It takes years of reading and writing to fully refine the craft of writing well.
But that’s not to say any writer ever fully perfects it. Writing well is an ongoing process without an end. In the same way, mastering the art of blogging also takes time. Here are a few helpful tips to help you begin and increase your blog’s effectiveness along the way.
1. Keywords
Using the right keywords will pay off big dividends when it comes to increasing your blog’s exposure. KWs are one of the most basic components of SEO for a blog. If you’re going to take the time to write it, you’ll probably want to take the time to make sure it gets found.
Every blog should have one or two focus keywords, including the appropriate keywords in the title. Don’t go keyword overboard, though – KW stuffing will hurt your efforts.
Choosing the right keywords will also give your post definition and you something to write around. Plus, it’ll help match your content with what the audience is looking for.
2. Images
A large wall of text without anything else to grab attention can be intimidating – so daunting that most readers would click on to the next blog. Unless your content is out of this world, most audiences won’t be interested in reading a thousand words of just text.
The perfect photo helps draw your readers into your post. It also complements the words with a visual element.
It might be a cliché, but a photo, infographic, and illustration can tell so much of your story and in that regard, one image is worth 1,000 words for your blog. Visuals make a point much more quickly than words can. Plus, they make your blog posts easier to share.
3. Proper Headline
The average reader skims for information that interests them. Generally speaking, blogs aren’t novels, so the audience isn’t often hanging on every word for the plot twists and turns. But this doesn’t mean your blog content can’t tell a story well.
Business blogs offer a simple way to spread information in an entertaining way. Take advantage of this with a headline that makes visitors take pause and want to find out more. Keeping in mind that most readers skim, you have to create articles with strong titles to capture attention.
4. Brevity
For digital content, brevity truly is the soul of wit. Articles, paragraphs and sentences need to remain short. Everything needs to be bite-sized and easy to understand.
No mobile user wants to scroll through a post with paragraph-length sentences. If a blog is so long that it takes someone’s whole lunch hour to read that one article, it can probably use some editing down.
Write with comprehensiveness and timing in mind. The goal is to create content that’s easy to read and understand while waiting in line at the bank. When a blog doesn’t require your busy audience to set aside time to read, its chances of getting read increase.
It’s essential to get your information to the reader as fast and as simple as possible.
5. Value
No matter what you do, writing great content will always remain on top of the pyramid. Great content sells itself.
Being a problem-solver that your customers seek as an answer to their needs will build a relationship with your clients. No matter what type of post you’re writing, make sure you’re solving a need and bringing value to your readers.
Is your content marketing strategy built with these five elements in mind? Drop us a line or leave a comment below!
Editor’s Note: This post was initially published in August 2015 and has been updated for clarity and accuracy.