Want to write blog posts that people want to read? That’s exactly what all bloggers genuinely want to do. The fact is, in this fast and zipping digital age no one’s got time or patience for trashy blog posts.
Interestingly, there are over 600 million blogs in the world today, out of over 1.8 billion websites , and still counting.
Doubtlessly all these blogs have audiences visiting them, who are pretty smart and ‘digital’ themselves. They just love meaty information and they reward you with their loyalty.
But there’s a catch.
What’s that?
As soon as audiences discover that you’re saying something in your title but delivering something else in the post, they leave.
Period.
So the best policy is to deliver on what you promise your reader in the blog post title. Otherwise, if you announce something and deliver something else, your readers are confused. Invariably, they sense a lack of integrity early on.
And they punish you with clicking away from your blog.
Eventually, you will find your click-through rate (CTR) sliding downward.
So, what do you do to avoid such unholy happenings?
Here’s what you simply need to do.
Fill them up with information that they don’t know. And do it in a way that enthuses them.
Here I’m sharing with you a bunch of things to do when you write your blog post. Particularly, a post that you want people to read.
Table of Contents
Serve The Reader a Hot Cup Of “ABC”
Ever heard of the “hot ABC cup“?
No?
Well this is what it means.. .. Accuracy Brevity and Clarity.
These three ingredients sum up the crux of an effective post.
Sounds a bit odd …but stick with me.
We all agree today,that audience attention spans are spiraling southward all the time, right ? Your reader has no absolutely time for your rambling.
But wait that’s not all.
What’s the essence, the message you’re giving in your blog post?
Make sure to be very clear in your message. Because that attention-starved reader is too distracted. You’ve got to shave off needless fluff and give him meat instead.
You cant miss this…
The reader’s mind is in your hands for a brief while as he reads your post. Don’t make it travel everywhere, struggling to grasp your meaning.
Dumb it down for him. Clarity is simplifying things.
In fact, ‘simplification is clarity on a platter’.
Your reader will thank you for saving him the effort of connecting your lost dots. So try that in your next blog post (in case you’re not doing that yet).
Now comes the interesting part.
Brevity.
Be brief. Sufficiently brief to expose the reader to what he “must know”. But not so brief that he’s has to wrestle at understanding a simple concept.
Let me clarify crisply.
Don’t shorten that post so much that it appears super-encrypted. And disinteresting.
Consider this…
What’s your job as a content creator? Pretty much to ensure that reading pleasure is not ‘snatched’ from the reader,in your faithful attempt to be brief.
Here’s what you should do for brevity. ..
Just cut back on :
▪Any irrelevant information
▪Unnecessary rambling
▪Repetition
▪Copycat structures of other blogs (remember your own voice is good enough)
Now where voice is concerned, how about conversing with your reader?
Be Conversational In Blog Posts That People Want To Read
How would you respond to someone talking down to you? Lecturing you?
Fact is, no body likes that.
Most people inherently want to lead. To teach.
No body wants to be led, to be taught. Subconsciously at least. Someone may deny this human trait, and that’s ok. But facts tell otherwise.
Now without digressing , wont it be nice if someone gave you invaluable information,without making you feel, well..
Ignorant ?
I think here’s how it works
People are automatically attracted to someone who makes them comfortable, shares a pain, saves face, and respects them.
Your readers long for gratification when they visit your blog.
That’s easily possible when you offer exceptionally valuable information without talking down to them.
They want you to converse with them, even while they profit in that information flowing from you.
And what’s the best way to do that?
You guessed it.
Write in a tone that is not bossy, and not smirking at their lack of knowledge. Write as if you’re speaking to your co-worker or your best friend.
How exactly do you do that?
Here are a couple of things that I recommend for enhancing a conversational tone:-
• Use shorter sentences. Break up your content
•Instead of saying ‘I would’ say ‘I’d’,or instead of ‘I am’, say ‘I’m’. That’s informal
▪Do not be too formal. That style is positively boring to any reader.
•You’re allowed to say ‘oops’, ‘hey’ say what’’ ‘now what’ etc.
•You can start a sentence with conjunctions like ‘and’ or ‘but’.
•Avoid passive voice. Instead of saying ‘it’s been done’, say ‘I did that ..’,
•Avoid using technical jargon. In case industry speak is essential, explain the term as you go along.
•Involve your reader in a dialogue. Ask questions because they make your post engaging and conversational .
Here’s the bottom-line.
Readers want to read a post written by a living, breathing human being. Not by some faceless machine without emotions.
Use Examples In Blog Posts People Want To Read
Want to know another asset in your arsenal? This is something that helps you write blog posts that people want to read.
Well here’s the thing.
Use examples frequently. Cite other sources also.
Give your readers some examples, stats and hard facts in your blog post. This simply strengthens your credibility. Offer them statistics that raise your ‘expertise’ score , not only for your reader but for Google as well.
Where do you obtain examples from?
Well, quote your own example, or use somebody else’s. It doesn’t matter, so long as the source is credible, and you’re able to elaborate a point. You can even share anecdotes that help explain things.
By using examples often, you also add a piece of yourself, which is good.
Why so?
I’m sure you’ll agree that the kind of examples you mention, also reveal a slice of you to your reader. And people want to read those kind of posts.
The same applies to citing other sources as well. And there’s an added advantage. It assures your readers of genuine content; that they are not being led down a dark alley unnecessarily. Aint that great?
Leading readers brings me to the next point – the logical structure of posts.
Structure And Flow In Blog Posts
Every post has a message. That becomes the core essence of the post.The center of gravity.
And to keep that core intact, all the facts need to be structured logically around it. This way the reader gets a hold of the message in a smooth flow.
But how does that smooth flow come?
Easy. That flow comes through a post-structure that is logical. For achieving this, you need to create a rough outline of your post first.
And where do you start off?
Well, you start with an intro first.
Then you progress to the body of the content. Lastly you write a conclusion. That’s about all in the outline, which is only a skeleton.