Writing The Perfect Blog Post In A #WFH Environment
Here is the simple case for blogging. People and companies are finding new ways of marketing. Companies that blog are 13 times more likely to achieve positive ROI. In the present day environment, where time is in abundance, there is absolutely no excuse to ignore this important marketing opportunity.
Guest posting is beneficial because it will increase the reach and engagements for your brand. If you are now convinced that you need to have blogging as part of your content marketing strategy, you can either hire a professional organisation or do it yourself. Either way, here are some tips to help you get started.
Choose A Compelling Topic
Write with your readers in mind. Make sure you don’t say you are number one and that they should buy from the best! Here are some pointers:
- What USP do you offer?
- What have you been spending a lot of time on lately?
- What questions have your clients been asking?
- What news have you read that you found captivating?
- What are your competitors talking about and what is your take on it?
Do Your Research
Once you have finalized the topic of interest you need to do comprehensive research on the subject. Study surveys, white papers, infographics, research papers and read articles with varying viewpoints. It is always a good idea to consult experts on the subject and brainstorm with them on topical issues of interest.
Think about what you want to say, and find out what’s already been said. Then consider what questions are left unanswered, or how you can bring your own insights to the topic. This is your opportunity to shine!
Create A Storyboard
It helps to think through the direction of your post and get a clear understanding of how it will be organized before you begin writing. Consider your audience and what you want to offer them:
Inspiration?
Thought leadership?
Insight into trends?
A step-by-step tutorial?
With a structure in place, it is easy to plug the content.
Write An Attention-Grabbing Intro
An engaging start with an attempt to connect with your readers can put you in a win-win position. Storytelling in the first person always resonates with the audience. It is always better to be at the heart of the story than to be just another character in the story!
Weave a narrative that is original and based on personal experiences and learnings. Success breeds success.
Look for Linking Opportunities
As you write, look for opportunities to link to service pages, previous blogs or landing pages. Aim for at least two internal ‘do-follow’ links per post. Check to make sure the phrase you use matches the URL you use for the link. Links to authority sites also help in search engine indexing and rankings.
Tie It All Together With a Strong Conclusion
Summarize your conclusions with a clear and distinct call for action.
Create Strong, Relevant Images
To make your blog stand out, you’ll need a strong feature image.
Aim for one image for every 300 words. Finally, size it appropriately. Ideally, your image should be 72 dpi.
Proof, Publish and Share
Use good content optimization software. Make sure you’ve used your main keyword phrase and any other keywords at least once throughout the body of your post and linked them to a relevant internal page. Write a meta-description of around 150 characters and include the main keyword phrase. This is what your reader will see when your post appears in search results and it helps them confirm they’ve found what they’re looking for.
Use Grammarly for formatting issues and correct usage of the language.
Publish your guest post on high quality industry blogs and share your post on Social Media – LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and any other social network you use, remembering to customize your post for each one.
Track and Repeat
Keep an Eye on the Analytics. Make sure you track the response from your blog in terms of viewers, click-throughs and leads generated. Based on the feedback and learnings, continue with your next blog and the next…..
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