audience.

You can test your ideas: With tools such as Certona and Optimizely, you can test different personalization strategies to see which is most effective. You’ll have the ability to change tactics quickly, which saves both time and money. You’ll be able to discover the best way to enrich the customer experience with your brand.

You can adjust your ideas for personalization in real time, almost as fast as visitors are interacting with your site.  You can easily and quickly go back to a previous version of your page if you find that the new strategy isn’t working. If you find that your strategy is working, you can go ahead and scale that across the whole site if you want. 

Three ways to use data for personalization:

1. Identify repeat visitors: If you sell products or register your users, you can use the collected data to greet them or direct them to more relevant content on your site. 
2. Improve customer retention: When customer retention is the most important thing, consider how you talk to your customers. Try highlighting their purchases, preferences, or their status. Consumers who register on your site usually assume you’re tracking their data, so try to discover ways to make it beneficial for them.
3. Identify new visitors: Even if you don’t know the specific names of the people using your site, you can still personalize their experience by using their IP addresses. (The IP address is a location’s digital address. It changes depending on what network the visitor used at the time they visited your site). You could use the collected data to make observations about your customer’s language preferences, the time of day they visited,  and other metrics. You’ll make your new visitors feel special because you recognize them when they return.

Using personalization to achieve your business goals

Look at your click-through rates, conversion rates, scroll and exit rates, time spent on the site, bounce rates and other important metrics to see if you’re improving overall site engagement.

Then take a look at your Return On Investment. Was the investment worth it? Did your numbers change at all?  Or did personalization have a negative impact on those important performance indicators? Evaluate these questions according to your goals and adjust your strategy to align with them.

Other articles you might like:

-6 Ways to Use Storytelling in Your Blog Posts

-Use a Thank You Page to Grow your Subscriber List or Customer Base

-Using images: Tips to improve your SEO rankings

Questions?

[email protected]

My Contact Page

About the author

I developed Image and Aspect because I believe that professionals need to have an impactful web presence. One that showcases their unique talents, skills, and abilities as well as their values and style. A presence that focuses on social engagement and connection.

I’m passionate about what I do; I like helping fellow humans, I like having all kinds of social connection with others, and I want to give back, to make the world a better place.

I do much of the designing and coding myself, and I also have a wonderful network of professionals that may contribute as well; photographers, copywriters, branding experts.

I love designing and coding beautiful, elegant and responsive web creations. I ALSO teach and help others who want to learn how to do it themselves.

‘Tips and Snips’ is my blog, and it’s full of information and inspiration to help transform any online persona from “meh” to AMAZING! Sign-up HERE to get blog posts right to your in-box every Friday! I write about Design, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Branding, Vlogging, Color Theory, HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, WordPress, Social Media…anything you’d want to know to get yourself noticed online.

Visit Image and Aspect to learn more about your web presence options

Diane M. Metcalf, M.S.

1. Tell a story to give an example

For a quick way to get a feel for storytelling, try telling a short anecdotal story in place of an example. Short, entertaining anecdotes can absolutely make a blog post more fun to read, and they help create a feeling of connection between blogger and reader. 

2. Get inspiration from your personal experiences 

Generating ideas for stories doesn’t have to be difficult. Use your own personal experiences for inspiration. A laugh with a co-worker, a funny thing your cat did, something that happened during yoga class; these are your stories! 

The stories I use in my own posts come from my own life experiences. Stories are everywhere.

3. Align your story with your post

Every story has a message, usually it’s something you want people to take away from that specific story. Your story’s message should align with and support your blog post’s message.  

I did that above, in the story about Diane (me). I used that story to show how storytelling can be used in blog posts, which is what this particular post is all about. 

4. Use the elements of storytelling

A good story requires 4 elements: a character, a problem, an action, and a solution. 

-The story needs a character. In my story that’s Diane. 

-The character should have a problem: for example, the character is aspiring to become something, or to overcome an obstacle. 

-The story requires the character to take an action to overcome the obstacle or to solve the problem. 

-The story needs a solution which is actually the message you want the reader to understand. The message is the take-away of the story. 

5. Make it relatable

Stories are powerful if the reader can emotionally relate to the main character. Make your character relatable so your readers naturally understand your message. 

6. Use images or color 

Adding an illustration or graphic to your story will make it easier to identify with. It can make your message clearer and easier to grasp. Colors help convey emotion, so using blue can help to convey trust, orange conveys creativity, green is calming, yellow is happy. 

Questions? 

[email protected]

My Contact Page

Other articles you might like:

-How Your Personal Brand Makes the Difference–

-Use a Thank You Page to Grow your Subscriber List or Customer Base

-Using images: Tips to improve your SEO rankings

About the author

I developed Image and Aspect because I believe that professionals need to have an impactful web presence. One that showcases their unique talents, skills, and abilities as well as their values and style. A presence that focuses on social engagement and connection.

I’m passionate about what I do; I like helping fellow humans, I like having all kinds of social connection with others, and I want to give back, to make the world a better place.

I do much of the designing and coding myself, and I also have a wonderful network of professionals that may contribute as well; photographers, copywriters, branding experts.

I love designing and coding beautiful, elegant and responsive web creations. I ALSO teach and help others who want to learn how to do it themselves.

‘Tips and Snips’ is my blog, and it’s full of information and inspiration to help transform any online persona from “meh” to AMAZING! Sign-up HERE to get blog posts right to your in-box every Friday! I write about Design, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Branding, Vlogging, Color Theory, HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, WordPress, Social Media…anything you’d want to know to get yourself noticed online.

Visit Image and Aspect to learn more about your web presence options

Diane M. Metcalf, M.S.