While there are blogs that are primarily photos and videos, for most markets, you need to have written content on your blog to be successful. Blog posts are, of course, a form of writing, but not all bloggers have to be freelance writers - or any kind of writers at all, for that matter.

I’ll stand on a soapbox any day and tell you that in order to be a successful freelance writer, you need to have both talent and skill. There’s a common misconception that anyone can be a freelance writer, but this isn’t an easy work-from-home scheme. You have to know what you’re doing to be successful.

Writing for your own blog? That’s an entirely different matter.

You can start a blog specifically for journaling or personal purposes, but for most, starting a blog is about making money. I blog about techniques to do this on the official BlogWorld blog, but suffice to say that it isn’t as easy as posting a bunch of articles and watching the money roll in. A monetized (i.e. non-hobby) blog is a business, and writing is just one component of that business.

Yes, you do have to do some writing. You really can’t get around that. But if you aren’t the strongest writer in the world, you can still have a great blog if you wow with your ideas. This doesn’t have to be prize-winning writing. It’s the content that matters. What you say is more important than how you say it.

Your posts do have to be readable, though. If you aren’t the strongest writer, follow some of these tips:

• Outline your post before you begin. Paragraph one should tell the reader what you’re going to write about, then have a few paragraphs that support whatever argument you’re making, and close the post with a summery of your point of view and a call to action (such as encouraging the reader to leave a comment). You can vary from this format, but for those who have trouble writing, it is a good, basic way to organize your thoughts.
• Write like you speak. If that’s too hard for you to do in your head, make a recording of you saying what you want to say in your blog post, then transcribe it. Clean up your transcription a little so it makes more sense as a written post, and you’re good to go. Over time, it will become easier to do in your head.
• Use bulleted lists. Lists, like this one, give you an easier way to organize your thoughts without having to worry that the paragraphs don’t flow well from one to the next. You can also use numbered lists or headings if that works better for the post you’re writing.

Keep in mind that writing blog posts does get easier with practice. If you have good ideas, you can have a good blog, regardless of how many times you’ve failed out of English class in college or high school. A blogger has to write, but he/she does not have to be a writer.