How to Write a Successful Blog Post

HOW ΤΟ WRITE A SUCCESSFUL BLOG POST IN 11 EASY STEPS THE ANATOMY OF A BLOG POST THAT DRIVES TRAFFIC Want to create a blog post that leaves a memorable impression? Find out what makes a blog post drive massive amounts of traffic and what it takes to leave your readers wanting more. THE RESEARCH NEWS GET TO KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE The journey to learning how to write a blog post people will actually want to read begins (and as you'll soon see, ends) with understanding those people first. ? FIND COMMON GROUND BUILD GENUINE RELATIONSHIPS Search for topics that resonate with Write about things your audience wants to know about, not just what your audience. The goal isn't to figure out what topics are popular in general. you want to tell them. UNDERSTAND YOUR READERS bag tote bag small bag Use Google Autocomplete Use surveys or turn to online communities Enter a topic on Quora and see a myriad of relevant questions and answers related to that topic. to find different search suggestions based off of millions of other related searches. THE HEADLINE EVERYTHING WRITE A CLEVER HEADLINE FOOD LOVERS FOR EVERY BLOG POST SHOULD KNOW HAVE A STRONG HEADLINE Headlines represent your blog across social media platforms, in Google search results, and within emails. In fact, 6 out of 10 people report only reading a blog's headline before they share the post on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Tips Start with a simple Leverage the curiosity gap with Creepy working title you can change later. Don't get hung up 10 BEST CREEPY STORIES Things on an irresistible the Internet headline that on crafting the perfect title- you'll eat through time and have teases what's in the piece without giving it away completely! ON THE INTERNET little to show for it. Remember to optimize for search and social. These two channels will be major sources of traffic for your content, so how your headlines will be read and interpreted on these platforms are paramount. f THE OPENING (OR THE HOOK) HOOK YOUR READERS BRANDED BAGS EXPLAINED! FROM THE START FIRST IMPRESSIONS MATTER First impressions with a blog post are critical and affect whether we choose to get to know someone better- or make our way to the exit. DO'S AND DON'TS FOR CRAFTING AN INTERESTING INTRODUCTION DO Start with a quote Leverage eye-catching formatting (like bold and italics) "There is a McDonald's in every continent except Antarctica " Open with a startling statistic .*: Although this might sound counterintuitive, McDonald's sells more than 75 hamburgers start with your conclusion first every second. Use colorful It's inevitable. As smoothie bowls, kale salads, and chia puddings continue to invade our social media feeds, the language convenience of fast food restaurants seems to get the best of us. Answer the who, what, Use drama where, when, why as soon as possible What's not to love? Fast food is a quick fix to a hungry or humor stomach minus the hassle of cooking and washing the dishes- plus they're effing delicious, which seems like a win-win situation to us. DON'T x Use a cliche that'll x Bury the lede (failing to tease the most interesting point in your article) State the obyious leave readers rolling their eyes THE HEADLINE CAPTIVATE WITH A STORY A blog post that leverages storytelling will remain memorable to your readers. Unsure where to find inspiration? Start with these: The experiences of your readers Your own A story in collaboration with your readers experiences Something Things you've read you've created on your own Every great story must have these four characteristics to keep your readers from getting bored There's a There are It's simple It's compelling conflict incredible memorable characters ANSWER QUESTIONS AIM FOR FEATURED SNIPPET PLACEMENTS A blog post that's optimized for getting a featured snippet can help you get a ton of new traffic without needing to invest as much in other strategies - O X Ending up on Google's featured snippets increases your CTR. So what does it take to get on these snippets? Figure out exactly what people are asking by observing suggested Make those questions the headers in your blog post (utilizing proper H1's, H2's and H3's) ? search results on sites like Google and Quora Answer all of the most common questions related to this search term succinctly (using question and answer format) Create a structured, Hyperlink each menu item to its corresponding sub-header below (to make the post easily navigable) ALL ABOUT CACTUS hyperlinked menu near the top of your blog post using the same proper text formatting BE AUTHENTIC IN YOUR WRITING Nowadays, readers crave authenticity more than ever: