The only way to win at content marketing is for the reader to say, ‘This was written specifically for me.' – Jamie Turner,
CEO of 60 Second Marketer.
Contents:
Mastering the Art of Blog Content
In this digital age, owning a blog can increase your online visibility significantly. Through the power of blogging, you can –
- Amplify your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) impact
- Reach your target audience more easily
- Build your personal and business brand
- Nurture leads into becoming customers
- Project your expertise.
By crafting valuable content which resonates with your target market, your blog can serve as the cornerstone of your digital strategy.
Following are seven proven techniques to elevate your blogging mastery so you consistently create engaging blog content.
Understand Your Readers
Successful blogging begins with a deep understanding of your readers. When you understand the needs of your readers and the challenges they’re experiencing, you’re able to deliver solutions to these challenges, provide tangible value, and distinguish yourself from the crowd.
First, you must build a profile of your audience, which includes their demographics, values, attitudes, and behaviors. Then, pinpoint the problems they grapple with, and provide solutions in your blog posts. This is not a one and done process. It will need to be refined from time to time, so continue to observe reader engagement to get more insight into your audience, while you observe other blogs in your niche to see where and how readers are engaging.
Plan with Purpose
Every word in your blog post is important and an outline, regardless of the length of your post, is invaluable. It gives you structure and ensures that you’re coherent, focused, and complete in your writing. In essence, an outline provides a roadmap for your writing.
Start by pinpointing the core message or the main teaching point, and then break this down into easily digested, engaging sections that naturally flow from one to the next. Depending on your topic, this breakdown could be in the form of definitions, importance, benefits, tips, or process steps.
Invest in Research
Even if you’re an expert in a topic, never underestimate the power of research. Knowledge breeds confidence, and that confidence shows up in your writing.
Here are some reasons why quoting from expert sources are valuable to the content you provide:
Enhancing Your Content's Credibility
- Provides value to the reader: External links serve as additional resources and supplemental value for the reader who wants to dive further into that topic.
- Strengthens your point: Claims are much more powerful when backed up by a statistic or source.
- Builds Trust: Jayson DeMeyers, CEO of AudienceBloom, tells Forbes: “Including citations for [many] facts in the body of your work makes your content more trustworthy. It shows that you’ve done your research and that you haven’t come to these conclusions without consulting multiple different sources first.”
- SEO: Well-placed and value-driven outbound links matter for SEO and boost your ranking.
By doing and adding research findings, you can significantly elevate and enrich the content of your blog post.
Capture Your Reader’s Attention
In a sea of online content, making your content stand-out, while you grab and maintain your readers’ attention is your most valuable asset. Start with an enticing title that clearly outlines the post’s benefits to your readers. Keep it specific, and if appropriate, use numbers. Keep it short and snappy, with a magnetic hook that makes readers yearn for more.
Ways to Capture Your Audience
- Pose a question
- Share a compelling quote
- Narrate a story
- Paint a vivid picture
- Ensure your opening paragraph is brief and intriguing, drawing the reader further into your content.
Adopt a Conversational Tone
A conversational tone brings warmth to your writing, making it more relatable and enjoyable. You also want to keep your blog posts free of industry jargon. Imagine that your blog posts are friendly emails to your audience. Keep it conversational and at the same time, adhere to the rules of written English, including correct spelling and grammar.
Prioritize Editing
Always revise your work before publishing. Check for errors, eliminate redundancy, and ensure your tone remains consistent. Consider reading your post aloud as this is an effective way to test the flow of your content. Make use of spellcheck and consider using tools like Grammarly for further enhancements.
How you present your content is just as important as the content itself. Make your blog post visually appealing. Keep paragraphs short and break up the text with relevant images or white space to avoid overwhelm. You can get images from sources such as Pixabay, Unsplash, or Creative Commons. Be sure to look at the rights, if any.
Deliver Value
The ultimate goal of your blog post is to deliver value. Strive to provide your readers with actionable insights, time-saving techniques, or money-saving advice. Basically, you want to provide your readers with the tools they need to tackle their challenges. When your blog posts consistently provide results, you’ll build a loyal readership eager for your next post.
Establish open communication with your audience, respond to comments on your blog posts, ask for what they need and use this feedback to consistently create engaging blog content.
Keep in mind that your own enthusiasm breathes life into your writing, so it’s important to write about topics that ignite your passion. Your enthusiasm will Be contagious, and your readers will sense your passion and enthusiastically look for more from you.
Yvonne A Jones is The Relationship Building Strategist and Coach. Reach out to Yvonne to schedule a 20-minute Laser Session where she will show you how to use your blog to build relationships. You will leave the Session with an actionable Plan to implement in your business. Email: Yvonne@50andWiserCoaching dot com.
