We are almost halfway done with “5 Steps for Better Blog Posts”. Today we are going to talk about the actual content of your blog posts, or more specifically, the content behind them.
Cover Topics that Deserve Attention
Cover things that deserve your attention, and that you know your opinion on. Chances are, if you can’t state you opinion on an issue, you really don’t know enough to talk about it well. Being able to sum up your opinion into a single sentence, similar to a thesis, is a good step to writing the post. Once you start with a single sentence, you can expand upon that, outline it, and write the post. But don’t cover things that you don’t have an opinion on, because it will be half-hearted. Also, while writing your opinion is great, don’t simply be a “Me Too!” poster, by posting the exact same opinion everyone else is posting.
Another type of content that deserves attention is things that people are curious about. People are always looking for answers, so giving them it, front and center, is always a good idea. But, don’t take this to the extreme and answer questions that everyone else has already answered.
Think about the reader first.
Readers want their time to not be wasted. By thinking about what the reader is gaining from reading a blog post is a good way to write a better post. If you focus on the tiny things, like adding in certain bits of hard to find information that really doesn’t contribute to the whole, you are simply wasting your time. This is why list posts are so popular, because they offer immediate benefits for the reader.
Going on that idea, writing a helpful post that can help your reader do something is 100x better than simply a thoughtful post. Whenever possible, give the reader a immediate benefits of reading the post, whether it is a link, a list of applications, tips, hints, etc.
What are the main keywords for the post?
I am not saying to focus on putting in your keyword to help bump up SEO, but just think about the key things you are talking about in the post. They should be your tags, and while you think of these, you can also think of other posts you can link to.
Think of previous and future posts
Is there a post that didn’t cover something in-depth? Create a follow-up post for it, that goes into more detail about a certain idea or concept. Perhaps you have a complex idea? Create a series of posts that will go over the entire concept.
“If you don’t have anything interesting to blog, skip a day. Don’t skip many days.” – Chris Brogan
Some days you really just don’t have anything to say. It is alright to skip that day, but don’t make it the first option, or one that you use often.
Check out tomorrow when we talk about: Putting Content Together
