The Do's and Don'ts of Writing Engaging Blog Posts
Creating engaging blog posts has become almost what feels like an entire job itself. However, the potential to captivate audiences, shape viewpoints, and even drive commercial success is outstanding to say the least.
Okay, at this point, you might be thinking, but AI can just write content for me...
Perhaps, but we promise you it won't be much use without a considerable amount of editing. In reality, the average blog takes just under 4 hours to write .
Tread with caution, as navigating the path of blog writing is no mean feat. There's a delicate balance act between delivering valuable information, maintaining reader interest, and ensuring your content is easily discoverable in a crowded online space.
First and foremost, it's crucial to remember that writing engaging blog posts is not just about showcasing your expertise or knowledge on a particular topic. It's about connecting with your reader, understanding their needs, and providing them with content that is valuable, interesting, and relevant to them.
With rising content saturation online, the competition is fierce, and standing out from the crowd has become more challenging than ever. For added context, around 70 million new posts are published on WordPress each month. This is where your ability to effectively communicate with your audience is essential. By understanding your audience's preferences, you can tailor your content to meet, or even better, exceed their expectations, ultimately leading to a more engaged and loyal following.
From punchy headlines to maintaining a consistent voice and tone, we're discussing the key elements that make a blog post truly engaging - and also what makes it sink!
Why Are Blogs So Important?
Blogs have become a crucial part of online communication and marketing strategies. They offer a platform for individuals and businesses to share their thoughts, ideas, and knowledge in a more personal and interactive way. As a result of social media and the internet, blogs have become an integral part of our daily lives. People turn to blogs for information, entertainment, inspiration, and advice on a variety of topics.
Blogs also play a significant role in building relationships with your audience and establishing yourself as an authority in your industry. Therefore, it’s essential to know how to write engaging blog posts that will keep your readers coming back for more.
Turning Blog Posts into Purchases
The influence of blog posts in the customer journey towards purchases cannot be overlooked. Blog posts are an essential tool in educating potential customers about products or services. They provide detailed insights and explain the key features and benefits in an informal and relatable way. This educative function of blog posts enhances the customer's understanding of the product or service, leading to informed purchasing decisions.
Moreover, well-structured blog posts aid in building trust and credibility with readers. They position your company as an expert in the field, thereby fostering trust in your brand. This trust goes a long way in influencing the reader's decision to purchase.
Using Blogs for SEO
One of the key reasons why blogs are so important is that they can help drive traffic to your website through SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). By consistently creating high-quality, relevant content, you can improve your website’s search engine ranking and attract more visitors.
Search engines love fresh, original content, and blogging provides a perfect platform for just that. However, it’s essential to keep in mind that blogging for SEO is not just about keywords and backlinks. It’s also about providing value to your readers and creating content that they will want to read and share.
Here's more on how they help optimise you for search:
Frequent Indexing
Search engine bots frequently index sites that update their content regularly. Each new blog post signals search engines, like Google, to crawl your website and index your content. This constant indexing can improve your website's visibility, making it easier for users to find your page when searching for relevant topics.
In short, the more often you post, the quicker you can start driving more organic traffic.
Keyword Implementation
Blogs provide an excellent opportunity for strategic keyword implementation. By using relevant keywords throughout your blog posts, you increase the chances of your content appearing in relevant searches. However, it's essential to incorporate these keywords naturally and in context, as keyword stuffing can lead to penalties from search engines.
Increased Website Traffic
When your blog posts rank well in search results, they drive organic traffic to your website. This traffic, often comprised of individuals actively seeking information or solutions, can lead to higher conversion rates. Additionally, the longer a visitor stays on your site reading your content, the better your site's dwell time, which is another metric search engines use to determine site quality.
Backlink Generation
High-quality, informative, and engaging blog content encourages others to link back to your site, generating valuable backlinks. These backlinks signal to search engines that your website is a credible and reliable source of information, which can significantly boost your SEO ranking.
In theory, the more backlinks you have, your chance of organic traffic will increase. But steady on before use them all over the place. Follow these three rules:
Enhanced User Engagement
Blogs promote user engagement, encouraging readers to spend more time on your website. This increased dwell time communicates to search engines that users find your content valuable, which can enhance your SEO ranking. Moreover, enabling comments on your blog posts can lead to further user-generated content that can also contribute positively to your SEO efforts.
Social Media Shares
Well-written blog posts are more likely to be shared across social media platforms, extending your content's reach and potentially increasing your website traffic. Each share creates a new backlink to your site, and as your content is shared more, your site's SEO authority improves.
Using blogs offers a dynamic way to implement SEO best practices while engaging with your audience genuinely and meaningfully. As such, blogs should be a central component of any comprehensive SEO strategy.
THE DO'S of Writing Engaging Blog Posts
Crafting engaging blog posts is an art. It requires a combination of compelling writing, reader-friendly formatting, and strategic content planning. Making your post engaging isn't just about getting eyes on your page; it’s about holding the reader's attention and persuading them to act – typically to share your content, subscribe to your newsletter, or consider your product or service.
Know your audience
Understanding your audience is paramount to writing engaging content. Are your readers industry experts looking for in-depth discussion, or are they novices seeking beginner-friendly advice? Knowing your audience guides your writing style, complexity level, and even the topics you choose to write about. Use tools like Google Analytics to gain insights into your audience’s demographics and interests.
