Remember when blogs were just something your unconventional next-door neighbor used to write?
Well, it turns out that they were onto something because now according to Hubspot, 48% of businesses with a content strategy are blogging. 56% of them are saying it’s effective and 10% are saying it generates the biggest return on investment.
With numbers like these, it’s no wonder so many people want to include blogging in their marketing plan.
And perhaps you also want to create a blog for your business but you just don’t know where to begin. Or maybe you’re stuck on which topics to write about that will keep your audience engaged.
Either way, blogging is a great way to showcase your expertise, drive traffic to your website, and educate your audience about essential topics in your field.
Buuuut, you don’t just want to write any ol’ blog. You want to craft a blog where lots of people are attracted to your website. And the more people who comment, share, and interact with your content the more your blog will be seen.
The problem is, standing out in a sea of blogs is easier said than done! After all, there’s a lot of competition out there.
There’s good news though! You absolutely can make content that brings lots of traffic to your website and keeps your audience coming back for more.
The key is to use these 7 things I always use to write awesome blogs for my clients.
1. Use Chat GPT or Claude to brainstorm ideas
When I first learned about Chat GPT, I was skeptical. I thought people were only going to use it to copy the material instead of creating new and compelling content themselves.
However, thanks to my mentor, I discovered how Chat GPT and Claude can be beneficial for blog writers, business owners, and copywriters.
For instance, if you’re experiencing writer’s block, these tools can help generate interesting topics, possible headlines, and they can even create a potential outline for your blog posts.
In fact, using Claude has been very effective in pushing me past my own writer’s block.
While Chat GPT and Claude can inspire ideas, keep in mind that these tools don’t do everything!
For example, they don’t fact-check or always write things as clearly and creatively as a human can. So, be discerning when deciding what to use and not to use.
2. Create SEO optimized headlines and content
For those who may not know, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.
SEO techniques increase your website’s visibility and search engine results by showing the algorithm (Google) that you have relevant content to share.
And the more relevant content you have to share, the more Google will show your content to more people. This makes it easier for your ideal audience to find you online.
Here are 3-simple ways you can begin to optimize your online content:
- Use Target Keywords: Find and use keywords that your ideal audience will be searching for online. This helps you to rank higher for important keywords in your niche.
- Add H1 and H2 Headlines: Headlines with keywords make it easy for Google to scan your article to know exactly what it’s about.
- Write between 1,000-1,500 Words: Many people think sharing short content is enough as long as they post consistently. However, longer content tends to get more attention from Google because it indicates that a topic is fully covered.
Using the above SEO techniques will help boost your online content for months and years after you publish it.
3. Use storytelling
Recently, a lady on one of my discovery calls said that after attending many years in law school and psychotherapy school she noticed that her writing started to sound too “academic-y” and dry.
She realized after writing her own website, that it wasn’t getting the type of response that she’d hoped for. Mostly, because her writing was full of jargon that her ideal clients couldn’t relate to.
And let’s be real, most of us were taught to write much more formally!
So, one of the best ways to eliminate boring and jargon-filled copy is to use storytelling. You can do this by sharing personal antidotes, case studies, or any other relevant stories related to your topic.
Real life stories are often very relatable which helps to keep your audience intrigued and engaged in what they’re reading.
4. Have well-structured content
Did you know that there will be over 600 million blogs written in 2024 according to blogging statistics?
That’s a lot.
Soooo, if you want to stand out amongst the crowd, having easy to follow content will help to keep your audience interested.
Here are several ways to execute well-structured content:
- Eliminate bulky text and paragraphs
- Create descriptive headers and subheads
- Use bullet points and numbered lists
- Incorporate bold and italicized text
These tips will help you to uplevel your blog by making it easy to read.
5. Add strong images that complement your topic
I don’t know about you, but I love pictures and visuals!
Picking images that complement your topic enhances your message and grabs more people’s attention as well.
You can often find free quality images to use for your blog on websites like Pexels or Istock.
However, if you can’t find the right image on the free platforms, you can always pay a small subscription fee that will give you access to hundreds of other images to explore.
6. Add a call to action
If you’ve been around the online space for some time now, you’ve likely heard about “calls to action” (CTAs).
However, you may not know exactly what it is or what they should say.
A call to action is a phrase that tells your readers exactly what to do.
Here are some examples:
- Subscribe to my newsletter
- Share now
- Comment below
These are essential because your readers want to know what to do after reading your content.
And if you’re going to go through the process of writing a blog, adding a CTA will make it count by getting your readers to respond to your material.
7. Share your blog on social-media or an email newsletter
There’s hardly any point in putting in the effort of writing a blog if you’re not going to share it with people.
And one of the best ways to do that is with an email newsletter or social media posts on LinkedIN, Facebook, or Instagram.
The more often you share relevant content on your website, email newsletters, and social media posts, the more Google will send people to your blog or website.
It’s like a snowball effect that continues to build momentum.
Conclusion:
There you have it!
The 7 things I always use to write awesome blogs for my clients.
It takes effort to create a blog that’s SEO optimized and relevant for your reader, but the payoff is worth the long-term investment.
Rather you write your blog yourself or hire a copywriter to do it for you, having a blog is evergreen and an effective tool to add to your marketing strategy.
If you’d like to learn more about how I can help you create engaging content for your website or blog, email me at brooke@brookealdrich.com.
Resources:
1. “The Ultimate List of Marketing Statistics for 2024.” HubSpot, https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics.
2. “2024 Blogging Statistics.” WP Beginner, 2024 Blogging Statistics, Trends & Data – Ultimate List (UPDATED) (wpbeginner.com)