Your content is the most important aspect of your blog. But,
how you deliver and present your blog posts often dictate whether a note a post will get read.
There are plenty of blogs out there just begging for attention, but they
lose the reader with lengthy diatribes or perhaps they don’t even attract readers at all. Maybe that blogger is you.
Not to worry. We’ve pulled together
five simple tips to help you take that killer content of yours and build an awesome blog post that’s more likely to be read and shared.
Let’s get started, shall we?
Write a great headline.
People will choose whether or not to read your post based on the headline, so make it snappy, exciting and something that people just have to read. Copyblogger has a great 10-part series on writing magnetic headlines that’s sure to help.
Include visuals.
Pictures, graphics and other visuals help draw readers in and make the page more eye-appealing. You don’t have to spend a fortune on stock photography. You can find free images by doing a Google image search or searching through Flikr’s creative commons.
Write tight.
People don’t have a ton of extra time, so take out the extraneous stuff. If you can retain the meaning with one sentence instead of three, then do that. Concise posts make it easier for your readers to digest the information.
Chunk it up.
To make the information easy to digest, chunk up the information into manageable bites. In other words, use short paragraphs, sub-headings, bullet points and numbered lists to help keep the reader moving.
Tell the reader what to do next.
If you want people to engage and write a comment, ask them to do that. Or, if you are using the post to encourage sign-ups to your email list, then tell them that. (p.s. you can sign up for our awesome email tips here in case you were wondering.). Always give the reader some point of action at the end.
4 replies on “5 Simple Steps to Building an Awesome Blog Post”
Hi Laura,
Good straightforward advice that gets to the essentials of constructing a good post.
The only thing I would add concerns links, firstly check the link carefully to make sure you are taking your reader to the right place, you soon lose a lot of your credibility if you don’t!
Also, and this might just be a personal thing, I like to target the link to open in a new page. This is mainly due to the fact that your own page remains open so if the reader closes the link page after looking (as I often do) they will return to your blog page rather than losing it and maybe not bothering to find it again.
I am sure there are pros and cons to that one, what do you think?
Thanks Laura for an excellent reminder of the simple steps we all need to take that can be so easily forgotten.
Tony
Hi Tony – Thanks for your kind comment today! Your points are spot on. I think links are great ways to provide additional resources and context for your post. And yes, having posts open in a new window is a must. I set mine up that way too.
Thanks again!
As always, good stuff Laura….thanks!
Sure thing, Troy! I’m glad you liked it.