To blog or not to blog? This is a question facing many business owners or leaders who are not sure if the time and effort associated with blog writing will improve sales. Or maybe you are already convinced you would benefit from blogging, but you aren’t sure how to blog, or what goes into a good, well-written blog. Have no fear, below are a few tips to writing great blog posts.
1. Always have a clearly defined point or idea you would like to convey to your readers.
One of the primary goals of blogging is to connect with your audience while providing them something of value. By having a point, your blog article will more effectively connect with the reader. This will in turn, improves the chances of engagement or sharing of the post.
Make sure you have a point in mind before you start writing. More importantly, make sure that it is easy to identify with this point throughout your blog.
2. Try to make your content unique or personalized.
People will tend to gravitate towards your content because it is unique. Thus, when making your point, try to avoid reiterating other’s ideas. It’s better put your own spin on the point being made or present the idea through a different ‘lens.’
3. Pay attention to the structure of your blog post.
As you ‘tell your story’ through your blog post, make sure you present the content effectively by using proper structure. Absent good structure, very few readers will make it to the end of your post. As you approach a blog topic, try to organize your thoughts into logical parts. Then, arrange them in an order that best tells the story you are trying to tell.
Different types of blog posts call for different structures. However, generally, all blog posts should contain an effective Introduction (hook your reader), Body (logically outline your main points), and Conclusion (summarize your point and present a strong call to action).
If you commit to using a good structure in writing your blog posts, you will find that your content will become more ‘consumable’. This will allow you to more effectively sell the point or idea you are trying to make through your post.
4. The length of your blog post matters.
There has been much debate over the importance of the number of words used in your blog post. Is it better to write short, to-the-point blog posts or to write lengthy, more conversational blog posts? The answer actually depends on the goals you have in place that are tied to your blogging strategy.
The old school thought is that your blog post should be only as long as necessary to effectively get your point across. This is true if the point or idea you are trying to make is ‘black and white’ and not subjective in nature. A 200 – 400-word blog may be enough to make your point.
However, statistics continue to show that longer blog posts are more effective, particularly when considering SEO benefits. As Google continues its progression towards intelligent content, simply having the right keywords in your blog will not be enough to win the SEO game.
By writing more (1,000 – 1,500 words or more), there is more opportunity to demonstrate that your content has contextual relevance in the eyes of Google & other search engines. Statistics also show that longer posts (1,500 words or more) are much more likely to be shared. This helps to make them more interactive and useful in your marketing efforts.
5. Always use imagery in your blog post.
A picture is worth 1,000 words. We’ve all heard this saying used in various context, and using pictures with your blog posts is extremely important.
Statistics show that textual content accompanied by imagery is 85% more likely to be consumed than content that does not contain images. More importantly, effective use of imagery can greatly enhance the story you are telling through your blog post, provide context to the point or idea you are writing about, and help make more of an emotional connection with the reader.
Ultimately your goal in blogging centers around making an emotional connection with your readers, providing them something of value, and keeping them coming back for more. If you adhere to these five tips when writing your blog posts, you will find yourself producing quality content. Most importantly, this will help greatly in increasing your chances of achieving your goals.