How To Write A Great Blog
Posted on 15th September 2020
The humble blog. It may not seem like much, but it is actually one of the most powerful marketing tools at your disposal. Not only is it an easy way to create great content and establish yourself as a thought leader in your field, but it is also a great way to reach out to new audiences.
Share your blog on social media, include both internal and external links, and make sure it is SEO optimised and you begin to see why it is so important. But the key message is that your blog needs to be quality. It’s no use just writing 1000 words of filler stuffed with a few keywords that don’t scan correctly.
So, if your blog is underutilised, or you keep a regular blog but it doesn’t seem to be attracting any attention, it may be time to up your game. Here is how to do it.
Know your audience and write for them
Before you get carried away and start writing blog posts with clickbait titles aimed at going viral, you need to start by writing for the people who are most likely to read your blog. Who are your customers and clients? What kinds of things interest them or catch their attention? Spend a bit of time thinking about the topics that will really resonate.
Also, while a blog can be a very effective SEO tool, you should always be writing for your readers and not the search engines. Keywords have a place, if they are natural and relevant. But trying to shoehorn ungainly keywords into a blog is a big red flag for anyone reading it that your blog might not be all that valuable in terms of content.
All of your content should be focused on imparting useful information. Offer answers, ideas, and solutions that people might genuinely need. Which brings us to…
Know your subject
Stick to what you know. Your business will have expertise that is of value. You might even have opinions about industry-related topics that you want to share. Don’t be scared about expressing these – but always stop short of causing offense. Controversy might sell newspapers but it can also undo a lot of hard work in a very short space of time.
If people are reading your blog, or have found it via a search engine, then they are probably looking for information. If you can give it to them in a style that is easy to read and not too reliant on jargon, then they will come back for more or explore more of your site.
Get the basics right
You don’t have to be a Pulitzer Prize winning writer to knock out a good blog post. But you do have to have the basics down. Keep your writing simple and clear. Sentences should be short and always add something to the piece. Don’t try and overcomplicate anything, avoid using too much technical speak and express one idea at a time.
It might help to have a friend or colleague read over your blog post before you publish it – at least for the first few articles. This kind of feedback can be invaluable.
Make sure you proofread your own writing. Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors might not seem like a big deal but they are very off-putting. It doesn’t take long to check through what you have done, and if you want people to take you seriously then you need to remove the basic errors.
Structure
You always need to have a strong headline. Again, we’re not talking clickbait such as ‘You’ll never believe what happened…’ and the like. But your heading should be concise and to the point. It should also be relevant. It’s very annoying to be lured into reading something only to find that it’s about something completely different.
Within the body of the blog post you should try and keep sentences and paragraphs short. Break up the text with bullet points and sub-headings. People read online content in a very different way to magazines and newspapers. Long sections of prose can be off-putting and difficult to read on a screen.
Images work
It’s said that a picture speaks a thousand words. It’s true. But make sure your images are good quality, relevant and avoid stock images if you can. Images can improve the flow, add context and humour, and provide a valuable talking point.
They also serve to bring people in. When they land on a blog post, an eye-catching image is much more enticing than a big block of text, which is always slightly intimidating when you land on it.
Call to action
Of course, it’s all well and good doing all of the above and building up a loyal and dedicated readership – or even scoring the odd viral blog hit – but it all comes to nothing unless you convert this traffic into leads. That’s where the call to action comes in. This is the part where you direct the reader to the part of your site where you can do just that.
It could be a link to a product or sales page. It could be a form to fill in or it could just be a simple invite to chat and the contact details for how to do that. But a blog post without a call to action is like a letter without a signature. To be complete, it has to be there. And it needs to be clear, simple, and direct.
With this in mind, if you are thinking about starting, restarting, or simply overhauling your blog then get in touch with our team here at it’seeze Web Design Twickenham. We have extensive experience in the field of website design and content creation. We can help to create killer content that is going to wow your audience and drive traffic through your sales funnel.
Alternatively, if you would like to know more about why an it’seeze website is a great platform for your business's blog - or just want ot discuss what your blogging options are - then don't hesitate to contact us. We’re always happy to talk.
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