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7 Ways To Improve Blog Content

business blog to do list

Have you ever wondered why some blog content immediately pulls you in and grabs your attention while others seem to miss the mark?

The best business blogs have a way of presenting their information better than others. What makes them stand out?

I’ve pulled together this list of 7 best practices to help you improve your business blog content today…

1. Create A Catchy Title

In just 5-7 words, your title needs to immediately capture the attention of your unique target audience and actually make them want to keep reading. No pressure, right?

Blogging tip form problogger Darren Rowse

Creating catchy blog titles is part art and part science. Start by thinking like your customers and identifying the types of questions they would ask. You should also think about the titles that typically capture your attention and what makes them unique.

Once you have some ideas, try a few different variations and see which formats work best.

2. Add Visual Interest

I’m huge on using images on a business blog. Huge! When done right they really help to make your content pop—even more important as our attention spans keep getting shorter and shorter. Charts, photos, screenshots, block quotes, and other visuals can all be great additions to your posts.

I try to use a mix of photos I’ve captured with my smartphone and images I find through Creative Commons. If you’re using someone else’s work, always (ALWAYS) make sure you have their permission.

3. Use Lists

I’d have to say lists have become the most popular way to organize content for most business bloggers. This post is a list.

Whether you use
• bullets,
2. numbers,
or subheadings

to break up your content, lists not only help to break up your content and make it more readable, but they also give you numbers you can use to tease your post when you’re crafting your title.

4. Limit Paragraph Length

Nobody wants to read one continuous block of text, no matter how interesting your writing style or the topic.

You need to give your ideas and your content a chance to breathe and to make your post easy to skim and scan.

Break things up.  Writing for the web is different than business writing. After a few sentences, start looking for opportunities to transition to a new paragraph.

5. Link To Other Blog Posts

Links can add a ton of value for both you and your readers. When you point them to other relevant posts on your blog, that keeps them on your site longer and helps increase the likelihood they’ll form a connection with your business and ultimately make a purchase.

Likewise, your readers will appreciate being able to easily access other helpful information--even when you link away from your blog.

Strive for a mix of internal links (your posts) and external links (articles, posts from other business blogs, etc.)/

6. Tell A Story

No I’m not talking “It Was a Dark And Stormy Night.” But whether you’re writing about computer hardware, industrial design, or life insurance--every post will have a beginning, middle, and end.

Your introduction sets the stage for what’s to come—teasing the rest of your content and pulling the reader in.

From there, you want to include the meat around whatever it is you’re writing about. 

Wrap things up with a strong close, encouraging your readers to do something—leave a comment, share your post with their social networks, download an ebook, etc.

7. Establish The Right Tone

I like to keep things conversational. With each post, my goal is to write content in the same way I talk about the topic if we were having a face-to-face conversation. Personally, I think that always keeps things a little more interesting. However, there are a lot of options when it comes to the style and tone of your business blog.

What’s One Thing You'd Like To Improve About Your Blog?

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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[Image: Flickr User Owen W Brown]



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