Writing a blog is one of the best ways to build your brand, share your expertise and increase your visibility in your industry. But writing a blog isn't easy — you have to come up with topics that are interesting enough for readers and relevant enough for search engines. Luckily, there are some simple tips and tricks you can use to make the whole process easier. Here are eight of our favorite blogging tips:
Focus on a niche that you’re passionate about.
If you want to build a successful blog, you need to find your passion and focus on that niche. You might think that the best way to start a blog is to write about everything. You might even be tempted to write about whatever is trending on Google News and Facebook. But if you want to be successful, you have to choose a specific topic or niche and stick with it. Think about what you’re passionate about and what makes you tick and start writing about that topic. If you’re passionate enough about it, then writing will be enjoyable!
Target topics people are searching for.
One of the most important things you can do for your blog is to write about topics that people are searching for. If you're just writing about topics you like (or think will be interesting to your readers), it's likely that they won't get much traffic. But if you write about topics people are searching for, and provide them with valuable information, then they might just find their way to your blog.
Take aim at your competitor’s topics.
You should be following your competitors as they are probably doing the same thing. You can see what they are writing about, who they are targeting and what their strategy is. You should also keep an eye on competitor blogs for any new trends that might affect your business. If one of them starts writing about something relevant to your business, then this could be an opportunity for you to piggyback on their success by writing about something similar yourself.
Create content that attracts amplifiers.
When it comes to content marketing, one of the most important things you can do is attract amplifiers. In other words, you need to give the right people a reason to share your content. There are two types of amplifiers: those who are passionate about your topic and those who have influence over large audiences. The key is finding ways to attract these amplifiers and get them interested in what you're doing so they'll want to share it with their networks — or at least link back to it from their own websites.
Make your blog posts easy to read.
One of the best ways to engage your readers is to write in a conversational tone. The more conversational you write, the easier it is for readers to relate to you and your content. This is because they feel like they're having a conversation with you rather than reading something that sounds like a textbook or article. You can also make your blog posts easier to read by using bullet points, bold text, italics, and other formatting techniques. It's important to note that not every blog post has to be written in this way. If you're writing about technical topics or other things that require more formal language, then it's fine to stick with traditional writing styles.
Craft headlines that grab attention.
Your blog headline and the first sentence of your post are the most important part of your blog post. Every headline is a promise to your reader that you will deliver on. If you can't deliver on what you promise, don't make the promise in the first place. Your headline should be clear, concise, and relevant to your topic. It should not be misleading or false, nor should it be wordy or confusing. The key to writing a good blog headline is to write it last. Once you've finished writing your post, go back and rewrite your headline so it's punchy and enticing.
Write content regularly.
What's the best way to get people to keep coming back? Post new blog posts regularly. Posting new blog posts regularly will keep people coming back to check out all of your new content. If you post new blog posts regularly, that means people are going to be checking in on your blog multiple times a week, or even each day. Each time they do, they'll see something new—and since it's something new, it'll get their attention. That means more eyes on your brand and more opportunities for them to become customers.
Build an email list for your blog.
If you're looking to build a successful blog, you need to start building an email list. Building an email list is one of the most important things you can do for your blog or business because it gives you direct access to your readers and customers, while at the same time letting them know that they're being heard by you. You should be building your mailing list from day one as soon as you start blogging, even if it's just a few people at first. You want to make sure that any new subscribers get added to this list so they don't miss out on important updates from you in the future.
We hope that you have found these blogging tips useful. There's no replacement for experience of course, and only through time will you be able to develop a style that really suits you. With that said, however, there are certainly some great tips here.