How to Write Great Blog Posts

In a previous blog post, I discussed how blogging helps businesses generate more leads. Writing blogs may not be easy because you do not know where to start, especially how to write one that will perform well and generate leads for your business. Writing blog posts is one of my favorite things to do for my business and my clients. 

Writing Your Blog Posts

So, a few quick tips for writing your blog posts include captivating headlines, subheadings, and shorter paragraphs.

Write a Captivating Headline

How do people choose which blog posts to read? It often comes down to the headline. For example, you are searching on the internet for how to find vacation rentals, and you find two blog posts, one titled “How to Find the Best Vacation Rental” and the other, “Discover Your Perfect Home Away from Home: The Ultimate Guide”, which post will you read? Most likely, the second one – right?

But why is that?

People are drawn to stories, especially real-life stories. If you share a personal story, your audience will trust you more than if you write a generic article. Including a personal story in your headline makes it even more compelling. Additionally, a captivating headline should appeal to your audience’s dreams and desires, hint at great results, and, most importantly, capture their interests.

Use Subheadings and Write Shorter Paragraphs

Many people choose to read blogs over books because they prefer concise content. Including subheadings helps people who want to skim your blog post find the exact nuggets of information they are seeking. In addition, using shorter paragraphs under each subheading can enhance readability and can make your blog post more attractive to potential readers.

Establish your Authority

Establishing your authority in your blog posts is crucial in gaining the trust and loyalty of your audience. One of the most effective ways to do this is to show your knowledge and expertise in the topic you are writing about. To achieve this, you can provide accurate and valuable information that is supported by credible sources.

You can put links to other posts that are related to your blog to help your audience read more about it. Search engines love backlinks, and having links to other posts can be very helpful to your audience as well.

You can also use personal anecdotes, case studies, and examples to help showcase your knowledge and experience more. As a blog writer, you need to have consistency in your writing style, tone, and voice. When you have established your authority, you can now position yourself as a trustworthy source of information and opinion, which can help grow your audience and influence.

Not a writer? Don’t worry! You may have someone on your team who is – ask around. You can also utilize Chat-GPT and other AI-powered software tools to help you. Be careful you don’t just have it generate a blog post and then publish it though, you want to make sure your brand voice and personal touch still find their way into your content.

Keep in mind that your post should be persuasive but not salesy. Readers do not want to feel like they are being sold to all the time, so they tend to avoid reading sales-focused content. Instead, your blog post should be persuasive in a way to connect with your target audience. It should give them information that will help them answer their question or problem, while also directing them to contact you to learn more and get additional assistance.

Add Statistics and Images to Your Blog Posts

Images and statistics have a unique ability to convey a story that words cannot. By using both, your potential readers will find your content more accessible. Statistics summarize your writing, while images help illustrate it, making it easier to understand. 

Finish with the Right Length

As I said earlier, blog posts need to have concise content, but it does not need to be short. Blog posts that are too short may lack relevant information, while overly long posts can be exhausting to read. The ideal length for a blog post is between 500-1,000 words, but it is important to consider the amount of information you want to share. 

Google and other search engines love long-form content as it tends to provide more valuable information than shorter posts. Because of this, longer posts tend to rank higher in search results. If you have enough relevant information to share about a topic, you could aim for a length between 1,000 and 2,000 words to maximize the impact of your content in the search engines. This can be a fine line though, because you don’t want to add words just to increase your word count.

Include a Call to Action

When you are done writing your relevant and valuable information in your blog post, the last step is to end it with a call to action. As you have established your authority, your readers will already trust you when you tell them what do to next. Using the example shared above, now that they have read about how to find the best vacation rental, what do you want them to do next? Do you want them to read another blog post? Do you want them to book your vacation rental? Should they subscribe to your email list? This is the place to give them an easy way to take the next step with you.

Promote Your Blog Posts

A great blog post does not end with it being published on your website. You need to promote it!

Promoting your blog post is essential to reach a wider audience and increase traffic to your website. Here are some effective ways to further promote your blog post:

• Share it on your social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.
• Reach out to other blog writers or websites in your niche and request them to share your post with their audience. Also, if applicable, offer to write an alternate version for them to publish as a guest post.
• Use email marketing to send your post to your email subscribers. I use and recommend Mailerlite to my clients, it works well and is free for up to 1,000 subscribers.
• Repurpose the information into different formats like videos, podcasts, or webinars.

From my experience as a blogger and marketing coach, there are days when ideas will flow and there are days when you may struggle to get ideas for your article. If you get stuck, spend some time learning more about your target audience and their struggles. It will help you create an idea bank for blog post topics that will address their needs, concerns, likes, and goals.