Guest post by Sarabeth Rivera
Establishing a blog can be a fantastic way to increase the visibility of your small business and gain new customers. It can also help you retain the customers that you have already acquired. But in order for your blog to be a useful marketing tool, you must be able to create posts that will get people coming back for more.
Here are five tips that you can start utilizing today to create readable blog posts that will boost your readership and your revenue.
1. Watch your language
It probably goes without stating that you shouldn’t use offensive language in your posts!
Beyond minding your manners, you should watch your language to ensure it’s not too stiff or formal. Successful blogs are a bit more casual than your typical business writing. They should be easy and fun to read. So before you publish that post, read it through several times to make sure it’s free of words that require a dictionary.
Along those same lines, you will also want to skip the tricky acronyms and confusing industry lingo to ensure every reader—from the industry leader to your newest client to your supportive mother—is able to grasp what you’re communicating.
2. Craft newsworthy headlines
Blog writing calls for some creativity. You want to write headlines that will grasp your readers’ attention. If they are subscribed to your blog through an RSS feed or you are publishing links on your website, the headline is often all they will see until they physically go to your blog. And if your headlines are ho-hum, they probably won’t make the effort to see what your post is all about.
3. Make it custom
By custom, we aren’t talking about design; we’re talking about the message.
Sure, you can invest quite a bit of time and money into a custom blog design, but if you aren’t adding your own opinions to your posts, they aren’t going to captivate your readers.
When you’re starting your own business, you want to establish yourself as an expert. By communicating your opinions and providing commentary on industry-related news, you are establishing that you are indeed an expert. This will draw more readers to your blog and customers to your business.
4. Keep it short
People go online to get quick bits of information, not to read a novel. So, aim to keep your posts concise and to the point. If you have a lot to say about a particular subject, break it up into multiple posts.
This tactic will not only keep the information easy to digest but will also draw your readers’ back so they can get the full scoop. Just be sure to make it clear that this will be a multiple post series to make sure that you get the full reward of breaking up the post.
5. Keep the style simple
Fonts can make an incredible difference when it comes to design. Unfortunately, many people, including professional designers, overlook the impact of a carefully chosen font.
When it comes to the Internet, you want to choose a simple font that is very readable. Some of the best fonts to choose are a sans serif like Verdana or Arial. You will also want to ensure that it is a size that is easy for most people to read and the background is simple and non-distracting.
Sarabeth is a personal finance blogger at the credit card comparison website, www.creditdonkey.com. You can read credit card tips from her team at http://www.creditdonkey.com/tip.html
About Guest Author
great, useful tips, its funny, we all know these things but need constantly reminding….i think the majority of people fall short when they work for search engines first and put their readers second and not the other way round
Twitter: supsampust
says:
Blogs have been great to build and to build them whit authority, is a pretty hard job to do nowadays. Many have sprung up, and to stand out is not making it easier! :)
With #1, I do agree with ya, but do add some swears in for variety and especially in the titles. The title is very important.
Style has to be short and really unique in order to become an article worth reading ! :)
Samuel recently posted..How To Generate Comments Like Crazy!
Blogs is mainstream to have better life at home. Through online media, opportunities have presented to decrease employment that is easy and accurate job. With that, you can reach level that is impossible to have. Great things that community engage their daily routine to look on the side of online.
Cynthia recently posted..revitol stretch mark cream
I am probably most prefer and more often to read post that is written in short, because for me long article will keep me bored and sleepy.
Michael Brown recently posted..Abs Diet Recipes
As for me,I’ve found that my visitors are always looking for the same thing over and over. And those are tips and tricks to make their gaming better.
This is a very helpful article as my site is still new and is finding ways to improve it. I will apply all these 5 tips to gain more audience as well.
Thanks for sharing your expertise! :)
Marvs recently posted..Paper Camera: What is it and how to get one?
Thanks so much for providing these basic yet often forgotten points regarding writing for readers. I think a lot of folks write for search engines first and their readers second. Very often it’s hard to follow the writing. Keeping it simple is definitely the way to go.
Derek recently posted..Help With Marriage Restoration
Really great tips here. Thanks for sharing.
Twitter: ben_baygas
says:
Thanks a lot for sharing this a highly useful tips on how to make your write-ups more appealing to your readers.Keep it up.Kodus!
bennix recently posted..KingCom Joypad 73 with 4GB Internal Mem and High Battery Cap / Joypad Prices
You’ve made a very valid point about checking our style of writing. It’s better to keep the vocabulary as simple as possible or explain the less-known terms then and there so that the readers understand it.
