9 Tips for Writing Blogs Like a Pro
A blog is important for building your online presence. Through writing blogs like a pro, you create engaging content that provides value to your target market and SEO power to your website. In addition, you can use blogging to show your expertise, build your brand, and turn leads into buyers.
Here are 9 tips to help you write blogs like a pro.
Blog Post Tip 1 – Know Your Audience
Your blog will perform best if you meet the needs of your audience. If you write posts that solve the problems and challenges they face, you’ll offer real value and rise above the competition.
The best way to understand your readers is to create a blog target audience. This group of people can benefit the most from reading your information. Once you identify this group, you can write content specifically for them that meets their needs.
Create a profile that includes demographics, core values, attitudes, and behaviours. Then, identify issues or challenges they face that you can solve through your content.
You can make an educated guess, but you’ll do better by conducting market research. One way to do this is to check out your competitors or other blogs in your niche and see who comments on posts.
You can continue learning about your readership and perfecting your ideal reader profile once you publish.
Blog Post Tip 2 – Take the Time to Outline
No matter how short your blog posts are, you should take some time to write an outline. Outlining allows you to organize your thoughts so your writing is more coherent and focused. It ensures you don’t leave out essential information and provides a roadmap that makes writing straightforward.
Start by identifying the main point of the piece. What do you want to teach your audience? Then, break this main idea down into its key parts.
For example, you might introduce a topic, define it, explain why it’s important, outline the benefits, and offer a few tips. If you’re describing a process, you might break it down into steps. For a post with 5 tips, your outline would list the 5 tips and the main points of each.
Blog Post Tip 3 – Research Your Topic
It’s crucial to conduct research for your blog posts, even if you know the topic well and can write the post without it. The reason is that just a small amount of additional research can create content that offers much more value to the reader. Plus, you may learn something new along the way.
You can do effective research for your blog post in just a few minutes. Search for keywords related to your topic on Google and glance at a few articles or posts. For example, if you’re writing a post with tips, you can add more to the ones you already know.
Blog Post Tip 4 – Get the Reader’s Attention
A good blog post gets the reader’s attention and doesn’t let go until the end. The internet is flooded with content. Writing in a way that grabs attention helps yours stand out.
The first step to gaining attention is to write an enticing title. The title should tell people what they can expect from the post in clear language. It should speak to the audience’s needs and tell them the benefits they’ll receive from reading the post. It should be specific, using numbers where appropriate.
I’ve recently installed Headline Studio by Co-Schedule on my website which I’ve found helps me understand what will make my headline more compelling.
The first sentence and paragraph also play a major role in keeping the reader engaged. There are several ways you can capture attention in the first paragraph:
- Ask a question
- Share a quote
- Tell a story
- Paint the reader a picture.
Like the title, the first paragraph should be short and snappy, with a hook that leads the consumer to read more.
Blog Post Tip 5 – Write in a Conversational Tone
Write in a conversational tone. Don’t write formally or use jargon that your reader may not understand. The key to communicating through content is to be direct so you are understood.
A conversational tone also makes your text more fun to read. Use “you,” contractions (I always have to remember to go back through to do this!), and simple language that readers of any educational level can understand. Write your blog posts like you’d write an email to a friend or colleague.
Keep it conversational, but make sure you still follow the rules of written English. For example, don’t use internet slang, and make sure your spelling and grammar are correct.
Blog Post Tip 6 – Edit Your Work
After writing a post, read over it and edit it before publishing. Check for errors and watch out for redundancy. Make sure it flows and stays in an easy-to-read tone throughout.
An excellent way to edit is to read your work aloud. This will help make sure it flows well. Keep in mind the goal is to communicate simply and directly.
Always use spellcheck after editing. You may want to invest in a more sophisticated editor like Grammarly, which can offer suggestions to improve your work and I find really helpful.
Blog Post Tip 7 – Formatting Considerations
Web content must be easy to understand and consume to provide value and effectiveness. To write blogs like a pro that will get read and acted upon, you should consider formatting so that your blog page is easy on readers’ eyes.
Keep paragraphs small. If you have large chunks of text, break them up with headings so it’s easier to read. Another idea for breaking up text is to use images related to your topic or white space. You can get pictures from stock photo sites such as Pixabay, Unsplash or Creative Commons though I get all my blog post images from Canva, with a Canva Pro account you get access to over 100+ million stock photos, videos and graphics.
Blog Post Tip 8 – Offer Value
Make sure that each blog post offers value to the reader. What this means is that you’re giving them something they can use. After reading your article, they have some actionable steps to help them handle a problem and save time or money. If readers can get results after reading your blog, they’ll keep returning for more.
You can learn new ways to offer value by setting up two-way communication with your audience and asking them what they want.
Blog Post Tip 9 – Make It Fun and Interesting
We do our best writing when we’re enthusiastic about the topic. It can feel like a grind when you’re churning out content that doesn’t inspire you. Remember this as you consider what to write about so you can write blogs like a pro!
Follow the tips above, and creating blog posts that offer value to your audience will be trouble-free.
