01 Jan 15 Golden Rules for Successful Blogging
Every half-second someone creates a blog post. It gets harder and harder to keep the interest of the readers. Besides, blogging can be a little bit overwhelming when starting. Thus, based on our experience, we have listed our top rules for creating an efficient blog post. Here they are:
1. Don’t wait for the inspiration to come. You can afford this only if you’re practicing a hobby. Otherwise, you should plan your time, sit down at your desk, and start creating. Writing is a skill which needs practice. You’ll be amazed how many ideas will come to you after implementing this approach.
2. Don’t overthink every word. Perfectionism is something good unless it’s an obstacle to achieving our goals. Mind the 80/20 rule or in other words: 80% of the results come with only 20% of the efforts. Assess if it’s worth the candle spending some more 80% of effort in making your blog post absolutely perfect.
3. Focus on the reader. Remember, a blog post is not about you. It’s all about your audiences. You should know them very well to provide interesting and useful information.
4. Don’t be pushy. Don’t offer your services or products. A blog post is not an advertisement. You have to propose solutions and solve problems, instead of distributing sales messages.
5. Engage. A blog post shouldn’t be instructive, but it should be some form of engagement. You shouldn’t talk TO your audiences, but talk WITH them.
6. Have a structure and tell a story within it. Stick to the familiar structure: intro – main information – conclusion. Besides, readers love stories and thanks to them it’s more likely to go to the end. You can also tell a personal story based on the above-mentioned structure.
7. Think of powerful title. You can add numbers (5 reasons why…, 7 steps to…, etc.). Ask a provocative question (should you go the extra mile…, what is the right…, etc.). Or ask a how-to question (how to become…, how to reach…, etc.)
8. Speak in your authentic voice. Be yourself and speak normally. Readers don’t want to read anything which looks as written by a robot. Keep the flow and add your life-saving sense of humor.
9. Keep length in mind. There are plenty of hypotheses about the length of a blog post. Some say that Google prefers blog posts between 2000 – 2500 words. Yet, readers are impatient and ready to leave before they’re done. Who do you think is more important? We recommend a length somewhere between 600 and 1200 words, depending on the scope of the topic.
10. Use images. Photos make your content more captivating. Still, be sure they’re high-quality and relevant to your topic. They should be also the same or at least proper size. Don’t forget to give credits, if you use 3rd party content. Avoid clichés like shaking hands or any other overused photos.
11. Proofread. Nobody wants to read messy or full of mistakes texts. Pay attention to proper spelling and grammar. Wait a couple of hours before you go through your copy for proofreading. Or just send it to a colleague or friend of yours for editing.
12. Format each blog post. Use narrow columns and keep paragraphs brief. Standardized fonts and sizes. Use bold text and fewer italics. Keep the same formatting in all your blog posts.
13. Keep it easy-to-read. We’re always in a rush. Our readers also are. Make your copy scannable. Add bullets and break the paragraphs up. Put headings and subheadings.
14. Use links within the post. Use both external and internal links. The first ones lead to other websites, and the second – to other posts on your blog. Make sure they open in a new tab, so as your readers won’t leave the initial publication. This will surely increase the ranking. It will also provide some valuable information to readers.
15. A call to action. You have created the perfect blog post and what comes next? A call to action – the key to bringing more conversions. It can be anything from getting an email address, purchasing a product, visiting another page, etc.
If you still experience some troubles with writing the ultimate masterpiece, check our formula for the perfect blog post here.
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