Are you frustrated that your blog isn’t getting the attention it deserves?
You’ve done your research and have written the content to the best of your ability, but no one seems to be reading it, let alone engaging and sharing!
Yep, it is a common dilemma.
We’ve put together 10 steps on how you can “do it right”! Don’t ever give up; perseverance is what got the most successful bloggers where they are today.
So here goes!
1. Audience
Knowing whom you are writing for is the primary step to successful blogging. Catering to the correct target audience will help you widen your fan base easily as the content will easily resonate with them, resulting in them sharing it. Knowing your audience will allow you to ensure your areas of focus (subject matter) are clear.
2. Research
Once you know who you writing for, do some research to establish your audience’s needs, problems, interests etc. this step will help ensure they seek out your content, make use of it and even share it. Don’t hesitate to look at how audiences are reacting to blogs of your competitors. Read leading blogs from your industry and learn from them. Check out how the content is written and the comments they receive to take note of what readers like and dislike about the blog as a whole.
3. Headlines
An attractive headline is probably the key factor that will encourage your audience to read it. Research suggests that 8 out of 10 people will only read the headline and skim through the rest. Grabbing their attention at this step is crucial. With people’s attention spans shrinking, no one has the time to read through the content fully to decide; they will check the headline and move on (or continue reading if they like what they see). You may have written some awesome content in the article, but only an attractive headline will tempt people to read further. Our main tip would be to use numbers to receive more engagement and clicks. For example, headings with “How to”, “tips on”, “best of” etc. are more attractive to readers.
4. Content
For a blog to be successful in the long term, compelling and quality content is very important. Having done the necessary research and making yourself aware of the latest happenings on the related topic of interest is essential. Furthermore, the tone of the blog, which is how the blog is conveyed to the reader, is just as important and it should be put out with a touch of personality.
Use attractive (relevant) images to add flavour. “A picture speaks a thousand words” maybe a cliché, but, it holds true. Also, a well thought out image can help easily communicate complex information.
Also, ensure your content is free of grammar and spelling mistakes, as these can do serious damage to your online reputation.
5. Keywords
Writing a blog should be done towards the reader and not just for SEO. Going over the top on SEO related keywords is a classic mistake that many bloggers make. Including keywords to your blog IS important and it is usually advised that repeating them once every 150 words is the best way to go about it. Including your keywords in the heading and first paragraph too are essential. As per content marketing norms, it’s best to ensure your content is fresh, up-to-date, reader-friendly and finally, SEO friendly. Not the other way around!
6. Formatting
Aligning the content you write in a tidy and orderly manner would help the overall experience for the reader. Short paragraphs, sub-titles, short sentences and bullet points make your content easy to read.
According to Site Meter stats the average reader spends 96 seconds reading a blog. Following these tips would be useful for readers who do not have time to read the entire blog but to skim through it and grasp the important message.
7. Platform
Having an easy-to-use blogging platform would work wonders for you and your blog. It makes uploading and carrying out any creative formatting edits easier. The most popular blogging platform is WordPress and it provides a host of themes, plugins and tutorials. Other preferred platforms include Blogger, TypePad Micro and Blog.com. With various platforms providing slightly different features, it’s best for you to go through them and opt for the one that best serves your purpose.
8. Category/Tags
Tagging your content and organizing each of your post under clear categories can be done in most blogging platforms. Once an article is tagged, it virtually creates another page of the article under the tag name that would provide a copy of your original article. It comes in handy as all excerpts would have an equal chance of being indexed and found on search engines (Google). It also makes users to easily identify the content under the relevant category they would be most interested in.
9. Promotion
Now that you’ve written and published our blog post, you need to spread the word among your audience. Social media channels and e-mail marketing are fantastic, proven way of building awareness for your blog. They help spread the word and also make it easier for audience to share.
10. Follow-up
Once your blog post is published, follow up. Respond to comments, questions and feedback from your audience in a timely manner. Also, keep an eye out on how viral your post has gone. This will let you know whether you are on the right track or if you have to re-think your content strategy.
Feel free to repeat step 9 two or three more times (at regular intervals, do NOT spam your audience)
There you go… Our 10 steps to successful blogging! The steps are simple, but NOT easy. And like we mentioned before, perseverance along with trial and error is the way forward.
Make sure you blog regularly and use it as a platform to connect and engage with your audience consistently. Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments section below. We would love to know what other steps you take (that we may have missed) to make your blog a success.