Blogging is a great way to become an influencer and develop a reputation as an expert in your industry. However, unless blogging IS your business it can be a really complicated and time consuming process. If you’re not doing it right, you might as well not be doing it at all. Creating a better blog doesn’t have to be difficult.
Here are 5 things to incorporate into your blog posts that will keep you on track to a better blog:
SEO Optimisation
There’s no need to go overboard and use your keyword a million times, but make sure you create posts that fit a keyword that your best customers will search by. Then use the keyword in the article title, within the text (a couple of times is good) and use it in the ALT text on any images you include. The Yoast SEO plugin helps you get it right.
Use Images
Images are good for a number of reasons. They add a bit of visual interest to your text, they make for better sharing on social media sites, and well-chosen images and well composed infographics can help get your point across in a way that many people prefer.
Keep it short
But not too short. By all means, make your blog posts as long as they need to be to share the information you want to impart. Don’t feel you need to add a heap of filler material to make the post longer, or to show off your impressive vocabulary. Being able to get a concept across using everyday language is definitely more impressive. And, from the do as I say, not as I do school: keep your sentences short and concise. It’s a skill I have not yet mastered, but it does make it easier for your users to read.
Have an attractive title
Your title needs to tell people what the post is about, but it also needs to entice them to click on a link to read it. Try to put the important bit at the start of the title in case it’s cut off in any social shares. It’s also a good idea to try to avoid clickbait titles if you’re trying to develop a reputation as a serious expert.
Create an interesting and descriptive blurb
Make sure your blurb tells people what the article is about and again, try to avoid the urge to create clickbait blurbs. You need a blurb that will encourage people to click on the article, and that accurately describes the content.
If you take care of these 5 things, you’ll find it easier to create a better blog that will achieve your blogging goals. And entice the readers (who’ll hopefully become customers) that you want.
If you’d like some more ideas, check out my previous posts on blogging.
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