Most small-scale businesses operate in a dynamic, ever-changing market. And simply having a website is not enough to drive relevant traffic.
This is where blogging comes in handy.
A blog post is a great way to spread the word about your business and engage your visitors.
However, it takes a lot of time and effort to write an effective blog post and most business owners don’t really have that luxury.
Don’t worry though, I have a few tips and tricks up my sleeve that will make blogging easier!
We also have a team of niche-based writers to help you with personalized blogging solutions for growing your business!
Here are 10 simple tips to write your first blog post.
Find your Niche
The first thing you need to decide is the blog topic. Now, for your first blog post, I would recommend something simple. Try talking about your industry, and your area of expertise
A small tip- be as close to home as possible. Write about what’s happening in Melbourne, that’s what a local reader will be most interested in.
A few ideas coming right at the top of my head are-
- Cover any local updates,
- Cover COVID-19 updates
- Talk about the latest trend in your industry
- Share opinion pieces
- Share a success story
- Share a unique learning experience with a client
- Talk about something you have learned working in the sector
Small businesses often face the choice between staying relevant and taking the risk to be different.
I get it, as a growing venture, you want to be relatable and connect with your audience.
But at the same time, you want to stand and make your brand memorable.
Well, why not both? Why not be relatable AND unique? But how? I have a simple answer to this conundrum- PERSPECTIVE!
Yes, your perspective is your USP!
For instance, one of our clients, Bronte Price, has successfully built a niche as a wedding celebrant for both straight and LGBITQ+ weddings.
He has a number of blogs on his website providing insights about wedding ceremonies in Australia.
He recently published a blog on “Covid-19 Restrictions on Wedding” which discusses the wedding ceremony restrictions in Australia due to the pandemic.
This effectively showcases his insight into the wedding industry while also sharing information about something relevant to the target reader.
Source: Bronte Price Blog
SEO is Key
A disclaimer: SEO is NOT about stuffing keywords in your blog.
On the contrary, SEO is about making your blog relevant, search-friendly and, easy to notice.
Keyword research helps you understand the popular search terms your readers are searching for online. It gives you an in-depth insight into the sub-topics to cover in your blog.
At Page Potato, we can help with an SEO analysis and keyword research for your blog. The includes not just keyword analysis but also on-page SEO, local SEO, and high authority link building campaigns.
Our SEO experts use tools like AHREF Keywords Explorer to conduct detailed keyword analysis.
For blogs, we recommend long-tail keywords that have a lot of keyword difficulty and high volume.
This basically means we give you a list of keywords that are easier to optimize and drive relevant traffic to your blog.
Let’s use the Bronte Price keyword strategy as an example to understand how organic SEO works wonders for your blog, Organic keywords basically attract free traffic to your website.
This is a better alternative for small-scale ventures that cannot afford the budget for paid ads.
Source: Bronte Price AHREF
Attention-grabbing headline
The headline is the first thing that anyone would see when they open your blog. It is the face of your content and presents potential readers with a brief idea as to what they must expect out of the writing.
A study by Copyblogger reveals that only 80% of your visitors read headlines. A majority of your audience wouldn’t bother reading past the headline and sub-heads.
A quick tip- Include numbers and descriptive words in the headings. Reading the headline must evoke an emotional reaction in the reader.
Co-Schedule’s Headline Analyser is a great tool to check the effectiveness of the blog’s headline.
Another point- it is essential that you add a meta title and meta description for your blog. Just ensure that the headlines, meta title, and description within the specified character count.
Source: CoSchedule Headline Analyser
The AIDA Mantra
AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) is not just a marketing strategy. You can even apply it to your blog post.
The structure of the blog varies from topic to topic.
Do you want short no-nonsense blog pieces? Or do you prefer long-form content where you can basically geek out about every aspect of your topic and ramble for hours!
Well, the length of the blog depends on your reader. Usually, the blogs featured on the website are not longer than 500-words.
The first few sentences of your blog are often the key determinants of readership statistics. Put in extra efforts in phrasing the first paragraph, it determines how many actually continue to read on
In any case, the AIDA mantra gives your blog much-needed structure and coherence.
