I wanted to share what I have found to be the best tips for newbie bloggers. Thanks to CopyBlogger and other various blogs, I was able to compile a list of quick tips and advice on writing an interesting blog post (and how to keep readers reading yours!).
Crafting a Creative Blog Post: It’s all in the title…It’s all in the title
Why? First impressions always matter. The title contains the very FIRST words your possible audience will see. From your title, they will determine if they want to click through and read the rest of your post. Some suggestions:
- Use a question to spark the interest of readers. The blog post, “Will Twitter Last?”, got my attention right away just because of the intriguing title!
- Make the title recognizable and relatable. Readers are more willing to read a post if they can relate to it. Try using current news (serious or humorous—Kanye’s outburst did wonders!), change up song lyrics, or even famous quotes.
- Don’t force keywords. If you find yourself unnaturally forcing in keywords, don’t do it. Your objective is to draw readers.
- Use the ‘new’ and ‘knew’ title technique. Blogger Sean D’Souza recommends that too much ‘new’ is intimidating and too much ‘knew’ is a bore, but mixed together creates a powerful headline. I agree.
- Still can’t think of one? Use ‘How to’ or ‘Number of ways’ techniques. Both of these serve as simple, yet to the point titles and immediately get your point across to the reader. This is a great idea, but I recommend that you don’t trap yourself in only writing one or the other. Variety will keep your readers flockin’ to your blog.
Don’t forget: Just because the title is the first thing your readers see, doesn’t mean it has to be the first thing you try to perfect. Creating a great title will drive you crazy if you try to make it perfect before you even start writing. So, spend time building creativity within your blog post, then a title will come naturally in the end.
The first sentence & first paragraph are still super important.
You may have created the world’s greatest title, but that just means you better have the world’s greatest blog post to back it up.
- If you didn’t use a question in your title, use a question as your first sentence to open up your post. A thought-provoking question will get the readers interested and excited for how you answer the question (so they can agree or argue with you…either way, you’re making conversation).
- Shocking statistic. This one is my favorite (maybe because it works best for me as a reader?). If you throw out a shocking number, value, or statistic, chances are people will be pulled into the rest of your post.
Keep ‘em interested long after the first paragraph.
- Bits of humor, a catchy picture, shocking graph, & bold font can draw eyelids back open and keep the reader interested.
- Don’t be selfish. Writer Brian Clark said, “You only benefit when readers benefit first.”
- Explain yourself. Readers want you to answer the question “So what?!” People will react, comment, and create a discussion about your answer. Again, the conversation is key.
Obviously, I understand that it is nearly impossible to abide by every single blogging tip in a single blog, but the idea is to use a combination or mixture of these ideas to get your ideas rolling and to create a variety of different kinds of blog posts on your blog. Not down with variety? Well, that’s quite all right. Find one you really like and stick to it. Create your own creative voice!
I’d love to hear any additional tips, tricks, or pointers YOU use when it comes to crafting a strong, solid blog post. Until then, I shall continue my research…
