Ever wish writing a blog post was faster? Easier?
You know that blogging is a necessity for businesses nowadays, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a craft that requires practice; practice that you don’t have the time or energy for.
So you say to yourself “How do I write this? What do I even write about?” And since writing a blog post with skill is crucial to making a lead-generating blog, you’re in a rut if you can’t write a solid blog post.
But there are ways to fix this. Even though you aren’t a blog post writing expert, that doesn’t mean you can’t write like one. You just need to learn a few key tips that’ll elevate your writing skills, that way you can create value-packed blog posts that’ll transform your current readers into future customers.
#1. Know your audience’s biggest problems
The foundation of effective blog posts starts squarely with your audience, and it’s your job to create content that your audience deems valuable. What constitutes value? Value is information that solves your readers problems.
For example, for this post I thought of the common problems a business owner has in relation to my expertise (blog post writing), and I realized that business owners don’t want to take the time to completely learn a new skill set. They’re already trying to run a business after all.
So I made a blog post about writing a blog post, and in it I emphasize the use of templates so half the work is already accomplished. This perfectly resonates with the busy business owner.
So create a list of common problems your readers have, that’ll be perfect for blog post material and is something you can cook up quickly.
Eventually you’ll need more content ideas, but for now you can’t go wrong with topics aiming to solve your readers problems.
#2. Copy and use proven headline structures
Headlines are often considered to be more important than the blog post itself. Why? Because if your headline isn’t click-worthy, then nobody even reads the blog post you worked so hard on. Blogging guru Brian Clark even said “On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest.”
Here’s a simple trick to creating good headlines – add benefits. Look at my headline for example, what’s the benefit?
“4 tips for writing a blog post that saves your business time and money”
See it? It’s the promise that you’ll be able save time and money for your business (obviously). If I just called it “Blog Post Writing,” it’d lose its impact because you wouldn’t know what you’d be getting out of reading the article. But by adding a benefit to the headline, you know immediately what you’ll get out of it.
To make headline creation even easier, here’s a great list of headlines that you can simply copy; all you need to do is alter each headline a bit so it matches your topic. Don’t worry, this doesn’t make you a copycat – it makes you smart. These headlines have stood the test of time for a reason, and using them will ensure your headlines do the same.
Here’s an even easier method to creating great headlines – plug your topic into the headline generator and press enter. Presto! A list of great headlines for you to use.
#3. Stick with proven blog post styles
Some styles of blog posts are better at achieving different goals than others. Depending on your blog’s goals, you should be emphasizing the use of certain blog post styles over others.
There are many types of blog posts and they tend to overlap in style as well, but here are the most common types that perform well:
1. List types
List types are possibly the most common type of blog post, and for good reason – they get the 2nd most shares of any blog post type out there. In addition, they’re easy to read/scan; they create order in a blog post; and they’re easy to write. If you aren’t sure where to start, you can’t go wrong with a list post.
Examples:
- Top 32 Best Small Business Websites, Tools And Apps
- 3 Tools to Help You Fall Madly In Love With Content Marketing
2. How-to guides
The how-to guide usually provides a step-by-step solution to a specific problem. If there’s a recurring/significant problem in your industry or that your readers encounter, this is a good type of blog post to write.
Examples:
- How to Write a Marketing Plan for Twitter
- How to Conduct Effective Market Research for Your Business
3. Case studies
Case studies are great for building authority. The typical case study shows how a certain strategy was able to get a certain result (example – 200% increase in subscribers). If your business got a great result for a customer, then consider writing a case study on it. It’ll look good to readers considering to do business with you in the future.
Examples:
- Email Marketing Case Study: How I Generated $40,000 In Sales Without Annoying My Subscribers
- Link Building Case Study: How I Increased My Search Traffic by 110% in 14 Days
And for more blog post styles you can use, check out these great sources:
- Ten Proven Blog Post Ideas And Examples To Smash Blogger’s Block
- The Only 6 Posts Worth Writing (and How to Totally Nail Each One)
#4. Use blog post writing templates
This is usually the part of creating a blog that people dread, but luckily there’s a way to ease the process – templates. Templates provide the skeleton of a blog post; all you’ve got to do is fill them out. The templates I’ve provided below tell you exactly what goes in each section, so you can’t go wrong.
- Derek Halpern blog post template
- Danny Iny blog post template (Scroll down till you see “The 4 sections of an awesome blog post”)
These templates have been successfully used by top bloggers. In fact, this post is based off the 2nd template. I use it for most of my guest posts, so I can attest to its effectiveness.
#5. End each blog post with a call-to-action
Ultimately we want our readers to do something, right? We want them to know, like, and trust us enough to do business with us down the line. We can foster a stronger relationship with them by inviting them to comment on our blog or subscribe to our email list for more value-packed advice.
Reader engagement is vital to the success of any blog, so make sure you have a strong call-to-action at the end of each blog post. Of course there are other ways to end your blog posts, but the call-to-action is always a strong choice.
Over to you
Do you have any tips for small-business owners who struggle with writing a blog post? Leave a comment with your answer because I think we’d all appreciate some good tips for easier blog post writing.
Images: ”Blog/ Shutterstock.com“
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