A: Attention: Start with a statistic or a question. It is an effective way to lure the reader and catch their eye
I: Interest: Once you have their attention, you can generate interest in the topic by providing more insight into it
D: Desire: This the part where you explain your take on the topic. Encourage the reader to take an action
A: Action: And finally towards the conclusion, you can pitch in your business, add a CTA to encourage sales.
Address Relevant Questions
The very purpose of Google or any other search engine is to be able to provide its users with answers to their questions. Users type in their query and Google prompts them with myriad answers using links to content, videos, and pictures.
Your content must be able to provide the reader with an answer to their questions. Only then will it be useful for them.
Your content must urge and enable its readers to act upon it. It should empower the reader with information that can be applied in real life.
For beginners, I recommend listicles, guides, and checklist-based blogs. These provide readers with a manual or any other useful information that guides them on how to go about something.
Source: Website vector created by stories in Freepik.com
Add Multiple Sub-heads
With so much content on the internet, people do not wish to go through long paragraphs to find solutions to their problems or gain a new piece of information.
Thus, it is in your best interest to keep your content short and simple so that it is easy for readers to comprehend.
Highlight the main points you wish to put forward rather than being too descriptive. Use bullet points numbered lists etc. for the same.
Also, divide your content into multiple headings and sub-headings. Make use of H2, H3, H4, etc, tags. This gives your blog a logical structure.
Add Images/Videos
Not everyone who visits your blog is going to read every single word you’ve written. Most people skim through the sub-heads and skip the content-heavy sections.
Studies have proved that our attention span has decreased drastically over the years.
Also, our eyes are the biggest stimulators. Visuals are easy to absorb consume and remember information.
Nobody wants to read a blog that is text-heavy with huge paragraphs of content! It can be the most engaging piece of work you’ve written, but without any visual cues, the blog is still BORING!
Visual aids help in regaining the reader’s attention and also provide insightful facts about the topic in discussion.
A quick tip- add a video introduction towards the starting of your blog. This can be a good segway into your content and keep the readers hooked from the get-go!
We can help you create and edit explainer videos, whiteboard animations, and introductory videos to feature at the beginning of your blog.
Smart Linking Strategy
Writing a good blog post is exhaustive but still manageable. The real work lies in getting visitors to your service landing pages.
The whole point of publishing a blog is to encourage the reader to check out your services and place an order. Without this final conversion, the entire exercise is futile
And how can you redirect readers from your blog to the landing pages? With smart interlinking of course!
You can create a web of internal links through your blogs and landing pages. Just ensure that the links are relevant and add actual value to your content.
Other than internal links, you can also add external links and resources.
Note: Always link to credible resources, reputed digital magazines, govt. papers etc to build credibility.
The more links you have, the better. I suggest keeping a good balance of internal and external links in the content. This way, the blog is value-driven and doesn’t look sales-y.
Post Consistently
While there is no secret mantra to the number of posts you must make in a day, it is recommended that you post about 4 articles a week.
That would not only prevent your blog from running dry but will also help maintain a loyal readership.
Also, search engines only favor sites that are updated regularly. Remember that starting a blog is a commitment.
This, however, doesn’t mean that you can compromise on the quality of your blog. The consistency should be maintained in both the quality and quantity of your posts.
I get it that most small business owners are racing against time trying to get things done. It won’t be possible for you to write a fresh blog post regularly.
I have a solution for that problem- why not republish your old blogs? Of course, this is a strategy for bloggers who already have a couple of published blogs on their pipelines
Refurbishing old blogs helps you connect with your readers, update your content to the latest trends and save time!
Another tactic I often recommend businessmen- create blog post content in bulk.
Our team of niche-based writers can help write these blogs for you and schedule them for publishing.
Prepare the month’s blog posts in advance and then set the date/time when you want to publish them.
Also, this is the stage where you also need to create an email list and collect the info of your subscribers.
At Page Potato, we offer market automation services wherein we use tools like Active Campaign to send customized newsletters, autoresponders, etc to your readers.
You can keep your readers informed about the latest blog post updates.
Engage your Readers
Your blog is a great way to inform present and potential customers about your area of business.
You can use these posts to create brand awareness, provide insight about a particular service or just share your experience with the user.
However, it is not just good content, but a good presentation that keeps your readers hooked.
Add infographics, videos, images, and other visual cues wherever necessary.
Also, keep track of user engagement on these blogs using Google Analytics reports. Respond to user comments and encourage them to subscribe.
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