Did you know the average number of blog posts being posted in 24 hours is a whopping 900,000 (source – thefuturebuzz.com)?
So how on earth are you supposed to get yours to stand out?
Wouldn’t it be great if there was a formula you could follow that would ensure you produced great blog posts every time? Well there is, sort of. What follows are 8 tips that will help you increase your chances of being found, read and shared.
Are you ready?
1. Title
The title of your blog is what will draw your readers in.
If it’s a bit lame no one will take any notice. So it has to be eye catching and snappy, but make sure it always relates to what you’ve written about.
Fitting your keywords in is essential, but make sure the title you come up with actually makes sense, rather than it being a jumble of non related words that is completely meaningless.
2. Sub heads
Why do you need sub headings?
Quite simply because they make it easy for people to see what your post is about and, visually, makes it more appealing.
If your post is one long wall of text, or a couple of dense paragraphs no one is going to read it. But if it’s made up of smaller paragraphs and clear sub headings introducing each section, it will make the reader’s life a lot easier.
3. Natural
Can you write natural copy that’s optimised? Of course you can.
The blog you are writing is about a specific topic. That topic will be your keyword. Therefore, as you write naturally and for your reader (i.e. address them by using the second person) that keyword will crop up naturally without having to be forced into every nook and cranny. The result will be a well written blog.
4. Images
The use of pictures, photos, graphs and videos will enhance your post, so long as they are relevant to its content. If they aren’t they’ll just distract your reader and confuse them. And you don’t want that.
5. Call to action
You may not be selling directly through your blog (I hope you’re not), but you still need a call to action if you want people to engage with you.
It can be as simple as asking for them to leave a comment and posting their opinion, or to sign up to your newsletter or RSS feed. Whatever it is, it shows that you’re also interested in them and starts the relationship building process.
6. Sharing
Social media sharing buttons are essential. If you write great stuff people will want to share it, so make it easy for them and have the buttons visible.
7. How about..?
Adding links into your post to other related posts and articles is a great way to show your depth of knowledge and enhance the reader’s experience.
8. Comments
If all goes well you’ll start to get comments on your posts, so make sure you respond to them. Not with a ‘thank you for your comment’, if they’ve taken the time to write something, write a proper reply back to them. It’s all about relationship building, so get chatting.
I’m not suggesting that if you use all of those tips you’ll instantly be the world’s greatest blogger, that will take time as you have to build a reputation first. But each of these will help engage your readers more and encourage them to return to your blog time and time again.
Is there anything else you do to encourage comments and readers? If so leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you.