Creating and maintaining a blog is relatively easy, but essential for your business` branding, SEO optimization, and revenues.
We have already talked about what`s a blog and how to turn a blog into a money making machine.
Convinced that the numerous benefits of blogging are worth your time and effort? Let`s dive in and discover the secrets to creating killer blog posts.
Define the interests and problems of your audience
Before you start blogging, it`s vital to answer the following questions:
- Who are you targeting with the content you create?
- What are the interests of your audience? How can you add value with your content?
- What are their main problems and pain points and how can you address them?
Real-life examples?
Let`s say you own a gym. Think: who are your customers? Consider what you know about your buyer personas, their interests, and problems. Draft clear definitions and come up with relevant solutions.
Give me an example?
Client 1 (Maria) is a young woman who has gained some weight recently. She wants to start eating healthy and work out to lose weight and feel better. But she doesn`t know where to start.
How can you solve Maria`s problem? You can create blog posts, podcasts or short videos that answer her questions about sport and nutrition. For instance, consider topics like types of nutrition, their advantages and disadvantages, exercises for different muscle groups and how to perform them or share personal stories of people who managed to transform their lives through sport.
Client 2 (Peter) is more advanced than Maria. He`s a fitness enthusiast who knows the nuts and bolts of evertything related to sport and healthy eating. But he would like to deepen his knowledge of macronutrients and the way they impact his workout performance. Plus, he might be interested in learning more about the best pre and post workout meal plans and how to recover from injuries.
If you create tailor-made content that solves the problems of your buyer personas, you`ll manage to delight them. On the other hand, if you write generic fluff, you`ll fail in attracting and retaining the attention of your audience.
Let`s start writing
You`ve already made the necessary research and gained invaluable insights into your audience`s needs and interests.
Now it`s time to start writing.
Start by choosing a topic for your first blog post. Brainstorm blog post ideas and formats.
Here`s some inspiration (ideas connected to the example with the gym):
- List posts: 5 ways to get into shape
- Curated content: 10 brands/types of sports shoes and how suitable they are for your favorite workout (tests of the shoes in a gym, running outdoors and other situations)
- How-to posts: How to do a perfect plank/Step-by-step directions on how to do a plank
- News post: New study shows X% of people lose weight while following a Mediterranean diet
- Infographics and SlideShare presentations: 15 health benefits of exercising 5 minutes a day
After coming up with topic ideas and a working title, it`s time to capture the reader`s attention with an engaging intro. The first few paragraphs of your post are your one and only chance to hook your readers into reading the rest of your content.
But you might be wondering: how to write a killer introduction? There`re various ways to do it. You can crack a joke, tell a captivating story or cite an interesting fact or statistics.
Continue by laying out your value proposition:
- Why the reader should keep on reading and what would they learn?
- How this information might be helpful and/or enertaining for them?
Once you`ve introduced the topic, it`s time for the main body of your text. Make sure you have a clearly defined focus.
Ask yourself: what`s the major question I`m trying to answer here? What additional information would help me deepen the reader`s understanding of the topic? How would this add value and solve their specific proplems?
Organize the information into easy to digest paragraphs by the use of sections, lists, tips, bullets or whatever`s the most logic structure in the particular case. Make the post more interactive through attractive visuals like images, videos and infographics.
Useful resources
Theoretically, it`s easy to get the point. Research thouroghly, define your focus, make a plan and write in an easy to digest way.
But things are different in practice. Ever stared at the blinking cursor on the blank screen, wondering what to write first? Every writer knows this paralyzing feeling.
Fear not, because you`re not alone. There`re various online resources that can help you fight the writer`s block and avoid some inexcusable grammer mistakes. Here`s our list that might come in handy:
- Grammarly – an invaluable Google Chrome extension that shows your grammatic and lexical mistakes.
- Power Treasurus – A useful tool that gives you synonym ideas.
- Hemingway Editor – An app that helps you write in a concise and clear way.
- Cliche Finder – A tool that will help you avoid using cliches, which will make your writing stiff and boring.
Still searching for an inspiration to start writing? HubSpot`s infographic might help you with that.
Blogging takes time and efforts. But the results are totally worth it. Try it yourself and don`t forget to share your best results and most pressing challenges in the comments down below! 🙂
