Maintaining an active blog is an great way to build a loyal following. Here are 7 key things to consider as you craft blog posts for your small business.
1. Use Images
Placing an image in your post is crucial for visually engaging readers, particularly as they scroll through their social media feeds. When somebody shares your post, Facebook and Twitter will use the image you insert and place it in a prominent position next to the title of your post. Make sure that you have permission to use the picture. There are a number of useful websites that allow you to search their library of copyright free pictures. Better still, why not take out the camera and take some images yourself?
2. Write in Bite-Sized Chunks
Breaking your content into bite-sized chunks helps your readers to navigate your content quickly and easily. It makes the process of reading easier than presenting reams of lengthy text. Websites compete with each other for the share of a decreasing attention span. The rise in the use of mobile phones and tablets increases the demand for content which is easy to scroll. It is useful to separate the sections of your post with headings that clearly explain what follows.
3. Target An Audience
Producing content for a broad audience can be less useful than writing a post with a specific audience in mind. Writing a blog post with a target audience can help to focus your message. Targeting your message will let you provide specific information and this specificity will help your post rank higher in organic search rankings.
4. Involve Your Colleagues
Writing a blog post for your business is an excellent opportunity to speak with colleagues about what they do. Colleagues can be both an excellent source of ideas for posts and they are also able to share specialist knowledge about the business.
5. Plan Your Post Before You Start To Write
Create an outline for your post before you start writing. This will help you to clarify your initial ideas and help to build a structure for the post before you begin. There are many different approaches to drafting posts. Examples include: drawing mind maps, writing the section headings and creating a list of key points.
6. Be creative with the Headline And Opening Sentences
People often decide if they are going to read a post based on the opening. The opening sentences to your post should clearly explain what follows and give the reader a reason to read on. The headline should grab attention. The opening sentences should both inform and spark curiosity.
7. Use Short Sentences
Writing in short, focused sentences gets to the point quickly. Nobody is impressed with long, flowing reams of text. The truth is, most of your readers simply don’t have the time for it. Stitching together long sentences with excessive amounts of punctuation can result in people losing interest in what you have to say.