How to Write a Blog Post That Actually Gets Read

This document is a living document comprised of a compilation of third party expert materials.

Topic Considerations

Every blog should be written with an audience and action in mind. Before writing, consider the audience, who is this for? And consider by the time your consumer has finished reading what action should they be inclined to take? To achieve this approach, content is usually written in Evergreen and Topical formats:

• Evergreen content will remain relevant and continue to bring in traffic for a long time to come. With this approach you compete by putting out quality work.
• Topical content is short-lived but safe to bet on because you know it’s something people are interested in right now. With Topical, you compete by being first to market. However, once interest has died down, so will the traffic you get from it.

If you’re strategic with your writing, your content can be both evergreen and topical; some topical content may be written in a way that it meets evergreen needs as it might be seasonally applicable (i.e. summer or fall specific, but applicable every year, etc.).

Where to Research Topics

With a general topic in mind, your next step is to evaluate what about that topic generates interest and interactions. There are a variety of tools that will help you know what your audience may be interested in, start with these:

• UberSuggest – Get a full audit of your domain and its competitors, see what they rank for and more.
• SEMrush – the industry standard on SEO analysis
• GoogleTrends – Compare two topics to see which one is in more demand.
  • To do so, search one query; then in the compare box that appears, add a second query
  • For example if you’re exploring whether to write on ipads or iphones, you might type ‘iphones in school’ compared against ‘ipads in school’. You’d find that ‘iphones in school’ is not a topic anyone is searching for, and ‘ipads in school’ is a hot topic. Likewise, you can also learn that ‘christian school’ is more relevant than ‘private school’ and so on.

Planning the Headline

Expanding to a good writing template is wise as well:

• Listicle: [NUMBER] + [ADJECTIVE] + [ITEMS] + [PROMISE]
• How-to post: How to [SOLVE PROBLEM] + [BENEFIT]
• Controversial post: Why [CONTRARIAN CLAIM]
• Storytelling post: How I [GOT FROM POINT A TO POINT B]

Remember, you don’t click on content, you click on HEADLINES.

Utilize Persuasive Speech

In A/B testing we found the use of persuasive speech improved our results.  First, the take rate of your users can be enhanced by words of high-interest.  “Free” and “New” are two such words that have a track record of increasing sales against when compared with omitting.

Similarly, users can be persuaded at a much higher rate when combining their ask of a task followed with a persuasive “because“. In this example, assume you were selling real estate courses, in your explainer of why a user should take the course, you could increase your take rate by adding the persuasive because; see here, “We encourage our members to take our new course on ‘How to Seller Finance with Zero Dollars Down’, because our learners achieve their first zero-down closings typically within the first 90-days,” or, “Buy it this week, because it’s on sale through Friday only”. Both examples give compelling logic that assist in capturing a lead.

You’ll notice we also utilized urgency, to compel the buyer, consider eliciting immediate action with adverbs of time, such as ‘now‘ or ‘today‘ or for digital, ‘instantly‘. Urgency can be paired with the fear of missing out, especially when working with one-time use runs – people buy exclusive ‘limited‘ items at much higher price points than their companion goods.

Be direct, talk to your users, using ‘you‘ over third party phrasing to increase your chance at success: “You can choose,” wins over, “Locals should choose”, or similar third-party phrases. You can further elicit actions with lifestyle suggestions, using words like ,”Imagine…” setting the narrative for what your their life could otherwise be like.

Conversion or ‘Call to Action’ Oriented

While it’s nice to have your audience read your article, it’s far more important that they take your desired action. With each article authors should have a call to action in mind, or a quantifiable metric, such as form submissions, ticket sales, or purchases..

Its best when data can be tracked via Analytics beyond clicks to achieve a conversion rate, and if dollars are associated a spend.

• ‘RSVP Now’ for Event (button link to or embed form)
• ‘Join us’ for Event (button link to or embed form)
• Add to Cart / Buy Now (button link to school store or embed products)
• ‘Sign Up’ for … Event/Class, etc.. (button or form)
• ‘Give Today’ (button link or embed form)
• ‘Invite Friends’ (Social Sharing)
• ‘Get Tickets’ (Show.Class.Arts)
• ‘Learn More’ (button link; gentler, great buttons for giving/admissions, when not embedding form)

Your final call to action should be include an action oriented ‘verb’ button – not text links; text-links are still valuable for the middle of your paragraph. To make it simple, start with your headline, write your marketing material and end with a form / single button.

Images Keep the Reader

While the textual content really spurs the reader onwards, its important to break up heavy text areas with relevant imagery. Whether you’ve got the budget for professional photography ($$), stock photography ($) or free AI generated images, there’s no good reason not to have images throughout the post. Neural.love is a phenomenal AI image generating site to curate your blog imagery.

In the digital landscape, the right content can bridge the gap between a potential customer and your brand, turning passive readers into engaged participants. Crafting content that resonates with your audience isn’t just about staying relevant; it’s about establishing your authority and enhancing your online footprint. That’s where Nethers Web Design steps in with our Monthly Blogging service.

For a low monthly cost, our service ensures your brand’s voice is not only heard but also resonates across the web. With two professionally written articles each month, we guarantee content that is both evergreen and topical, tailored to meet the seasonal demands of your audience. Our expertise in digital marketing and web development ensures that each piece is optimized for SEO, driving traffic and engagement long after publication.

Hire a Blogging Pro

Investing in quality content is investing in the future of your brand. Let Nethers Web Design be your partner in this journey, crafting narratives that captivate and convert. Discover more about how our Monthly Blogging service can elevate your content strategy at https://nethe.rs/product/monthly-blogging-pro-length/. It’s time to make your digital presence impossible to ignore.