Just because you write a blog post, doesn’t mean people will read it, share it, like it, etc. Until you understand what you’re writing about, to whom you are writing, and why, you’re wasting your time. Here are a few ways to tell if you’re writing for the wrong reasons:
- You’re trying to sell a product by pitching it in every post.
- You’re trying to write a blog post every day b/c that’s what you’ve heard you’re supposed to do.
- You read somewhere that using keywords in text will get you more traffic, so you’re writing posts filled with keywords you think matter.
- You like to hear yourself talk and you have a lot to rant about.
- You figure there’s enough info online that you can regurgitate other bloggers’ posts.
If, on the other hand, you understand the purpose of your blog, you understand who your readers are, and what they want to learn about, you can begin to position yourself as an industry thought leader. Yes, there are some tricks of the trade that are proven to evoke emotion and entice followers to faithfully return time and time again. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Talk TO your readers, not AT them.
- Find a challenge your readers face, then offer a viable solution.
- For the love of all that is holy, check your grammar – not for slang and conversational tones, but for blatant errors.
- It’s been proven that the mind absorbs information more easily when broken out into geometric shapes. Use images, charts, graphs when it makes sense to do so.
- Write short, concise paragraphs and break out the content with sub-heads. It’s visually easier on your readers.
- Less is more. If you can shorten 2o words into 5 and still deliver a complete thought, do it.
- Use bullets, they’re easier to read than long blocks of text.
- Guest-bloggers, you get back what you put into your blog. If you hire crappy writers who know nothing about your industry to pump out volume, you’ll lose credibility.
- Make people smile! Everyone likes to feel good, don’t let your business message overpower your own personality.
- Read as much as you write. The only way to stay on top of your industry is by taking control of your professional development. Make sure you read and learn from your peers.
- There’s no such thing as perfection – strive for greatness, yes. Strive for perfection and you’ll never get anything done.
- Ask questions – true thought leaders know that they don’t know what they don’t know 😉 Everyone has something to contribute. Ask your readers for their opinions and feedback.
- Use ALT tags in your blog images – it helps reinforce the keyword relevancy for your post.
- But do NOT keyword stuff your pages! Your blog is not the best blog of all the blogs listed on blog directories, but you think your blog should use the word blog.
- Be consistent. If you say you’re going to blog on X day, then do it. It’s how you build trust with your readers.
- Don’t bash other people or businesses. It’s just impolite. Be objective when talking about what others may or may not be doing well.
What are some of your own must Dos and Don’ts when blogging? Share your expertise with us! The SEO Vault is open 🙂
~ Aimee
Open SEO Vault 
Thank you so much for the info. Looks like I’m following your guidelines in my blog for the most part. Now I have some good advice for the future! Thank you!
Hiya! Thanks for reading the Open SEO Vault! I took a quick peek at your blog, writingishardwork.wordpress.com — I really like the way you incorporate your images into the middle and throughout the blog posts. Well done!
~Aimee
Great points. Finding the right balance with the blogging can be a challenge sometimes. I’m a fiction writer, so I don’t necessarily have a niche to blog about. I generally blog about things related to my genre.
Hi Sonia,
You’re absolutely right about finding the right balance with your blog. There are definitely different ways to write and engage different audiences, whether you’re writing about B2B, B2C or even to other fiction writers. If you have something important and interesting to say, there’s a niche out there for everyone and everything!
Cheers,
Aimee
🙂 Thanks for the “bullets”. I’ve thought about what makes blogging successful many times; but I can really only speak for my rather closed-community blog on Letterdash (South Africa), and what works there is a nice blend of knowing other bloggers personally, blogging on personal experiences (but pls not diary-style); then, every so often putting in a really relevant post about something actual (e.g. how to save electricity and diminish your carbon footprint and why one should even if one believes the whole climate change is a conspiracy – lol); one can sneak in some promotion of some products (in my case I run a small publisher and some of my fellow bloggers have vested interests, therefore so do their friends); and there ought to be a fair amount of fun (stories, poems, challenges); and finally, lots of images (but enough captions that they make a story).
But as I said it’s a closed community of bloggers, so I don’t really know what works in the larger picture. Thanks for the pointers.
gipsika – my pleasure! Thanks for checking out the Open SEO Vault 🙂 I agree, it does help to know your fellow bloggers on a personal level as well as professionally. I like the idea of lots of images, too, with captions that tell a story — great way to keep content fresh and creative!
~Aimee