Remember when blogging used to be a multi-paragraph update on Myspace, or a web diary that only four other strangers who sympathized with your teen angst read? Times have definitely changed.
Now, the internet is home to over 150 million blogs. That can be a lot to compete with — even if you’re the only blog out there writing about your step-by-step process for carving hand soap to resemble the characters of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”
The number one factor for the success of your blog is having good content. Beyond that, there are a few other ways to help your blog get noticed. Here are eight of them:
1. Name it like it’s your baby.
As the face of your article, the blog title often determines whether your audience will want to read what you have to say or move on.
Keep it relevant. Think to yourself, “If I wanted to learn about this topic, what would I search for?” Keeping this in mind will help your blog show up in search engines.
Wordy titles can be a turnoff and imply that you’re giving away too much information at the start — so watch the word count and get👏 to👏 the👏 point👏.
When working on a title, tell readers what they’re going to get in a creative way, without actually giving it to them. Create a statement that makes the reader want more.
*Pro tip: When you think you have the perfect title, write a minimum of five more. Your words need “massaging” to get them just right.
Example One:
- Stop Saying Yes
- Just Say No
- Saying Yes to Everything Could Hurt Your Goals
- Why Saying Yes Is a Huge No
- Stop Being a “Yes Man” ✅
Example Two:
- The Ultimate Guide to Intermittent Fasting
- The Debate on Intermittent Fasting
- What to Consider When You Start Intermittent Fasting
- Who Should Do Intermittent Fasting?
- Should You Start Intermittent Fasting? ✅
2. Focus on the first impression.
Once you’ve drawn the reader in with a captivating title, it’s time to make it count. Use the intro of your blog post to present your “why.”
If you’re writing about a new recipe for gluten-free pancakes, maybe you’ll want to share why you created the recipe. Odds are, someone trying the recipe has a gluten intolerance too, making them want to engage further with your blog.
Overall, let the intro identify the problem and allude to the fact that you’re going to give them a solution.
*Pro tip: If you’re stuck on your introduction, write it last. Come back to this and use the points you’ve made in the rest of your blog as a guideline for what you want to say.
3. Keep it real.
Nobody clicks on a blog post to read what sounds like a newspaper article. If you’re running a personal blog, keep it light and write as though you’re having a conversation with a best friend. Play with contractions and other abbreviations — there’s a big difference between “don’t” and “do not.”
On the other hand, if you’re writing for a brand or company, determine the universal tone and language and base your diction and flow off that. It may be more professional rather than conversational, depending on the brand.
4. Give them what they asked for.
I understand that you have a lot to say, but your audience most likely landed on your article because of the topic mentioned in your title. So don’t stray too far from the main topic you initially introduced, even as you pepper in personal experiences to keep the conversation flowing.
If you feel you have a lot to say about a subtopic, create another post dedicated completely to that and link to it within the current post as a more “in-depth” explanation.
5. Breakups aren’t always a bad thing.
If your reader opens up your blog post and sees what looks like a novel, chances are you’ve already lost them.
Break up your text into short paragraphs. Use bullet points, subheadlines and numbered lists. Get creative to allow readers to jump straight to a point they’re most interested in and keep them from getting overwhelmed.
Insert photos throughout your work to create a more engaging experience. Images can help with the visual flow of the article, while also helping you get your point across.
If you’re having trouble breaking up longer posts, consider writing an outline beforehand. Laying out all your points quickly in this way can help you find the spots where line breaks or images seem to naturally fit.
6. Become best friends with CTAs!
No, that’s not the name of a college sorority. CTA stands for “call to action.” Calls to action are just that — making it clear what you want the reader to do when they’re finished reading your article.
Calls to action are often a way to get your audience to further engage with your brand (through website clicks, downloads, tags on social media, etc.).
You can either make it direct with phrases such as:
- “Find out more…”
- “For similar styles…”
- “Visit my website…”
- “Want more recipes?”
- “Interested in…”
You can also hyperlink to relevant information in a subtle way throughout the post. Example:
When I first started copywriting, I had no idea what I was doing.
Try to keep your CTAs natural and relevant to the topic.
7. Wrap it up and put a bow on it.
I know this one should be a given, but you’d be surprised by how many blog posts we see that have an unsettlingly blunt ending.
Even if you decide not to use your ending for a CTA, apply the basic rules of English and add a conclusion (but please, please do not say “In conclusion” unless you’re writing for a very boring brand). If your reader has made it this far in your article, then the least you can do is wrap it up nicely for them.
8. Check it more than twice.
Now that you’ve written the blog post, it’s time to edit. That means taking a knife to what you wrote and making cuts. Lots of cuts.
Because let’s be real, the first draft is never award winning (and it shouldn’t strive to be). Say it straight, then say it great.
Once you’ve massaged it into greatness, take a deep, hard look for any grammar issues. Nothing makes me distrust a brand more than seeing a “you’re” that should be a “your.”
Here are the four steps we suggest for proofreading:
- Spell check in Microsoft Word.
- Invest in Grammarly Premium and paste all of your writing into it.
- Print out your writing. It’s helpful to see it in a different light than the blue one you’ve been staring at 😜.
- Have someone else look at it. This would preferably be a professional proofreader, but anyone is better than just you.
Lastly, there are exceptions to every rule. Feel free to break them on your blog — just make sure it’s clearly intentional and doesn’t look like you made a big fat mistake.
Now that you’ve mastered the first steps in writing blog posts, your subscriber’s list is going to grow. Hold on to your readers with witty weekly emails that draw them to new content with five tips for writing emails.
See what I did there?