One recent study found that only 48% of people in the US trust brands, down from 58% in 2017. A recent survey found that 67% of people think content marketing is useful and valuable-but 33% believe content marketing is biased and unreliable. This is how you can sound more authentic when writing a blog post: Talk like a human Identify your values Write about issues you actually care about Take a stand Be transparent Hello there! PRIORITIZE QUALITY OVER QUANTITY PUBLISH WITH LESS FREQUENCY, BUT WITH MORE DEPTH In the early days of blogging, consistency was key. Nowadays, quality beats quantity every day of the week. II OI Use the skyscraper technique This method boils down to finding an existing popular post and making it better through improved content, design and exploring more diverse content mediums. PUBLISH THE FORMAT MAKE YOUR BLOG POSTS EASILY SCANNABLE SKIM READING IS THE NEW NORMAL Eye-tracking studies have revealed most people read about 20% of the text on a web page. In one usability test by Nielsen research, scannable and objective copywriting resulted in 124% better usability. Here are a few tips for creating scannable content your audience will enjoy: THE WORLD Use simple words Play around with OF WINE formatting like bold, italics, different text sizes and format to emphasize -- - Keep your paragraphs and sentences short (aim for a maximum of 3-4 vertical lines) Use sub-headings to break up your posts into sections Include bulleted lists "Age appears best in four things: old wood to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust and old authors to read." ................. Add a few block quotes (or tweet quotes) - Francis Bacon Frequently utilize images, charts, and tables MAKE YOUR BLOG POSTS DIGESTIBLE (AND MOBILE-FRIENDLY) DIGESTIBLE CONTENT Break your pieces of content up into different mediums so your audience can quickly consume content in a format that makes sense for them at the time, such as: Videos Social posts Podcasts Infographics GIFS Slide decks ACCESSIBILITY IS NOT OPTIONAL ANYMORE Converting your content into different formats can even help people with difficulties (or disabilities) that prevent them from reading, to benefit from your blog. THE VISUALS INVEST IN THOUGHTFUL DESIGN USE LOTS OF IMAGES BEAUT BASICS Photos, illustrations, graphs, and charts to break up the text and reinforce your ideas. USE PROPER FORMATTING The use of headers and other formatting tags provide crucial visual structure for your content and make it much easier to follow along with (or scan). OPTIMIZE YOUR LAYOUT When viewing content on the web, people tend to scan in an F-shape pattern. Useful design can help prevent F-shape scanning, but it's still a good idea to put critical page elements along the top and left side when you write a blog post. ... INCREASE YOUR FONT SIZE USE MARGINS AND SPACING While small text can look cool F| to some, it's difficult to read, even for your younger readers. Larger font sizes can also increase reading speed and comprehension. Include plenty of blank space around blocks of texts to make them more readable and less visually stressful for your readers. THE DATA SHOW THEM THE NUMBERS Original data and research are huge differentiators that can help your blog rank higher in search results, build backlinks, and increase your authority, influence and credibility. The first step is gathering the actual data itself. Some of the best sources of original data are: EXPERIMENTS OBSERVATIONS If you have something Form a hypothesis, devise an experiment, and summarize your findings. you can measure or track, you've got a data source just waiting to be analyzed. Decide on a length of time you'll be monitoring the situation and put the numbers in a spreadsheet for easy analysis. DATA SCRAPING SURVEYS AND POLLS Build an algorithm or outsource the Even if your audience is on the smaller side, a well thought-out survey can yield some impressive insights. development of a tool to collect information from websites that haven't been explored yet. Here are two smart ways to leverage existing studies into unique content for your blog: INTERPRET DATA AND OFFER AN In my opinion.. ORIGINAL PERSPECTIVE Come up with a unique theory or insight based on studies, guides, and reports. Draw connections between two different data sources or identify patterns that have gone unnoticed. MAKE THE DATA EASIER TO CONSUME AND SHARE Turn hard-to-read studies into eye-catching charts, infographics, and embeddable images. Compile a bullet listed of the most impressive facts or data points around a topic. Summarize insights into bite-sized, tweet-able sentences. INFOGRAPHIC BY Ryan Robinson. https://www.ryrob.com/how-write-blog-post/ n.