How to Write a Killer Blog Post – Spring Training
So you have an idea – and if you're taking part in our spring training series, you even received an idea for a type of post and killer blog content to get your creative juices flowing.
Now what? How do you craft a great blog post?
I'm not trying to get you to produce dry content like high school term papers – far from it! But this much is true – your audience wants content that is useful, relevant, and well thought out. And you can't always pull that off by pulling it out of thin air or anywhere else.
It's Time To Organize Your Content – 4 Tips for Writing an Effective Blog Post
If you know the general direction you want to write, it helps both you – and your reader – to do some organization of your ideas. What main points do you want to convey about your subject?
•Make Your Content Scannable
Your blog reader, I hate to say, is a little bit lazy. Actually, when it comes to devouring the vast quantities of content online, we all are – there is just too much information out there. So your reader is depending on you to make your content easily accessible – even scannable – in order to get the most out of it.
•Use A Bulleted or Numbered List
In your pre-writing process you can do some of this by grouping the ideas you have about your topic into 3 to 5 main points. Use either a bulleted list or a numbered list, and briefly develop the ideas in each point. Too much more, and your audience gets overwhelmed and likely won't finish your content.
•Use Short Sentences and Paragraphs
I'll admit – this is the hardest one for me! I love language, and complex sentences are a thing of beauty to me. That and I still stay in contact with a few of my writing professors whose writing still is so beautiful it makes me weep.
But that aside – writing in complex sentences is a habit that I keep working to break. (Revision is my friend here, and it should be yours too). Your sentences should b in the range of 15 to 20 words, tops. Short sentences are easier for your audience to read – and if your work is easy to read, there's a greater chance your readers will make it all the way through.
•Use Internal Links to Help Expand Your Ideas
Internal links among the pages of your blog boost your SEO, making them a great strategy anyway. But just as importantly, it helps you to be able to expand on an idea in your blog post that would otherwise make your current post run way too long. For instance – in the above paragraph, I might link to a blog that explains in greater detail the SEO value to be found in internal links.
Using your main points to help organize your thoughts before you start writing your post will help make your writing process proceed much more smoothly.
Now it's your turn! Work on those blog posts and break down your topics into 3 to 5 key ideas. If you're participating in our blogger spring training, feel free to leave a comment below with your 3 main ideas!
