As a content creator, you care a lot about writing an effective blog post that speaks to your audience. There is more about how to write an effective blog post than you might think. You have to be able to write catchy and effective blog post titles by understanding the needs of your readers.
Learn more on the importance of blog contents by reading our previous post on Benefits of Blog Content on your Brand.
Writing for people, not just search engines is essential. If you are ready to take your writing to the next level and learn how to write effective blog posts for your business, or your personal blog then read on.
What Makes A Great Content?
Value is one of the keys to a great piece of content. Educating the reader on a topic, solving their problems, or sharing something interesting. Those are all important bases to cover. Next comes your style, how you deliver the content will give people a reason to keep reading.
Answering a question can be easy. Elaborating, including details, examples, images, and even links to podcasts or TedTalks will give them more opportunities to explore the topic. If you are giving a guide, then actionable steps that they can take are essential too.
The actionable steps give the reader tools to test their skills and get better at what they want to achieve.
How to Write Effective Blog Post
A step-by-step guide on how to write an effective blog post so that you can practice and start creating some content magic.
Audience
Who are you speaking to? Before you start creating anything, you need to use your data (if you have some) to tailor the tone, tempo and type of content. What does your audience want to know about? How can you help them achieve their goals? What will make an impact on them?
A great example is that many people can already use social media, but they might be looking for a way to increase their reach and engagement. It would help if you pointed them in the direction of a tool, like Tedbree. This is an actionable step that can help them achieve their goals. Simple and effective.
Build a profile of your readers. What device do they read the content on? How long do they spend on your page? What was the search term they used to get there?
Then dig into your Google Analytics dashboard and find out their location, age and more.
Topics
Before you start building your blog post, you need to know what you are going to write about. Your topic can be general to start with because you will drill down into the subject and create a title that works later.
Make a list of topics that you want to cover. Then think about the style of the blog post that you want to write.
Here are Some Styles of a Blog Post:
News Piece - Usually informative, backed with facts and figures. Those figures will likely have a link to supporting reports and studies. Straight to the point title. “Scientists Find Cure For The Common Cold”.
Collections - “15 Amazing Instagram Accounts You Should Follow”. Then give a link and a description of each account—a curation of recommendations.
Lists - “99 Free Content Ideas” these can be short and snappy lists that can be expanded on at a later date too.
Working Title
Before you come up with your final title, you will have several working titles. Once you have narrowed your topic down, you can start building out from that keyword/topic.
Topic: Plants Office
Working Title: Best Plants For Your Office. Plants That Grow Well In Offices.
Content-type: List
Final Title: 25 Amazing Plants For Your Office.
The topic is your starting point and will guide you to smart titles that meet the needs of the readers.
Learn more on the importance of blog contents by reading our previous post on Benefits of Blog Content on your Brand.
Intro
Ideally, you want to have an interesting intro that grabs attention. Introduces the topic but also meets some search engine requirements. Tell the reader what they will get from reading your blog post, and have some of the keywords in there too. Make a quick connection by using what you know about the reader and then dive in.
Organization
Some topics can be 250-500 words long or short, but they get the job done. Others might need 1500-2000 and more words. Longform without headers, images or breaks can be too much for many readers. Organize your content into sections. It makes the content easier to read, and your audience can scroll to the point they need to.
Writing
After all of your preparation, it is time to write your content. You have your audience details, topics, probably some draft notes. Use the outline you have created to help you write the whole piece of content.
Once you have written your blog post, it is time to take a little break. Stepping away from the content so that you can come back with fresh eyes, to proofread and edit.
Features
Now the piece is crafted to perfection; it’s time for the features. Add in images that complement and break-up the text. Have h1 and h2 headings to separate and organize your content.
And finally, have a call to action. A link to your latest downloadable content, a post that makes a good further read, or ask a question to increase engagement.
SEO
Incorporate the keywords where it makes sense, rather than stuffing them in there. To write an effective blog post, you will weave your keywords through the story.
Your meta description can make a big impact. It is how your post will appear in a Google Search. Your meta will be between 150-160 characters and give readers an insight into what they can gain from your blog post.
In Summary, creating great content is a process. It’s about understanding and meeting the needs of your audience and delivering something valuable and interesting - in a neat and easy to read package.