The difference between a good blog article and a great blog article… these eight top tips.
Blogging remains at the forefront of effective B2B digital marketing. There are plenty of benefits: improving your search ranking, enhancing your brand, driving traffic to your website, establishing your business as a thought leader… the list goes on.
But writing blogs can be a real challenge. First, you have to find the time in your busy schedule to sit and scribble something down. Then, you need to write something that’ll provide genuine value to your audience — not just sell your services. Plus, it needs to read well.
At asabell, we write blogs of all shapes and sizes, for different companies that operate in diverse industries. Doing this for over a decade, it’s fair to say we’ve picked up a few tips and tricks.
So, we thought it’d be useful if we shared some of the things we’ve learned. After all, the more great blogs out there, the better.
Get ready to write a better blog.
Here are the eight tips that we feel are most important.
- Writing with purpose.
There’s no point writing a blog for the sake of it. You should have a genuine reason for taking the time to compose an article, and this (to an extent) naturally improves your writing. The reader can tell if you truly care about your subject.
In addition, if you’re using valuable time, you want to produce a blog that is relevant and provides true value to your audience. At the end of the day, your aims are to generate blog views, website views and enhance your brand — and you’re unlikely to achieve any of these without writing about something that matters to both you and your audience.
- Your opinion matters.
People don’t usually read blogs for a dull overview of a topic or product; they want to learn from your expertise and hear what you really think about a particular subject.
By including your own opinion, you sound more genuine, provide more value for the reader and boost your reputation as a thought leader. It’s better to be a little divisive by presenting your own thoughts than to please everyone by playing it too safe and not adding anything new to the conversation.
- Construct a winning title.
There’s a reason this article is titled: ‘Eight top tips for better blogging’…
It works. It offers readers a concrete benefit in return for their time.
Now, a title isn’t the only factor in deciding whether your blog is a success or not. But consider what makes you click-through to blog articles you find online… it’s the title, right? And, how patient are you when browsing social media? Do you take the time to click a link when the title doesn’t grab you?
Your title should be short (so that it displays fully), engaging and contain the key words you need to grab people’s attention. Here’s some great, more detailed advice from HubSpot if you want to find out more.
And, one more thing that always irks us: don’t write click-bait headlines! Deliver on any promises you make in your titles, or people will leave your site and not return. Especially in B2B, it’s better to try and earn repeat blog viewers, rather than go for that easy one-time clicker who won’t return to your site after being disappointed.
- Keep it simple.
You should have one simple, core message at the heart of every blog article you produce.
If you try and squeeze in too much, your message becomes confused and diluted. If you have lots more you want to say, think about putting together a series of blog articles, which you can publish over a few weeks. Then remember to link to the rest of the series in each one, so that your audience can access your full range.
- Structure matters.
After you’ve written the first draft, think: “how can I improve this?”
A lot of the time, the answer lies in restructuring.
Make sure your story is set out in the most compelling way possible. Break down your stream of thought into short, snappy paragraphs. Use subheadings that both catch people’s attention and boost your SEO. Insert images or videos that will strengthen your blog and support what you’re saying. All of these things will help you hold the attention of your readers, and boost your reach.
- Promote the heck out of it.
It’s all well and good writing a blog — but how are you going to get people to read it? You need a plan to get your blog out there, and one of the best ways to do this is through your social channels.
Extensive promotion is vital to making your blog a success, so don’t be afraid to share it multiple times. Just make sure you customise your message for each channel you use. Getting your colleagues and partners involved and sharing your blog will increase your reach even further.
Use images to help draw attention to your blog on social, pull out key quotes and try to spark debate.
- Include a call-to-action (CTA).
One thing you need to include in every blog you write is a clear call-to-action. Tell your readers where they can find out more, and make it clear where they need to click.
- Learn from each blog you write.
An important (yet often overlooked) aspect of blogging is learning from each blog you produce and promote.
Explore how many views it received, its bounce rate, how it performed on social, whether it generated any interesting conversations. By taking the time to properly analyse how your blog performed, you’ll pick up some insights that you can take forward to your next piece of writing.
The CTA.
These eight steps aren’t exhaustive, but we hope they’ll help you to improve your approach to blogging, and ensure the time you spend writing is time well-spent.
Get in touch to see how we can help you improve your social media strategy or B2B marketing campaigns.
