Let’s face it – whether you are blogging for business or pleasure, there is little point to spending time writing about a topic that means a lot to you if no one is going to read it. Here are some key tips and methods for writing a readable, interesting blog post that will not only get noticed by search engines, but also entertain your reader enough to want to keep clicking on your site.
Be human – and let your personality shine through!
Blogs written solely as advertisements for products or services instantly turn readers off and cause them to close your site. The best way to avoid this pratfall is to imagine your reader as a friend or valued customer with whom you already have a good relationship – and don’t try to ‘hard sell’ them on anything. Use a casual tone, make subtle jokes and be as natural as possible. Remember, people can sense when they are being sold to, and a blog post that is a thinly veiled sales pitch will be disregarded and closed very quickly. A blog is a good opportunity to build trust in your brand – it is not solely a time to shill your products.
Choose a compelling topic relevant to your field
Avoid blog topics that could double as a company’s “About Us” section – instead, demonstrate your worth to potential clients (and existing ones) by providing them with a regularly updated collection of unique and interesting posts. Now, we know that this can be easier said than done – it can be hard to think of a new angle for your topic each and every week!
If you can, try to think outside the box. A baker could try topics such as:
- The sweet and delicious history of the cupcake
- Top five facts bakers want you to know
- Ten photos of cakes that went wrong (and how we can make them right)
- Our favourite cakes we’ve ever baked
- What should you know before you order a custom cake
These topics are fresh, interesting, provide useful information and would make any reader who loves cake (and don’t we all?) want to click on them. Another helpful tip is to think of problems that consumers in your industry regularly face, and write extensively about all aspects of those.
Break up your text
Readers of online content often don’t want to plough their way through huge blocks of text. Keep your paragraphs short and sweet and avoid using too many commas in your sentences. Add photos (either your own, or those licensed by Creative Commons as reproducible), enlarge quotes that you want to emphasise, and use headings and bullet points whenever possible.
Use correct grammar and spelling
Have you ever been reading an article online, and noticed that it is littered with grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and strange syntax seemingly written by a robot only to incorporate certain key words and links? If so, you probably closed that tab without even continuing to read on, and you’re not alone. Articles and blogs like these are abundant online, and Google has caught on to their flawed search engine optimisation strategies and penalised poorly written content. Make sure that you proofread for spelling, grammar and sentence construction to ensure that you writing is flowing and readable.
(image courtesy of Wikimedia)