Do you know what’s needed to create a great blog post that will draw readers in so they return for more? Today we’re going to backtrack a little and get down to the basics of blogging. For the purposes of this post, we’ll call it “Blogging 101”, and take a look at the key components you need to consider before you hit publish on your next piece of content that catches your readers attention enough to subscribe to your blog
A Captivating Headline and Introduction
There is no quicker way to lose readers than a poorly written headline or introduction. Be bold in your headline and intro. Jot down five to ten titles and narrow them down based on what you think will catch your readers attention and perform best from an SEO perspective.
Make the value of your post clear. What are your readers going to get out of your blog? Include your keyword at the beginning of the title of your blog and in the introduction. You can even use a headline analyzer like this one from CoSchedule to test out your headline and see how it performs before publishing your content.
Featured Images
If you aren’t using images in your blog posts, you are truly missing the mark and an opportunity to catch additional eyeballs on your content, especially those who are more visual. Each blog post should include a high-quality featured image that sits at the top of the piece and is optimized for search. A wonderful resource for free high-quality stock photos can be found here at Ivory Mix.
To optimize for search, you’ll need to ensure your alt tags are using the right keywords to describe images which will allow search engines to better crawl and rank your website. This blog post from Hubspot goes into greater detail about how you can optimize your images for search.
It’s also a best practice to use your featured image across social media so you will need to ensure the image is formatted for use in various platforms. For example, the image you select for a blog banner will be sized differently than what you use for Pinterest, which is typically a tall image. Here’s a little cheat sheet from Sprout Social with details about sizing your images for social media.
Download your FREE hand-drawn graphics for social media, presentations, and ads here!
Keywords
We could probably write a book about search engine optimization and keywords, but for the purpose of this post, we’ll just touch on the most important things to know about keywords to get you started. First, you’ll want to focus on one long-tail keyword per post. A long tail keyword is generally 3-4 descriptive words about your post that you can sprinkle throughout your content. You’ll also have several other keywords that support your long-tail keyword and are used throughout.
Remember to mention your keywords in your copy in a natural, reader-friendly way. The primary focus should be on what your audience needs, not the keyword. The quickest way to begin optimizating your keywords for future posts is by looking into your web analytics tool to see what readers are searching for. Keywords that rank the highest are a great starting point for another piece of content, and something you can continue building off of.
Call To Action
A blog post without a specific call to action (CTA) is essentially a wasted piece of content. Without it, your readers have consumed information but are not prompted to take the next step you want them to take. They may feel like they’ve just wasted time reading your post without a strong CTA.
CTA’s can be anywhere in your post, but they generally perform the best at the top of the piece or after the first few paragraphs through hyperlinked texts. You can also consider using a CTA as readers scroll down the page. If they make it to the end, you can offer them a helpful next step with a download, or prompt them to read another piece of content.
Style
Writing for a blog is very different than copywriting, writing press releases for a media company, or writing for academia. As we mentioned earlier, the hook is in the headline and introduction. Without a captivating headline, you’ll lose readers with the click of a mouse.
Blogs are meant to be conversational so use simple language, contractions, and avoid acronyms and jargon. Explain difficult terms to your readers so they don’t get lost. Keep your words clear and concise so there is little chance of confusion or misinterpretation by using an active voice. Finally, keep obvious details and excessive adjectives out of your writing as you can lose readers with unnecessary words.
We hope you find this information useful as you continue your journey into the world of blogging and content creation. Do you have any best practices to share? If so, we’d love to hear it - leave a comment below!