Blogging is an integral part of any content marketing strategy. Do you want to ensure you're creating an impactful blog post every time you sit down at your computer? Whether you're new to blogging or you're looking for ways to improve your writing and increase your readership, following these 9 tips will help you create great blog posts time and time again.
1. Create a Compelling Blog Title
Since the headline is what people will read first to decide if they're interested in checking out your entire post, the headline should pop. People won't read on if the title doesn't instantly pique their curiosity, or seem to help them with a problem. Some proven headline best practices include:
- Numbered Lists. They are a popular go-to for blog titles because theyre quick to read and write. Example: 5 Keys to Link Building Success
- Asking Your Readers a Question. Questions are an effective and quick way to arouse curiosity. Example: Do You Know Why Back Links Are Crucial for SEO Success?
- How To. Help your reader do something better, faster or in easy steps. Example: How to Use PR to Generate Leads.
2. Create Quality Content
Don't just post a blog for the sake of posting a blog. Mediocre posts won't get you anywhere so make sure that the content is your blog is interesting and informative. People won't come back if they don't feel like they've learning anything new or helpful.
3. Incorporate Interesting Images
The notion that a picture is worth a thousand words, is truer today than ever. Thanks to photo-based social sharing platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, we've become a photo sharing obsessed culture. Incorporating interesting images into your blog post will definitely help to reel in your readers, but make sure whatever image you choose matches the content so that its most effective. Using memorable images can also help extend the reach of your post as they can increase your chances of being picked up on social media, especially on platforms like Pinterest.
4. Break Up Content with Bullets
Nobody is coming to your blog to read a novel. Most readers are lazy and theyd prefer to scan than fully read a page. Using bulleted or numbered lists is a great way to break up your blog content. Examples include:
- 10 Best Ways to XXX
- 5 Simple Tips to Improve XXX
- 15 Great Free Apps for XXX
5. Bold Important Thoughts to Stand Out
Bolding important thoughts is another great way to break up your text, but also acts as a quick way to connect with your readers. We know that people are scanning the page, so if there's something that you know will get them engaged, make that stand out to them.
6. Spelling and Grammar
This is a given. If you have a computer with which you are blogging, then you have SPELL CHECK. Use it. Every time you write a post. Once you finish writing take a beat, step away and come back. Now re-read your blog post out loud to make sure if flows and is grammatically correct. You should have there vs. their and you're vs. your down pat. If you want people to take the time to read what you post, you should take the time to ensure simple things like spelling and grammar are in check. You want to look like a pro.
7. Emulate What Journalists Do
Like traditional journalistic writing, make sure that you are using accurate facts and give credit to your sources. Following the inverted pyramid structure works well. Meaning, you should start with a basic overview of your topic in the opening paragraph, and then you dive into more detail in subsequent graphs. Including a compelling statistic in the first graph is also commonly used in journalistic writing and works well for blogging too.
8. Links, Links, Links
You want to keep your readers on your website as long as possible. Including links to other posts within your blog post will help do so. Whenever you sit down to write a new post, bring up key topics where you can include a link to previous posts you've written or other pertinent content on your site. If youre citing any studies or statistics, you can link to those outside sites as well. In general you want to have at least three links in your post that drive your readers to other content you've created. Stick to one or two outside posts because the key is to keep readers on your own site.
9. Finish Off With An Ask For Interaction
Congrats! You've captured a reader's attention and they've made it to the end of your blog post. You got them to come this far, so you can't just let them leave without interacting. Give your readers an invitation to engage with you by asking for their opinion at the end of the post. Ask them to share tips about your blog topic or share what they've learned from similar experiences. This creates a dialogue allowing you to connect with your readers, shows that you value their perspective, and their insight could inspire you to come up with new blog topics that you know your readers will want to come back for.
With so many content marketers blogging, you want to ensure you stand out. While blog writing isn't an exact science, combining your unique voice with the above 9 tips will help you create a formula for successful blogging. Did you find these tips helpful? If we were to round out the above list to our top 10 tips, what would number 10 be?
