The same mistakes crop up time and again in blog posts. We list the top five most common issues to avoid. Make sure to look out for these in your own writing and share them with your colleagues.
Nothing looks more unprofessional than a badly written blog post that is littered with spelling mistakes. If multiple people are writing or editing content, typos can crop up very easily. Make sure you proofread your content carefully. Often, it’s a good idea to get a second pair of eyes to read it over. Always make time for editing so you’re sure you’re producing the highest quality content possible.
When writing a blog post, you need to ask yourself: what should the reader do next when they have finished reading it? Would they want to contact you or sign up to an event/newsletter? Is there a link to your contact page or a phone number and email?
If you’re writing a blog post to increase conversions and web traffic, then this is a particularly important point to address. It would be a shame to create really great content but leave your reader hanging.
You don’t want a post that is only full of content that interests you. Don’t focus on what you want to say about yourself, instead focus more on what your audience is interested in and what they want to learn about. Your reader’s time is precious. Make sure your content is relevant, engaging and fresh, and keep updating your blog regularly with new posts.
Try to speak to your audience’s needs without being too salesy – work out what issues matter to them. They might want some tips or advice on a particular topic, or they might be trying to find out about trends and news from their industry. Don’t ‘push’ your products and services, only mention them if they are relevant and if it doesn’t feel forced.
Think about who is reading your blog post and how much time they are going to have to scan over it. You want them to take away a few key messages, not feel overwhelmed with reems of text. They might be on their lunch break or just browsing social media for a few minutes between meetings. If your post is too long your reader is more likely to switch off and not make it to the end. Help them by breaking up the copy with subheadings or lists.
Similarly, if you only post short snippets instead of full articles then you could be missing out on the kind of rich content that is naturally optimised for organic search. Take a look at the sort of blog posts competitors are publishing to get an idea of length and layout. Take note of the topics they are covering too. This will help you target the right kind of keywords and content.
Blog posts shouldn’t be overly complex to read. A conversational tone is usually best for engaging with your reader. Long sentences and paragraphs can be off-putting and difficult to digest. Don’t alienate people with lots of jargon, strange acronyms, or unusual vocabulary. If you are using content written by a subject matter expert, then check it over to see if your audience will understand it. At the same time some blog posts need to use more formal and technical writing – it just depends on your audience and your brand. Consider rewriting parts of your post so that it fits the right tone of voice.
If you would like some professional help with writing blog posts or other content, please get in touch with the team here at asabell.
