Okay. You just finished writing your blog post and hit SUBMIT.
Now you tweet it, share it on LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, Facebook and wait.
Nothing. No one is biting.
Why is no one is talking about your wonderful best blog post?
I mean you’ve spent time figuring out what to call your blog post, used examples to improve your content, used an awesome photo and even linked to other sites and old blog posts of yours.
If you’re one of many who started a blog and is wondering why no one wants a taste of your content, maybe you are missing some key ingredients that will make it sticky and sweet for your readers.
Yes, writing a blog post as a new freelance writer or blogger doesn’t have to be hard.
Find out what the 3 ingredients are to turn your bland blog post into the sweetest blog post that every reader can’t resist.
Writing a Blog Post the Right Way
When writing a blog post, the thing to remember is that you can always go back to your blog posts and change them.
Yup, if you start a blog and write blog posts on your own blog, you can go back at any time and change your blog post. I usually go back to old blog posts and add more because after years of making money writing, I have learned a thing or two to improve my writing.
1. Break Me Off a Piece of That… Paragraph
One of the biggest mistakes new writers make when writing a blog post is blogging like they are writing a paper for their college professor.
Growing up, we learned that a proper paragraph is 5-6 sentences and that it should always include a topical sentence on what you will be writing.
If you write like this on your blog, don’t expect your readers to stick around. Only 16% of readers actually read word for word.
That means 84% of your readers only scan your entire blog post that you so painstakingly poured over for hours. To gain more readers, make it easy for them to scan by using these bite sized tips:
- Break up your paragraphs throughout your blog post. Make a break after 2-3 sentences. Mix up your paragraph lengths and sometimes stick a 1 sentence paragraph in your post.
- To break up your writing, try to include bullets and numbered lists (do you notice how I did this with my blog post? If I were to just make these into sentences my post would seem long and boring to read).
- Use attractive headings in your blog. Brian Clark, the owner of Copyblogger, wrote to make your scanners into readers, you need to lure them into reading the next sentence. You can do this effectively by using headings that will highlight the benefit of what they will be reading next.
2. Excuse Me While I Nibble On Your Words
When writing a blog post, it can have the most profound piece of information that everyone needs to read, but no one is reading it because of how it’s written.
You don’t understand because you made sure to edit for spelling, grammar, length, and redundancies.
No matter how long you spend checking over your blog post, you could be missing simple things to make your readers want to nibble away at what you wrote.
Take a look to see if you are using these extra toppings to enhance your blog post.
Deliciously Decorate Your Blog Post With Bold Text
When you bold key words or phrases, it helps draw the eye to important information in your blog post.
It also helps the 84% of readers who scan by giving them the most important information in headings and bold text.
If you are a scanner, you’re probably only reading the headings and nothing more. At least with bold phrases, you can be alerted to informative content.
Cut Away Clichés to Make Room for Metaphors
What are clichés? They are sayings that automatically come to your head when you are writing and usually appear when you can’t think of anything else to say.
They bore us because we’ve heard them used too many times, but as a writer, it can sometimes be hard to think of original content and you may not even know you’re using them.
Here are 10 clichés to avoid:
- Begs the question
- At the end of the day
- Moving forward
- As I’m sure you know
- Been there, done that
- Busy as a bee
- A little late in the game
- A twinkle in (his,her) eye
- Moral of the story
- I couldn’t care less
If you want your readers grabbing for more of your writing, try using metaphors instead.
Metaphors use parallel ideas to help get your topic better understood. They are often used for complicated ideas or as a way to spin an old idea in a new way.
Let’s use my blog post as an example.
My overall idea, how to write a blog post, is an old topic that has been written about and spun many ways. I focused on making your blog post memorable and sharable. From there, I wanted to use a metaphor to give this old topic a fresh perspective. I decided to use food as a way to describe how to write a memorable blog post.
Make It A Simple Dish To Read
There are many topics you can write about but if you’re using technical jargon and big words, you may be losing readers.
It’s important to know your audience before you begin to write your post. If you are writing about the latest fashion trends then using college level writing won’t attract the right audience.
Similarly, if your blog is about mental health issues in women, using slang would be inappropriate for your reader base.
Generally, keep your blog simple and if you need to write about something more technical, you can always use metaphors!
3. Tear Me A Piece of Your Sticky Content
Everyone who is a blogger wants some sticky content when writing a blog post. It’s a post that gets shared on multiple social platforms and gets readers to keep coming back for more of what you are serving. How can you make your blog post oh so sweet and sticky?
Provide Helpful Content
If all you write about is how your cat spends his days with you, people won’t be interested. They aren’t learning anything new from your blog posts.
When you solve problems and present new ideas or old ideas in a new way, readers will get value out of your blog.
Always think, how can I add something new for my readers that they will learn from?
Engage With Your Readers
Darren Rowse, owner of Problogger, wrote about his wife’s new website and was pleasantly surprised by how she was able to gain a following. She did this by starting a conversation with her readers.
She always:
- Answered any comments left on her blog or social media accounts. This lets her readers know she heard them and that she values their input.
- Always ends her blog post with a call to action. It’s a question or action plan for your readers. It invites a conversation and is considered good blogging etiquette.
Another way to make your blog posts engaging to your readers is by being personal.
As a freelance writer, I want other new freelance writers to learn from my content, but also a little more about who I am and why I chose this profession. That’s why on my blog I write about myself and my career along with how to improve your writing.
Interested in becoming a freelance writer? My course Write Your Way to Your First $1k goes into great detail about blog writing and formatting your posts for your clients. Wow your clients and enroll in my course today!
Is there any more bite sized tips I have forgotten? Are you using these 3 ingredients for better blogging? Which ingredient do you use the most and which one is the most effective in gaining readership? Please share your answers in the comments!
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