In the previous two blog posts we have shared a brief history of blogging, what it means to blog and why you should be introducing blogging into your business strategy. This week, we concentrate on hooking your potential readers with catchy titles, what to blog about and sharing your blog through Pinterest.
So, you know why you need to blog, but what do you talk about? And how do you get readers clicking and subscribing?
Well, here are a few content ideas for things to write about.
- Run a contest/giveaway
- Review books/products/films
- How to’s/guides/tutorials
- Interview someone
- Post a cool infographic
- Create a photo post
- Write inspirational/motivational post with famous quotes
- Lists – 15 best ways to…
- Behind the scenes
- Ask questions / post responses to blog comments
- Share your goals
- Share your favourite blogs / bloggers
- Invite readers to submit guest posts
- Share your fail stories, not just your successes
- Historical ‘On this day’ posts
- Hints & Tips about your industry
There are so many ideas it’s difficult to know where to start, which is where your content strategy needs to make sense, and that is why it is important to plan your content as we discussed in part 1.
Once you have made a plan, and you know that the content you have planned in is in context (ie relevant to you and your followers) then you can start writing. Use the above list for inspiration but you will also find ideas everywhere!
The next step is to create a catchy title, you need to make people want to click on your post. Think engaging and entertaining – but how? There are a couple of tools that you can use for inspiration and these are Hubspot blog topic generator and Portent’s content idea generator.
The idea for both of these free tools is to put in your subject and they will suggest catchy titles for you to use. Give it a go – it’s pretty fun!
We can’t talk about blogging without talking about Pinterest, as that is where your blog can really generate followers. Take a look at this screenshot below of a few blog posts about blogging. Each one has a catchy title and strong image. This is what you are competing with when writing your own blog.
Pinterest is invaluable for a blogger – we have discussed before about how Pinterest brings an average of 300% more traffic to your site than Facebook. The beauty of Pinterest for a blogger is the longevity of the pin. Pinners will be re-pinning your pin (and therefore your blog) for weeks, months and years. Your blog post (if high content and in context, with great title and clear images) will continue to be seen and read for so much longer. It is a fact that the half-life of a Pinterest pin is 1,600 times longer than a Facebook post. Let’s take advantage of the amount of engagement this can give us!
So this is why it is so important to get your title and your images right – your potential customer or client will need to decide instantly whether your blog is worth clicking on, and as soon as they have then you have hooked them in.
So remember;
- Include engaging photos or graphics – articles with images get 94% more views
- Use clean design and layout. Good design, along with quality content are the top two factors that add credibility
- Make sure your site is mobile optimised
- Have a unique voice – write conversationally, use simple words & short sentences
- Connect with Social Media to greatly increase your traffic
- Create a call to action – eg sign up to newsletter
- Write a comprehensive ‘about’ page
- Project yourself as an expert and thought leader in your industry
- Have regular makeovers of your blog to keep it fresh
- Read more blogs and engage with other writers
- Plan ahead, using your blog as a key part of your content marketing strategy
- Keep your content in context and relevant to your audience
- Check spelling and grammar – then check it again!
Good luck! If you would like any help with any of the above then please do get in touch with us. We are always keen to hear your thoughts and ideas for new how-to’s and blog posts so we would love to hear from you.