Looking for tips on how to blog effectively?
Then you have an answer here.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking of late and ask me what it’s about?
Becoming a better person. I’ve come to accept the fact that I can become better than I currently am. I’ve come to accept the fact that my marriage can be better than it currently is. By extension, I’ve come to accept the fact that my Internet Business (including this blog and every blog post I put up) can be better than it currently is. So, I’ve decided to discuss how to improve your next blog post and get your readers hooked for life.
Whether you’ve been blogging for years or just starting out, you’ll no doubt find this post useful. So, what are the tips I want to share? I spill the beans out below:
* If you really want to improve your next blog post, start thinking about it now. For the Monday Morning Dew that I write on this blog, I start thinking about the next edition immediately after publishing the current edition. That way, my mind is able to process information around that topic and I’m able to gather facts, fiction and even my own experience to put up an engaging post. It does not help to start thinking about your post just at the point of writing. You will not be able to post superlative content that way. Engage your mind for days over it and you’ll be able to produce award-wining posts. I know you want to ask how I come about the topics for my Monday Morning Dew and again I say intuition and a little bit of knowing what will impact my readers.
* Spend Time Planning and Figuring Out the Keywords. After thinking and engaging your mind, spend time planning and figuring out the keywords for your post. I do this each time I want to create a new post (except when I want to write from the heart and I don’t want keyword issues to obstruct my flow of thought). Before beginning my post, I’ll look for a keyword-friendly title using the google keyword tool. Aside the title, I also get sub-headings from the keyword tool. When I wanted to write my post on discovering your God-given purpose, I typed it into the keyword tool (as well as variations like discover your purpose, how to discover your purpose and this is what I got:
I saw keywords like: how to discover your purpose in life, discovering your God-given purpose, how to discover your mission, how to find out your purpose in life, and many others, I decided to go with How to Discover and Achieve Your God-given Purpose in Life.
Also, I got the sub-heads: How do You Find Your Purpose in Life? and Free Purpose-Driven Life Pdf.
With this, I was able to put my article in perspective. And ideas just flowed to put it together.
* Think More About Your Readers Than Google. The next time you want to post an article, think more about how it will benefit your readers than how to make it attractive to the search engines. It’s definitely good to optimize your article for the search engines but that should not be done to the detriment of your readers. Try to strike a balance so you can get your readers’ attention for life.
* Let your Personality Shine through. Post engaging content. There are many blogs online from the sublime, to the creative and even the boring. You don’t want to be caught running a boring blog (if you’re, just kiss your blog good bye because no one will read it) so write in an engaging and stimulative way; pass your message across in clear and lucid terms. Share details about your life if there’re relevant to the message you’re trying to pass across. I try to do this in my posts but this guy does it better and he reveals how to let your personality shine through your posts.
* Correct Grammatical and Spelling Errors! This puts many people off so make sure you proofread your posts carefully. Avoid the incorrect use of words such as there/their, you’re/your, we’re/were that can easily be rectified. If you think you cannot do it, get a professional to assist.
* Italicizing or making your keywords bold will not only make them stand out, it will also enhance your search engine exposure (but please don’t over do this). Keywords and phrases which are noticeable in your blog post will get clicked on by visitors, thereby hooking your readers.
* Incorporate images, graphs, polls and statistics, where necessary. If you feel an image will pass the message you want to pass across better, by all means, use it. If you feel a graph will say what you want to say better, by all means, use it. But please don’t use copyrighted images. Most of us just search Google for images to use in our posts but it can lead to trouble as the image is the intellectual work of another blogger and you cannot use it without attributing it to him or her. One way out is to use public domain pictures or free pictures from stock vault.
You’ll notice I don’t use pictures on my posts. It’s because I don’t want to get involved in image copyright issues. Secondly, this blog is still evolving and who knows what I’ll put up next? Like I said at the beginning of the post, this blog can still become better and better it will be (with your support, of course).
* Make Your Article Scannable. Most readers are busy so, they just scan through an article title, introduction, body and conclusion. I try to do that on this blog by using sub-heads and bolded keywords, like I have in this post. This way, people can just scan through and still get the gist of the article. If I get them interested at the scanning stage, I get them interested to read and recommend the blog to friends.
* The ending of your post should include a strong call to action. Have you ever watched a movie but felt bad about the ending? That’s what you do to your readers when you don’t end your post with a strong call to action. What exactly do you want them to do after reading the post? Should they subscribe to your newsletter, download a free ebook or share your post through the social networks (like I always beg you to do at the end of my posts)? Tell them what to do and make it easy for them to obey.
* Read your Post Aloud. Just before publishing, make sure you read your post aloud to yourself or to a friend. It helps to detect faulty grammatical constructions. If it doesn’t sound well in your ears, it probably has to be worked upon. I use this all the time and I tell you, it works wonders.
* Reference Your Post. Note the materials you used to research your article at the end of it. It helps a lot, especially with Google’s recent clampdown on websites with plagiarized content. You can see referencing in action here.
I’ve got so much to say but let me end with this quote by King Whitney Jr.
“Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.”
Don’t forget to share this post with your friends through the social buttons below. I sure will appreciate that. Our authority niche blogging course continues. Pleas stay tuned.
In what other ways do you think your next blog post can be improved? Please share with us, we’re all ears.
