Unfortunately for you and your readers, writing mistakes are like speed bumps on the blog post open highway. They slow down the reader and remove her from your world—the created reality that you share through your text.

Since you only have a few seconds to impress new readers, it’s critical to make all facets of your content flawless. If your writing confuses readers or hinders their experience because of a glaring error, you’ve failed.

Here are 21 common writing mistakes that turn off new readers. Eliminate them to demonstrate that you are an authority on your subject and get new subscribers.

1. You have no proverbial welcome mat

2. Your posts look like Wikipedia articles

3. You don’t answer “W? W? W? W? W? H?”

4. Your posts don’t include images

5. Your paragraphs break the four-line rule

6. Your headlines break the goldilocks rule

7. Each post does not have a byline

8. You use too many incomplete sentences

9. Your posts include obvious factual blunders

10. You make “actual word” typos

11. You use incorrect or excessive punctuation

12. Your blog has inconsistencies

13. You use vague words

14. You confuse plurals and possessives

15. You include too many links in posts

16. You misuse double and single quotation marks

17. You smother direct quotes

18. You make word choice errors

19. You use too many bold, italicized, and upper-case letters

20. Your blog’s font is too small, big, or fancy

21. You publish first-draft copy Read more at www.problogger.net

Think the press release is dead in the age of social media?

No way. A powerful press release can tell a story, report news, or help a cause. Smart online writers know that a great press release can take your message to new channels and reach thousands or even millions of new readers. And a terrific press release has great SEO benefits as well.

Writing a press release takes time, research and some skill. And writing a killer press release, which catapults visibility of the message and drives results, requires adding a few more ingredients to the mix.

1. Craft a hook

To find your hook, spend time before you start writing your release researching the press releases and blog posts of industry competitors, gathering information about which releases and posts have received significant coverage. Use these successes as a guideline for your own release, with an eye toward what types of content your audience is reacting to and/or sharing.

2. Add a great headline

You only have a few seconds to grab a reader’s attention, so be sure to craft a headline with the following elements:

3. Avoid jargon

When writing killer press releases remember to minimize technical or industry jargon. Although relevant for certain professionals or groups, jargon may confuse your audience and turn them off to your message. To engage new readers who may not be as skilled in industry language, write for a broader audience and increase the likelihood the content is shared. Keep it simple, and don’t be afraid to offer explanatory resources if some industry or brand-specific names or words are needed.

4. Provide resources

We don’t live in a one-dimensional world, and your press release shouldn’t look one-dimensional either. Provide added value to your killer press release by including photos, videos, links to source material and any other in-depth resources, giving your readers the assets they need to fully report the news you’re providing them.

5. Proofread

Errors in grammar and spelling can kill your credibility and take away from your overall message.

6. Share your news

A good news release distribution service will syndicate your news on relevant publisher sites, and it will also attract readers through search (be sure to be strategic about keywords, as with any other kind of content marketing). Read more at www.copyblogger.com

Writing good content for a blog is only half of the equation: promoting your blog to drive traffic is the other half.

Previously we offered five reasons to promote your blog with press releases as part of an overall content marketing strategy. This post provides a few tips on how to write a press release for maximum media exposure. Read more at www.problogger.net