Blog posts are one of the most powerful ways to drive traffic to your site. Understanding how to develop content and plan a blog post is the key to success for businesses online.
Blog posts can contain many different forms. There are many types of content you can consider when you plan a blog post. They include:
- Listicles
- Tutorials
- Checklists
- News items
- Infographics
- Case studies
- Interviews
- Product reviews
- Surveys
- Providing solutions to problems
- Providing tips
Tips For Creating Blog Content
Go down this list and make sure you understand all the points as you plan a blog post. Each is an important step in creating popular blog posts that will drive traffic to your site.
Know Your Readers
Brainstorm ideas for your blog that will serve your customers. Try to imagine visiting your site from their point of view. What questions do they have about your product? What about your industry or business is interesting? What part of your service do you want to highlight? Are there general stories about your business niche that will attract your readers? Answering those types of questions help you create article ideas.
Make An Article Budget
Once you have a list of solid ideas, then develop a list of when you want to publish them. Make time to assign the article, write the article, edit the article and publish it on your site. You want to have enough to publish consistently over a couple of months. The frequency of publishing is up to you, although two articles a month is a good place to start.
Plan Each Post
Before typing the first word of content, you need to research the topic and find reliable sources for your information. Readers will know immediately if your sources are weak or you do not have enough information on a topic. This is extremely important. You want to be the authority in your area, and you do that by finding recent, reliable and accurate sources for your information.
Write Clearly and Concisely
Long-winded blog posts that go on forever and have giant paragraphs are blogs posts that most people simply are not going to read. It’s a busy world. You only have a few minutes to grab people’s attention. You need to do so quickly. Writing requires a very specific skill set. This is an area where you may want to hire a professional who understands how to structure content that is SEO friendly.
How to Optimize for Voice Search
Create a Catchy Headline
If you have a fun article, give it a fun headline. Draw people in – but don’t oversell the article! People will flee faster than you can say “mouse click” if you don’t deliver what the headline promises. Some topics require straightforward headlines. But, even so, you can at least make them very specific. A good tip is to phrase such headlines as a question: “How Do I Hang a Piece of Fine Art” or “Is It Legal to Carry Brass Knuckles In Cincinnati?” Just make sure the copy answers the question.
Have Some Personality
The internet is full of articles on every imaginable topic. Stand out from the competition by putting a little personality into your copy. Don’t try to be funny all the time, unless you are one of those rare people who is often told you are funny. But have a light tone and, most importantly, don’t preach.
Have An Image
Contract with a service or find high-quality free photos for your articles. You will immediately stand out from the competition.
Those are some tips to plan a blog post. Just take your time, make a plan and write it (or get it written) in a way that is different from what your competition is doing. If you’re unsure how to approach doing it, contact a digital marketing professional who can steer you in the right direction.
