Blog posts have to juggle a lot of responsibilities: They need to engage your readers, provide calls to action, encourage reasonable discussion, represent your company appropriately and, of course, increase the strength of your brand. It’s a lot to handle for any post, but it can be done: Here are the top tips for giving your blog a boost.
Match the Tone to Your Business
Blogs often succeed when they strike a conversational, natural tone. However, try to match the general tone of the blog to your business and market. You don’t want any discord between your site, products, social media posts, and blog. If you offer professional services, then stay professional. Hire writers that understand when and if to use humor, casual language, and other important tonal factors. The wrong tone will leave readers unimpressed with your brand, while the write tone can cement a sale.
Follow a Successful Template
If you want your blog posts to succeed when it comes to readability and engagement, start using templates and hire writers who understand basic blog etiquette. You can find strong examples of templates on sites such as this one, or you can create your own template to suit your content. Remember to include important elements like the call to action, appropriate sub-headers, and an engaging title.
Give Readers Value for Their Time
Why will people click on a link to your blog post? What do they expect to get out of the experience? The Internet is crammed full of content – you have to make yours stand out as a worthwhile read. Give readers something to take away. Offer some humor that has strong entertainment value. Provide tips that apply to their everyday lives. Show readers unique facts or possibilities for your products and services. Avoid banal posts and updates that say little or nothing, and hire writers that know how to produce concrete value instead of fluff.
Schedule Automatic Posting to Spread the Word
Use a platform that includes the ability to automatically post, not only to your blog but also to your social media sites. Schedule links on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and other popular networks so that your followers know when your blog has been updated. Many companies also use personalized emails that tell fans about the latest news.
Make it Easy for Readers to Share
Visitors to your site can help you gain more followers by sharing your blog posts…but you have to give them a hand. Does your blog interface include easy, one-click methods to share on major social networks? Are the icons clearly visible and easy to understand? If not, maybe it’s time to update some of your plugins.
Create a Healthy Comments Section
There’s a sweet spot in comments sections where you avoid spam, create a healthy atmosphere, encourage discussion and discourage poor backlinking habits. This sweet spot is understandably hard to find, but that doesn’t mean you should stop looking. Explore the latest comment tools and encourage conversation with each post.
Vary Content
Don’t get stuck in a rut. If you are using the same type of content, all the time, readers will grow bored even if your content is stellar. Try mixing things up: If you always use text, experiment with a slideshow or video. If your posts primarily use pictures, try a longform post now and then.
With the right writers and an eye on your brand goals, it is possible to produce consistently winning blog posts. So don’t give up and don’t fall into a rut – start making great content!
Tyler L is available for projects (blogging included!) at WriterAccess
