7 tips for more effective blog writing for your business
27th, Sep 2016
Are you a good writer? Even if you’re not the best, you can still write an effective blog post. In fact, blogs are a more forgiving format than most other writing. You set the length, tone and style. But there are best practices you should follow to improve your blog writing in order to better market your business.
1. Start strong. Your first paragraph should clearly and concisely tell readers what you are going to talk about and why it’s important (i.e. how it benefits them). You want to give them a reason to keep reading so don’t bury the lead. Sadly people’s attention spans keep getting shorter. According to Microsoft we’re now at 8 seconds so you have to get to the point quickly if you want to get them to continue reading.
2. Use the same terminology as your target audience. Speak to them in their own language. Generally you shouldn’t talk to potential clients the way you would talk to your colleagues or referral sources. Using the right tone and wording not only will make your content more readable and interesting, but you will be proving that you can relate to your audience.
3. Break up the text. A big block of text can be harder to write and put off readers. Lists, bullets, headings and other strategies can help you organize and discuss your topic in a more readable and compelling way. And dividing the text visually enables readers to more easily scan and understand the points you’re making.
4. Incorporate stories. This is a great way to demonstrate how you help people solve their problems. Provide case studies and examples to let your audience see that you are dealing with others like them. They also personalize your work as well as your content. It’s more interesting to read a story, than a bunch of facts. And you can omit confidential/identifying facts without sacrificing the value of your story.
5. Keep it simple. Yes you’re an expert and have lots of amazing information to share, but you will confuse and overwhelm readers with too much information. You want to help readers spot the important issues and gain some understanding, not provide a step by step guide to solving their problems. If you have that much to say, then write multiple blog posts and link them to each other so readers who are interested in more information can keep reading.
6. Write it and then put it aside. It’s very hard to look at your work objectively right after you’ve completed a draft. I build into my writing schedule extra time to review what I wrote the next day so I can edit and proof more effectively.
7. Include a call to action. What do you want readers to do after reading your blog? Contact you? Sign up for something? Make sure to have a clear next step for the reader. You’re using the blog to help your marketing so you want to encourage people to continue to engage with you in some way.
Keep these tips in mind the next time you’re writing a blog post. To read more writing tips, see 5 dos to help you create content that your audience wants to read and 5 things not to do if you want people to read your content.
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