7 Simple Ways to Amplify your Blog Posts

Being that you clicked on a post about blogging, I can safely assume you have some skills when it comes to writing. I’m not going to lecture you about formatting your posts. Instead, I am merely here to help you enhance your blog’s audience. After reading Blogging Team’s latest article, I was able to develop 7 ways to strengthen your blog posts.

Before we dive deep into the mechanics necessary to amp up your posts, let’s take a step back and acknowledge why we are producing these blogs in the first place. Yes, I think we have all had that moment when we say, “why did I even start this stupid company blog?!”

Well frankly, I have the answer for you – B2B marketers using blogs generate 67% more leads than those that don’t blog. Overlooking blog posts is simply not an option for companies that want to be competitive in the modern era of technology.

RESEARCH IS KEY!

Prior to developing your post, it is imperative to understand if your topic will even be reached by your audience. Search your topic ideas on free sites like wordze or Google Keyword Planner to develop the best keywords for your niche selection. These sites use key metrics, such as volume data, to allow you to determine if you want to add them to your post.

When looking through the research, your goal is to find the keywords that are often searched and rarely written about. If people are constantly looking for answers and your blog can address a topic that is rarely discussed, you will grow your audience.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Assuming you have the capability to write, I would guess you also have the gift for understanding who your content is meant for. Many individuals who don’t have a passion for writing don’t clearly think about who would be captivated by their content. If you know your audience, but would like to just grow your readers, try implementing a poll on social media.

Remember, simply knowing the audience you want to write for is only half the battle. Your content isn’t guaranteed to resonate with those individuals. If you own a boutique and create a poll on Instagram asking “What are you hoping to buy in the coming month?” and have three or four answers such as, “sweaters, Halloween costumes, workout clothes or rain boots” you can create reader engagement.

Allowing your followers to be apart of your decision of what you are going to write gives you an indication of what your audience would be likely to read.

ENTICE THE AUDIENCE FROM THE START

Now that you have a good idea of the topic you’d like to cover and who would be willing to read it, you need to grab their attention. Creating a unique title for your article can be extremely stressful.

Lucky for you, there are sites that can help with topic generators. If you struggle with this part of your writing, try visiting websites like HubSpot or Portent’s Content Idea Generator, that have a blog ideas generator.

Sticking with our same boutique example, say your audience was interested in Halloween costumes. Type that topic into Portent’s and it will magically create titles. For example The Next Big Thing In Halloween Costumes, Halloween Costume Taboos You Should Break, or The Simplest Ways to Make the Best of Halloween Costumes.

Honestly, if only one thing from this article resonates with you, I hope it’s this section purely from how comical some of the titles are from the generators. It brought me back to the glory days of playing MadLibs as a child.

DEVELOP BALLER HEADLINES

80% of readers never make it past the headline, so it is vital to create a killer headline to ensure you captivate your reader’s attention. Make sure to use strong adjectives, relate to the reader, be unique and convey a benefit for the reader.

These may seem basic to you, and you are right, but because of such a huge decline in the reader’s attention, it is important to restate. One thing I found interesting was headlines with odd numbers actually do better than even…hence the title of this article. Got your attention, didn’t I?!

BUELLER, BUELLER, BUELLER

If your headlines rock and your content sucks, hate to break it to you, but they are gonna stop reading. Being a blogger, you have a huge responsibility to gain and keep the reader’s attention. You understand the importance of having call to actions and statistics throughout your articles. But how can you do even better?

In order to keep the reader from drifting off, you can create “yes” questions. A “yes question” is one that you expect the reader can agree with. Such as, “You would love to feel confident in your Halloween costume, wouldn’t you?” Instead of something like “What’s the worse Halloween costume you’ve seen?” Both are captivating, but one allows the conversation to seem less bidirectional.

AT LEAST PRETEND TO UNDERSTAND SEO

I’m right there with you, I work at a marketing firm and still don’t quite understand the logistics behind SEO. However, I made it a point to know just enough to fake it.

Even as a blogger, it is important to understand what search engine optimization really means. If you want an audience, you have to understand what you can do in order to get the attention of readers.

There are free tools online, as well as expensive resources, to indicate how well your post will do. The tools look at your post and explains how to improve your rankings, drive traffic and increase awareness in search engines.

With all that being said, please don’t become too obsessive over SEO. In the past, writers started to understand SEO and take advantage of it in order for their blog to do well and get clicks. They would overuse the SEO algorithms making their posts confusing and boring.

Make sure to put your audience’s need ahead of your drive to compel readers to your blog. If your content is bad your bounce rate (the percentage of visitors to a particular website who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page) is going to be high in return and you don’t want that either!

GET BACK TO THE BASICS

Now that you’ve got all the advanced hacks you need to strengthen your blog posts, don’t forget the basics. Often one can get caught up implementing all these tips you ultimately get tired of writing and lose your drive. Avoid struggling with writer’s block and get back to the basics.

Designate a time to be creative and write! Get to know yourself. Understand if you are the type of person that needs to go for a jog first to clear your head or if you need complete silence while working. Being in your element can completely alter how creative you are and how well your writing turns out.

Finally, I’ll leave you with my last word of advice…write horribly! If you are struggling to come up with content, feel free to just puke it out. Heck, that’s how this article originated. I always start with a separate doc that lists key points I want to address. I also include random ideas for headlines I could use. Once I have a messy list of things I want to create, I know it’s time to produce something on another sheet that will connect all my points and entice readers. Learn what methods work best for you and you’ll be crushing blog posts in no time.

This article originally published on the Red Branch Media Blog by Mackenzie Anderson.

About Maren Hogan:

Maren Hogan is a seasoned marketer, writer and business builder in the HR and Recruiting industry. Founder and CEO of Red Branch Media, an agency offering marketing strategy and outsourcing and thought leadership to HR and Recruiting Technology and Services organizations internationally, Hogan is a consistent advocate of next generation marketing techniques. She has built successful online communities, deployed brand strategies and been a thought leader in the global recruitment and talent space. You can read more of her work on Forbes, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, and The Red Branch Media Blog.