Keeping a blog is more than just telling the world what you like. Posting useful information online, you attract many readers who become your customers in the digital age of today. When you gain a considerable community of followers on your blog, you can earn money from promoting your own products or publishing partners’ content as an influencer. There are several ways of attracting more readers to your blog. Among them, developing meaningful and unique blog post ideas and then writing quality content is the fundamental one.
It turns out that you don’t have to be a professional writer to keep a successful and effective blog. Here are a few tips that will help you down that road of creating quality content.
1. Pick the topic that resonates with your readers
Whether you write quality content about psychology, video games, or cooking tricks, make sure that your readers need this information. We recommend picking the field you personally like and take a great interest in—this way you can decide what topic really matters and what is a waste of time. But still, put the interests of your target audience in the first place. The reader who is interested in your topic will figure out at once whether you are saying something relevant in your blog or just filling the page with words to generate traffic. Respect your reader’s time and energy. Answer questions and give useful tips in your post.
2. Create a catchy title
Of all users who may come across your blog post, 80% will check the headline and another 20% will proceed to the article. If you want these figures to increase, you have to make the title striking. While an utterly sensational heading may look vulgar and remind you of cheap media, you still have to put some intrigue here. Tell your readers that you have an easy solution to their problem. Suggest an innovative approach to an old issue. Hook readers with an intriguing headline and include a subtitle to your post. This way you can clarify your title and show how it is relevant to the reader.
3. Lead on with a story
People love stories. Whatever your problem is, many other individuals can relate to it. Perhaps, you personally know someone who lived with depression and fought it successfully. Or maybe one of your mates just switched from eating burgers to a vegetable diet and did it in a few easy steps. And of course, you may share with readers your own experience of counteracting the problem. Perhaps, your reader will see that the author of this post is a lot like them. It is important to build your story on real facts and not make things up to hook the readers. You can ask your friends to share their experience to write a story for your blog.
4. Keep your structure comprehensible
Just as you do in college papers, write small paragraphs and subheadings for your post. If you want to get a clear picture of how a nice structure should look, try ordering one of your posts from a professional essay writing service. You will see that experts break the text into neat sections to make even the most boring content look appealing. This way you will assure the reader that it takes only a minute to read a great article. When composing your blog post, use the golden rule—one paragraph, one idea. Keep your paragraphs short to make your post easy to scan. Your reader is your friend. Remember this when choosing the structure and style of your post.
5. Cut excessive words
When trying writing quality content your personal blog, make sure that the amount of text does not make readers exhausted. People are not likely to read overlong articles, so you need to keep your post brief. Define several key-points you want to cover in this post and decide how many words you need. Stick to your own estimate of words and make sure that you do not compose an entire novel. This technique will help if you are a writing enthusiast and can easily generate pages of text on your favorite subject. A lengthy article is not a guarantee of success. So, try to make yourself as clear as possible and use a reasonable number of words for it.
6. Take care of visuals
The modern blog cannot be imagined without visual content. Videos are especially appreciated, and they can even bring more traffic to your post. Make up a presentation of your own or give a reference to existing video materials on your topic. Playing a video is an easy way to engage the reader. However, it is still better to complete your story with pictures in many cases. Use appealing images for your article. Don’t forget about copyright laws when choosing visuals for this post. If you need permission to use pictures, try free photo stock websites. They update regularly and can provide a suitable illustration to any of your ideas.
7. Keep your writing personal
With every post, you are trying to build trust in your blog. And the essential part of becoming closer to your reader is speaking personally. There is only me, the author, and you, the reader, here in this post. I’m telling you a true story and sharing some insights that will help you make your life better. Perhaps, your reader would not discuss some arguable issues in public, but they would eagerly read your blog if you speak on these issues in writing quality content. When composing your article, cut out generalization, impersonal sentences, and sections that don’t come naturally. Write this story as if you are telling it to your friend. Is it interesting and engaging for both of you? Go on if the answer is yes.
8. Add value to your article citing credible sources
Besides a true and engaging story, you need some facts to support your point of view. Of course, a blog is not a research paper. No one will ask you to pick 7 scientific sources and cite them properly. However, make sure you refer to some opinion leaders or experts in your field. You may provide links to their posts on Facebook or any other social media. Show that famous personalities share your opinion. You don’t have to be a professional writer, psychologist, or chef, but it is always worth mentioning one in your post.
9. Keep your word
Going back to the beginning of your article, you promised to resolve a problem or answer a question. It is very important to actually do it with your writing. Make sure that you give the reader that valuable advice that will help people in some way. It is important to give solutions that will work for an average person without any extraordinary knowledge or resources. After all, the target of your blog is not only to get money. In the first place, you create meaningful and quality content and share it with people who will benefit from it.
10. Create a summary
If you’ve managed to write a lengthy post, it will be worth highlighting the most important points at the end. Sometimes it can work as a short guideline, and it actually depends on the article where exactly you need to put a summary. You may start your article by naming how many steps it takes to solve the problem. Or you may narrate the entire story first and only after that draw a summary. What does your reader need to remember after reading your blog? Make a short list for people to fix it in their memory.
11. Encourage readers to leave comments
It would be always nice to get a response from your readers. Make sure that users can easily leave comments under your post. Also, you need to encourage people to start communication. Ask a question. Encourage people to share their experience of point of view on this problem. After all, you’ve composed this post to interact with readers in some way. Do not be afraid to answer comments, even if they are critical. A lively discussion may raise a bigger interest about your topic and your blog.
12. Introduce yourself
When you have written a meaningful article that deserves attention and response, do not shy away from writing a few words about yourself. Make it a final section and include your photo and some basic facts about your interests here. An introduction may be a common part for all pages of your blog. It is a great way to put a few words about yourself this way if you do not want to use an entire page for this purpose. It will be also useful if you post someone else’s writing in your blog.
Instead of an afterword
Writing quality content is much easier when you know your subject field well and understand the needs of your readers. Research your blog topic and target audience to get better awareness. And be honest with your writing. You can also read more articles about improving your content writing skills and find ways to give extra promotion to your blog if you need. But writing quality content is the first step on your road to creating a successful blog.
This is a post written on behalf of one of my marketing partners. All opinions are 100% mine.
Neal Schaffer is a leading authority on helping businesses through their digital transformation of sales and marketing through consulting, training, and helping enterprises large and small develop and execute on social media marketing strategy, influencer marketing, and social selling initiatives. President of the social media agency PDCA Social, Neal also teaches digital media to executives at Rutgers University, the Irish Management Institute (Ireland), and the University of Jyvaskyla (Finland). Fluent in Japanese and Mandarin Chinese, Neal is a popular keynote speaker and has been invited to speak about digital media on four continents in a dozen countries. He is also the author of 3 books on social media, including Maximize Your Social (Wiley), and in late 2019 will publish his 4th book, The Business of Influence (HarperCollins), on educating the market on the why and how every business should leverage the potential of influencer marketing. Neal resides in Irvine, California but also frequently travels to Japan.