DMIT recently posted..7 Cool Cloud based Time Tracking Apps to Facilitate & Manage your Time
I am not sure I agree with the “keep it short” point. Many times I have gotten much better responses when the subject is covered exhaustively. I think it also allows a more natural coverage of the long tail keywords, which can in turn generate more traffic.
Amanda Gordon recently posted..Automatic Vacuum Cleaners
Agree with your pointers especially #2, “Craft newsworthy headlines”. I attest to the power of a well-written, intriguing headline that hooks the reader. To give an example, I’ve always loved the old netscape site (yes, they still exist, they’re part of aol now). They have this “what’s new” tab and their headlines are so well-crafted that I always end up clicking on them.
Jake recently posted..Teens and Depression
But if you are planning to turn your blog into a home-based business that can earn you a six-figure income you need to pay attention.Even when you try really hard to keep your readers happy you might make multiple mistakes which will obstruct your blog s growth. Let us have a look at the five potential mistakes that can prevent your blog from growing. 1.
I agree! Reading post that are too long sometimes can bore me. But using the tips that you have shared, maybe reading long posts can be exiting specially if the content interest the readers most. Thank you for sharing your brilliant ideas.
Arthur Cooper recently posted..Severe Acne Treatment with Oral Antibiotics
I agree to all points here in the blog. Thanks for the advice and tips that are stated here. I think it will be a big help to all writers.
Sheila J. Hill recently posted..cardio fitness training
Hi Sarabeth, I really enjoyed reading your post. The point you made that struck me the most was the last one. Like you mention, I think a lot of people underestimate the importance of choosing the right font for their blog. I can only speak for myself, but the clearer and simpler the font, the more likely it is that I will want to read a certain post. The same goes for blog themes, too. I find myself instantly drawn to clean, simple layouts. Blogs that are too cluttered, on the other hand, are an instant turn-off.
PCPrima.de recently posted..PC Prima: Wichtige Daten sicher online speichern
It is the great tip, I will apply it to my blog. Thanks !
A to Z Tutorials Of Technologies ! recently posted..Get Your Free Quality Backlink Everyday With SocialMonkee
Hi Sarabeth,
Enjoyed reading the post, especially the point where we should watch our language.
I have visited some websites, and it is indeed unconvenient to read some language which is not appropriate for public.
I also noticed weblogbetter has a new fresh look, and using Genesis, well done, it looks so much cleaner :)
Kimi recently posted..Create A Contact Page in WordPress Video Tutorial WP
I always mind about short blogs. I mean, it’s kinda boring reading long articles. It’s just that you need some 150 word post and you can include video, that’s it.
Hydrolyze recently posted..Revitol Eye Cream Review
Well said, while I use to blog my sole intention is to make those post useful for end users. I use to input as much information as possible so that end user don’t have to look around for incomplete information some where. Apart from that I even make the title unique and SEO friendly too, all this helps me to drive some positive traffic to a website.
Twitter: ben_baygas
says:
Hello, I just drop and saw this pretty blog of yours.Great content and lay-out. I will come back here….:)
Bennix recently posted..Convert Image to Text with Free OCR Softwares
Thanks ,Great article really help me.My friends are says that long posts helped to improve Google Ranking………What about the relation between blog theme and visitors……………….
sibin recently posted..Kissing Through The Internet Would Be Possible Now
Breaking up long posts into smaller chunks is something I always have a tough time remembering, for some reason. I’ll take off like a shot writing, and then there is no good place to break up a post. Or I’ll write withe intent to break it up, but my writing style suffers tremendously because I have to construct the post as I write (I am *not* an outliner! the post never gets written if I have to outline!) and lots of times it ends up never being posted.
Sometimes I wonder if I should leave blogging to the pros and focus more on novels (which I abandoned because I thought I could never write one! lo) .
Delena Silverfox recently posted..IWOWCases Coupon Code
I see too many blog’s cluttered with to much design elements, clean and simple is the way to go!
best android apps recently posted..HTC EVO 3D vs HTC Sensation 4G
This post is very informative and useful. There is really no point writing an article that people won’t bother reading as this will only amount to a waste of valuable time. I have to say that the tips are on point.
Richard C. recently posted..FRESH JOBS AT PRESCO PLC NIGERIA 2011
Hi,
I liked this article from the beginning, you’ve chose a great title – very catchy and important. Writing a post people will read, if you want people to read your post you have to write for the people, right? So, you must help the people, the visitors and readers of this website by offering them quality articles, informations and so on, exactly like your blog. I totally agree with all the tips mentioned in this post, those are the most important things to follow when writing a post generally speaking. Thanks for sharing!
