A Better Blog Post in 6 Quick Tips

Blogging is no longer "something that you should do," it is "something that must be done," if companies want to reach an awaiting audience. In April 2015, HubSpot released a report on the importance of blogging. Within the report it was revealed that companies which publish 16+ blog posts per month had 3.5X more traffic than their competitors who published between 0 - 4 monthly posts. As it turns out, on average 75 percent of all HubSpot blog views were from old blog posts, which goes to show that blogging is arguably one of the most important digital marketing tactics. 

How To Create A Better, More Engaging Blog Post

Blogging is an effective tool if, and only if, it is done correctly. Just as no one willingly listens to elevator music, no one wants to read a poorly written or lackluster blog post. Take a look at the following six tips if you want to create compelling and engaging blog posts. 

Tip #1: Choose a compelling topic

Before you can choose a compelling topic, you must know the interests of your audience. Ask yourself the following types of questions:

• What topics will my audience want to read? Of these topics, which ideas are relevant to the services or products that my company provides?
• How will my blog posts be different than my competitors?
• How does my audience read? Do they like bullets, subheadings, lengthy paragraphs, or tweet-style prose? 

Tip #2: Do your research

If you are saying something that has already been said, make sure that you say it better. Better yet, take the time to complete compelling research so that you can be a trend setter for a new idea. Professional bloggers know that the key to blogging success is 80 percent research; the other 20 percent is being able to write well. 

Tip #3: Introductions need to draw a reader in

In days long gone by, a reader might stick around after a boring introduction; but, in today's digitally driven world, if the introduction "doesn't pop" or at the very least present an intriguing proposition, then your click-happy readers will be gone in an instant. Think of your introduction as the 1 floor elevator pitch. You don't have five seconds, you have 3 seconds to impress.

Tip #4: Links are your friends

Links are great for improving conversion ratings and enhancing SEO results. They offer a chance to strategically direct your readers towards personalized results. For example, readers might click on the latter link out of curiosity, and once they do, they will be strategically directed to another one of our blog posts. As the highlighted text suggests, the blog post will be about personalized search results. Through one simple link we have now directed our readers towards relevant information in the hopes that they subscribe, bookmark, or otherwise further engage with the site. 

Tip #5: Extra, extra, read all about it

Headlines are important. According to Peter Koechley, Co-Founder of Upworthy, traffic can vary by as much as 500 percent based solely on the headline. Crafting the best headline will require you to choose from five high-performing types:

• Normal (Ways to Make Drinking Coffee More Enjoyable)
• Question (What are Ways to Make Drinking Coffee More Enjoyable?)
• How to (How to Make Drinking Coffee More Enjoyable)
• Number (20 Ways To Make Drinking Coffee More Enjoyable)
• Reader-Addressing (Ways You Need to Make Drinking Coffee More Enjoyable) 

Tip #6: An image says 1,000 words ... make sure that they are the best words

Images should enhance the post, not detract from the message. Screenshots, quotes, photos, and computer graphics can all be used in posts. To make the image "Google robots.txt friendly," you will need to provide relevant alt text for each image. 

Well there you have it; six tips to help you create the best possible blog post. Remember, blogging is a bit of trial and error; you will need to analyze the results of each post, so that you can continue to improve and give your audience the types of posts that they most desire.