Write stand-out headlines
Your headline is the first thing people see, so make it count. A captivating headline compels people to click on your post. It should be clear, engaging, and provide a sense of what the blog post will cover. Use powerful words that invoke emotion or curiosity.
Great options are always power words along the lines of:
Here are some more interesting statistics to help guide your headline planning:
Use visuals
People are inherently visual creatures by nature! Including relevant images, infographics, or videos in your posts can significantly increase engagement. Visuals break up text, making your post more reader-friendly. They can also convey complex ideas in a digestible format.
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Provide valuable content
Ensure that the content you provide is of high value to your audience. This could mean providing actionable advice, offering unique insights, or simply entertaining your readers. The higher the value, the more likely your readers will return to your website and share your content.
Keep it concise and organised
Online readers tend to skim through content, so keep your language simple and your points concise. Break up your content into sections with subheadings for easier reading. Bullet points and numbered lists are great for summarising information quickly.
Include a call-to-action
Engaging blog posts should lead readers to act. Include a clear, compelling call-to-action (CTA) towards the end of your post. The CTA could prompt readers to comment, share your post, sign up for a newsletter, or check out your product/ service.
Optimise for SEO
Use keywords strategically in your post to improve its visibility on search engine results. However, don’t sacrifice readability for keyword density. Your primary focus should always be on creating content that is valuable and engaging for your readers.
By adhering to these do's of writing engaging blog posts, you can captivate your audience, increase your blog’s visibility, and boost your overall online presence. Remember, consistently creating engaging content takes time and practice, so don’t be disheartened if you don’t see immediate results. Keep at it, and your efforts will pay off.
More Technical Aspects to Consider
High-Quality Imagery
Digital content gains significant traction when paired with high-quality images. They break up large blocks of text, provide visual interest, and can help explain concepts that are difficult to convey with words alone. Make sure you have the rights to use these images, or use royalty-free sources.
Interactive Elements
Interactive blog posts are more engaging. Consider adding relevant videos and infographics to enhance this! These elements can increase the time readers spend on your blog and foster a higher level of engagement.
The average visitor will spend 37 seconds reading your blog - so make sure you do everything you can to keep them engaged!
Embedded Social Media Posts
Embedding tweets, Instagram posts, or YouTube videos in your blog post can further enrich your content and make it more contemporary and engaging. This also facilitates social sharing, encouraging readers to share your content within their networks.
Load Time and Mobile Optimisation
Your blog post needs to load quickly to retain impatient visitors. Optimise images and limit other elements that could slow down your page. Additionally, ensure your blog is mobile-friendly. A significant portion of readers will access your content on their smartphones, and a mobile-optimised site can drastically improve their user experience.
Links to Relevant Content
Linking to your previous related posts can keep readers on your website for longer. Similarly, linking to relevant external content can be useful for readers and beneficial for SEO, but use this sparingly and strategically.
The list does go on...but don't worry about that for now!
Remember, creating an engaging blog post is not just about writing any old nonsense. You need to create a comprehensive, user-friendly experience for your readers. Take them on a journey!
By adhering to these do's of writing engaging blog posts, you can captivate your audience, increase your blog’s visibility, and boost your overall online presence. Remember, consistently creating engaging content takes time and practice, so don’t be disheartened if you don’t see immediate results. Keep at it, and your efforts will pay off. We promise!
So without further ado, on to the dreaded DON'TS!...
THE DON'TS of Writing Engaging Blog Posts
Don't Neglect Your Audience's Needs
We spoke about it before, but remember that each piece of content you produce should be aimed at addressing your readers' needs or queries. Don't fall into the trap of writing for search engines or producing content only to promote your products or services. This approach can make your content seem very impersonal and salesy, deterring any readers and leading to lower engagement rates. No one wants that!
Don't Ignore SEO Best Practices
While your content should primarily cater to your audience, ignoring SEO best practices can hinder your visibility on search engine result pages. Avoid keyword stuffing as it can lead to penalties from search engines and create a poor reading experience. But also, don't neglect to incorporate relevant keywords strategically in your content to enhance its discoverability.
Don't Use Complex Jargon
Using complex jargon or industry-specific language can alienate readers who are not familiar with these terms. Keep your language simple, clear, and concise. Don’t exclude people within your audience by using language that is too technical or difficult to understand. Your goal here should be to communicate effectively with your readers, not to impress them with your vocabulary.
Don't Publish Without Proofreading
Publishing content that is full of grammatical errors, typos, or inaccuracies can hurt your credibility and turn off readers. Don't rush the publishing process. Take the time to thoroughly proofread your content, or consider using proofreading tools or services to ensure your content is polished and error-free.
Don't Overlook the Importance of Consistent Posting
Blogging is not a one-and-done deal. Don't expect to see results after publishing one or two posts. It's important to post consistently to keep your readers engaged and coming back for more. However, don’t sacrifice quality for quantity. Regularly posting high-quality, relevant content can help to establish your brand as an authority in your field and boost your SEO.
Final Word
Creating an engaging blog post takes time and effort, but following this simple list of dos and don'ts can make the process much easier. By knowing your audience, creating a plan, incorporating visual aids, writing attention-grabbing headlines, and being conversational in tone, you can create blog content that resonates with your readers and keeps them coming back for more.
Remember, your goal is to deliver value to your readers, so make that your priority!
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