George
George Williams recently posted..Market Truck
Hi Sarabeth,
These are all great tips! I often abandon blogs if the post is overwhelmingly long or the language is “too expert.”
What are you thoughts on using the right keywords in posts…maybe a tip #6?
Allison [Girl's Guide to Social Media] recently posted..[Recap] Social Media Journalism in DC
Nice tips thanks for sharing that…I always try to write short and very concise….
Elizbath recently posted..How To Import & Export Passwords In Mozilla Firefox
Twitter: ronniedare
says:
Nice tips! Beneficial and a good read for those starting up with their business blogs as well.
RonLeyba recently posted..Palawan Underground River – New 7 Wonders of Nature
My favorite type of post is one that has a ton of references and is used a base point for research into a popular topic. Tons of references equal more value!
trudy recently posted..TV Internet Channels
I believe, one of the most important factors are the designs of the blog.
A blog must be pleasing in the eyes of the readers, a reader don’t want posts that are hard to read like improper Font size, too much black, irritating color combinations..
One suggestion I can share is make the Lines of the paragraph more shorter or a maximum of 15 words per line. :)
Thanks for sharing!
It takes a real talent to capture any reader without profanity, and packing in relative information. All while keeping the post/blog simple, short and easily read. I wonder what the average reading time for a blog is suggested to be?
jasmine recently posted..See All Mens Gifts by Year
Twitter: ivinviljoen
says:
Watch your language, except if you’re Wong from BadBlogger. And I just read on Ana’s blog that longer posts rank better. Personally, I like weightier, longer posts with more meat – IMHO it provides more value. Videos is another story altogether… there brevity will serve you better.
Ivin recently posted..Facebook Friday: Using Photos In Building Brands & Marketing
Hi Ivin,
Just a heads up, you might want to look into changing one of the feedburner settings so that you get the commentluv backlink juice… right now your commentluv link goes through feedproxy first, I forgot the setting you had to change in feedburner, something about stats…
Sarabeth recently posted..The History of Money – Past, Present and Future
Thank you for great tips, writing a content that will be read is not easy and any help is always welcome
Alex recently posted..Recovering Content With Autosave Feature
Yeah definitely agree on keeping it short – it’s not a book it’s a blog. You want to keep your readers interested so they keep coming back :)
Short and simple is always good advice, people don’t have time to read articles that waffle on forever but could easily explain what they need to in far fewer characters!
Helen recently posted..Five online tools to keep you organised
Superb post! I think blogger can write catchy headlines. The headline should have some kind of benefit for the reader, should catch their attention, and should make them curious and want to know more.
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This is perfect for people who are in writing industry. It will be a great help to them. Anyway, thanks for posting and sharing this to us.
keith recently posted..Antique Fire Extinguisher
First, did you guys change the look of We Blog Better? It was different a few days ago. lol. If so, it looks great. I think the key to writing a post that will be read is the HEADLINE. This is key as it is the cover on your book, so to speak. It all starts from there, especially since feed readers and Twitter users scan headlines all day long.
Cheers!
Hi Sarabeth,
I like the making it easy and fun to read part. That’s why we should always strive to write in our own voice. We should not try to copy another person’s style because it is too much stress for us and it makes our work difficult to read too.
Great tips.
Maky recently posted..How to Plan a Rockin’ Website
Thanks for the tips. I’m sure they will help me write some better blog posts.
Thank you. Useful and true tips.
Hi,It is a very nice and informative post for bloggers especially for neophytes.You give nice tips for writing a post and it is helpful for many readers.
waterpearls recently posted..TinyTillia Coupons
thats usefull..
sometimes i think i should write tons of words in a single post when actually i can divide it into few of them.
thanks a lot!
Michael recently posted..DIY 3d Printer
I’d agree about the ‘watch your language’ thing. Whenever I read a post with obscenities in it I always feel as though I need to keep looking over my shoulder in case my Mum/Boss is reading – and that is even though I’m forty years old!
That’s true, what you write lives on forever — you never know who your future employer or business partners might be 5 to 10 years from now!
Sarabeth recently posted..The History of Money – Past, Present and Future
True, I wanted the blog to be short so it wouldn’t be boring. Visual and videos are appreciated.
Hydrolyze recently posted..Revitol Eye Cream Review
I think I have to work on keeping it short. I often tend to make my post as explanatory as it can get that I end up writing a long post. I just don’t see the point in saying half of it just to make it short (guess I have a lot to learn). Breaking it down, like you pointed out, looks more workable.
Thanks for the tips..
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