Let’s face it. Writing a blog can be great fun. It’ a pretty easy thing to do, right? Write a blog over coffee, post it and watch the views pour in. Monetize your blog and watch the money pour in too, right? You don’t even have to think about it.
Wrong.
Although some blogs seem to have become overnight sensations, the truth is that a lot of hard work has gone on, sometimes for years, behind the scenes. Bloggers are quite lucky that unlike the book-writing industry, they don’t have to rely on self publishing companies – that often hinder things rather than help – to get their work out there to the people. They can just write and post whatever they like. One blogger might have had several completely failed blogs before they hit upon the one successful format. Becoming a successful blogger relies on one major skill – the ability to write engaging blog posts. If you can’t persuade your readers through your writing to stick around or to come back to read the next blog, you’re wasting your time!
Tip 1
It might sound obvious but successful bloggers write about things which interest them. That way, not only do they enjoy the writing process a whole lot more but their enthusiasm for the topic shines through in their writing. If they are interested in writing about cake, then that is what they will write about. They won’t write about electrical engineering!
Tip 2
Great bloggers plan. They know who they are writing for and why. Know what type of person will be reading the blog and write with them in mind all the time! What content might they be interested in? What type of language would they find easiest to read? It can be a good idea to create the ideal reader, complete with photo, information about their hobbies, family… that way there is an easy reference point.
Tip 3
Make sure the blog has a point! So many blogs out there just re-hash what has already been written somewhere else but very few blogs add anything new. Creating a point of difference between a new blog and existing blogs is really important and the best point of difference is to create new, interesting and unique material.
Tip 4
Plan the blog – it needs to have a proper structure! There is a perception amongst some that great blogs just happen organically and with no planning. For some, this may be true but for the vast majority of writers, this just isn’t the case. It needs to be planned in the same way that an essay would be planned. A great model to follow is this one:
- Introduction – set the stage and tell the reader what the post is about;
- Make the point and then explain it;
- Make the next point and then explain that one too;
- Repeat for all of the points needs to be made. Remember to explain each one – don’t leave any hanging!
- Conclusion – finish the blog off with a call to action. The call to action may be to read the upcoming blog post or to direct the reader to another area of the website.
Great writers become so familiar with this structure that eventually they don’t need to refer back to it or use it to plan because it has become such a natural process with repetition. Without SEO blogging is nothing so you will get some SEO Strategies for Startups and Tips for Success on techiestate.
Tip 5
The key phrase here is to be “insanely useful”. Be the person that others immediately go to whether it is for support, ideas or information.
Tip 6
Writers need to actively market your blog. It is unrealistic to expect a blog to succeed just because it exists. Blogs need to be actively marketed and that can be done in different ways. It can be as simple as engaging with other bloggers and commenting on their blog posts as that will help to draw people back to the original site or writers could offer to write for an ezine to gain more exposure. Some writers also use Google Ad Words – it can be pricey but it can also be a great way of driving users to your site.
Tip 7
It is rare to find someone who reads everything online in depth. Largely this is because for most people reading off a screen for a long period of time is uncomfortable and so they skim read. A long body of text with chunky paragraphs is very off-putting, but smaller texts with great layout and features can be brilliant in encouraging people to read your blog.
Basically, all posts should be written with the layout in mind.
Tip 8
Following on from layout – use headings and subheadings to break up the text. That way people will be able to see really easily what is and isn’t relevant to them. They’ll also be able to easily see what new and interesting content is being offered in this blog that isn’t being offered elsewhere.
Tip 9
Use visuals. Photos are a great way to grab and maintain attention. Just make sure that the photos being used are new and original, so getting used to being behind a camera lens could be useful!
Tip 10
The Two Ps… be Personal and be Professional. Let the reader see the person behind the blog but always spellcheck the post and ask someone else to check it too. Nothing screams amateur like a poorly written post!
Tip 11
Does it all sound a bit daunting? If so, then use the services of a professional custom writing company. Writing companies e.g. AdvancedWriters offer great blog writing services from professional blog writers who know what it takes to make a blog successful and popular. It can be a lot easier than trying to get all the writing done yourself and it allows you time to focus on marketing and growing your blogging influence.
So, there it is. 11 tips on writing a blog. Follow these and success is practically guaranteed!