Most business owners give up on writing their company blog after a few months. They lose interest in writing or their blog isn’t yielding the results they want and quit.
Have you been there?
At Synergy Content Marketing, we understand the struggle. But the truth is, having a well-written, consistently updated business blog is important. It can help you accomplish your business goals, boost your brand, and increase your sales.
Discover how to no longer fall victim to a boring blog and instead write one that meets and exceeds your expectations (and the expectations of your readers) in this how-to guide.
So, How Do You Write a Blog that Isn’t Boring?
First, Choose Your Blog Topic
When choosing a blog topic, you want to ensure it is informative, engaging, and fresh–
When you choose a blog topic, make sure it is informative, engaging, and fresh. Don’t just copy what everyone else writes about already. If you’re experiencing writer’s block, this first step can be tough. By choosing to write on a topic you already know a lot about or enjoy researching, you can get your creative juices flowing quickly.
Sometimes duty does call and you have to write about a topic that doesn’t necessarily interest you, but that does not mean you can’t make it new and engaging. When you have a write about something that isn’t considered fun or exciting, do it to the best of your ability regardless. Impress your customers and clients and make a boring topic actually fun to read.
While choosing a topic you enjoy is most fun, ensuring your blog topics are of interest to your target audience and relevant to your brand is most important, as this content will help you accomplish your marketing goals.
Next, Choose Your Blog Title
With a never-ending supply of content on the internet coupled with low attention spans, you must capture the attention of your target audience right away.
Do I have your attention? Good.
You need to choose a relevant, provoking blog title that is memorable, informative, and includes a key benefit of reading the blog. A common piece of marketing advice you may have heard is, “Sell the sizzle, not the steak.” In other words, sell the benefits rather than the features. This same concept can be applied to your blog–and specifically, your blog title. A great blog title tells your readers how the blog will help them. It gives them a reason to click to read the entire article.
A slogan captures a company’s mission, vision, and benefits within one catchy phrase: “The breakfast of champions” – Wheaties; “A diamond is forever” – De Beers; “Melts in your mouth, not in your hand” – M&M. Similarly, a catchy blog title can evoke an image of your brand in the minds of the readers, engaging them right away. A great title is to a blog what slogans are to their companies, so choose yours wisely.
Then, Choose the Best Words
Words are powerful. Placement is powerful. It is important to use the best words in your blog posts and include SEO (search engine optimization) keywords strategically throughout to maximize your blog’s exposure and drive traffic to your website.
The goal of your blog will help you choose the best words.
- Is your blog post a vehicle to get people to sign-up for something?
- Is your blog post encouraging people to engage further by contacting you?
- Is your blog post highlighting certain products or services with the intent to drive sales?
- Is your blog post purely informational, acting as a guide or how-to for your target audience to use?
The words you use will help you achieve the results you’re looking for based on the goal of your blog post. But not all words and phrases are considered equal.
Phrases like “Join us!” and “Sign up!” are found everywhere–from your email inbox to social media ads. And they usually all want the same thing: your email address. They are very similar, but they don’t evoke the same emotion or message; one is more effective than the other.
Asking someone to “join” evokes a sense of community; whereas, asking someone to “sign up” reads more like an enlistment. Would you rather join a community or enlist in a commitment? You have the power to use your words so well that readers find your content enjoyable and engaging rather than pushy and abrasive.
Finally, It’s Time to Write
Once you’ve chosen a topic, crafted a catchy title, and picked out your power words, it’s time to write that blog. One that not only engages and educates your readers but that drives traffic to your website, showcases your brand, highlights your products and services, and increases your sales and customer engagement.
Are you ready to learn how?
To increase readability, you want to ensure that your thoughts are well organized…and so is your blog. Here are three key sections to include:
1. An Engaging Introduction
The introduction is the first taste a reader gets of what the rest of the blog post is going to “taste” like. So, you want to ensure they like what they are getting from the beginning.
One of the easiest ways to do this is by following the APP model for introductions.
Agree–find a commonality between you and your reader; let them know you understand their problem:
i.e. “Finding the right wedding planner for you and your fiancé isn’t as easy as choosing the first name that comes up in the Yellow Pages. There are a lot of different things to consider, such as price, compatibility, and services offered.”
Promise–ensure your reader that you can help them find the solution to their problem:
i.e. “At [Company Name] we know the importance of finding the best wedding planner and have compiled a list of questions for you to ask when interviewing potential candidates.”
Preview–give your reader an idea of the content they will find in the rest of the article:
i.e. “Find the wedding planner of your dreams to help you plan the wedding of your dreams by asking these seven key questions.”
By following this model you connect with your reader from the beginning and let them know the benefits they will receive by reading the entire article.
2. Organized Key Points Throughout the Article
The supporting content that follows the introduction should be clearly laid out with a “flow” that makes sense to the reader. Going off the introduction example above, the key points of that article would be the seven questions to ask.
Within those seven sections, a great blog would include supporting research, statistics, and proof–highlighting yourself as a credible source.
Most importantly, be sure to add value to your readers throughout the article. Try to avoid “fluff” and only include content that your target audience will find useful. And be sure to keep it engaging. You want your audience to want to keep reading, so it’s important to find the balance between engaging and educational, inspiring and instructional.
3. A Concise Conclusion and Strong CTA
A great conclusion highlights the main points of the article, readdressing the reader’s initial problem and your newfound solution.
But the most important part of your conclusion is your CTA (call to action) telling readers what action to take next. Your CTA is dependent on your goal for your article (remember above: sign-up, contact, purchase, inform).
In staying with the wedding planner article, a strong conclusion may sound something like this:
“While it can be hard to find the perfect wedding planner, by asking these seven questions you will find the best wedding planning team to help coordinate your special day. At [Company Name], hundreds of couples have experienced the wedding of their dreams thanks to our robust wedding planning services. Do you want to be next? Contact us today to schedule a free wedding planning consultation, and be sure to ask your seven questions. (We can’t wait to meet you!)”
In this example, “Contact us today” is the call to action. And while the end of your blog post is the most important place to include your CTA, feel free to sprinkle others throughout the article–highlighting the solutions you offer to help your reader solve their problem.
Accomplish Your “How” with Synergy Content Marketing
Are you ready to no longer fall victim to a boring blog? Now you know how. Use these strategies to craft an engaging, entertaining, and educational article that captures the attention of your target audience and accomplishes your marketing goals.
If you know your company needs a strong, consistent blog but you simply don’t have the time, effort, or experience to write one, no worries! That’s where we come in.
At Synergy Content Marketing, we are passionate about writing blogs that make a difference. Contact us today for a free consultation. (We look forward to talking with you!)
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out “Don’t Fall Victim to a Boring Blog: The Why” where we help you define your motivating factor for starting and keeping your company blog strong.
