“I have to do what to help increase my SEO rankings?”
For many business owners, blogging seems foreign – something that’s never been considered part of their content marketing strategy.
Yet others have jumped on the blogging bandwagon but dread each time they have to come up with a new article.
Knowing how to blog, coming up with topics to write about, and drafting an article that says what you have in mind can be next to impossible – if you don’t keep certain blog copywriting tactics in mind.
Before putting your finger on the keyboard when creating your next blog article, here’s what you should consider.
WHY BLOG COPYWRITING IS IMPORTANT
With 70 million new blog posts each month, there’s no denying the fact that blogging is still an essential part of a strong content marketing strategy. There are countless benefits that blogging can bring to a business owner, including:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Readers head to Google for answers to their problems through information and insights. By providing those answers via your blog articles, Google sends more traffic to your site. The more helpful content you have, the more likely readers will stay on your site, allowing you to secure a sale and build a brand following.
It’s well known that Google loves value-driven content, so writing articles that truly meet readers’ needs can pay off hugely on Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). Each new piece you write is another indexed page for search engines to map. It shows Google that your website is active, which it rewards with better rankings.
Brand Image & Authority
Blogging regularly allows you to portray yourself the way you want to your target audience. Using tone, language, and relatability, you can accurately perceive your brand in the customer’s mind, which can influence their buying habits.
Blogging allows you to help shape the image you want of your brand in your prospective customer’s mind. Controlling the information you put out there is a great way to build authority in your industry and trust with your target audience.
Multipurpose Content
Even though you’ll need to spend time creating it initially, blog articles are not a one-and-done deal. Blogging provides material you can use in your social media, company newsletters, and any other content marketing platform. Doing so can help you save valuable time, which you never have enough of as a small business owner.
BLOG COPYWRITING TACTICS
Now that you know the benefits of blog copywriting, why don’t we help make it as easy as possible? The following tips outline some tactics for writing your next blog post.
Make It Relatable
Your target audience doesn’t know your industry as well as you do, so keep your copy as clear and simple as possible.
Avoid industry jargon and complicated words. If using acronyms, be sure to spell them out in their entirety the first time they’re introduced rather than assume your reader knows what you’re talking about.
Make It Useful
Nobody has time to guess at the point you’re trying to make when they’re looking for a solution to their problem.
Instead, they want to find the information they need quickly. Lay the article out so the reader can glance through the content and find the information they need.
Of course, you want them to read your article in its entirety, but the reality is that the majority of readers skim. Use headings, lists, and white space to create content that makes this as easy as possible.
Make Every Word Count
Trying to hit a specific word count can often lead to stuffing unnecessary content into an article. Instead, keep your content as concise as possible while addressing the most important aspects from a reader’s POV. In short? Make every word count and avoid the fluff.
While you want to spend less time writing fluff, you want to spend more time writing your title. Although the ideal blog post title length is 60 characters, headlines that are 8-12 words long are most often shared on Twitter. Write a title that hooks your reader and draws them in to continue reading your article.
Make It Understandable
Your blog post should have a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Use the beginning to introduce the topic to your audience and lay out the rest of your article, and the middle for substantial content that’s easy to understand.
The ending of a blog post should tie everything together and include a call to action (CTA). It should also leave your audience feeling satisfied that their inquiry or pain point has been addressed.
Make It Engaging
There’s enough boring content we need to read in our daily lives – there’s no need to add boring blog content, too! In fact, writing in a non-captivating way will quickly drive your readers away and possibly to a competitor’s page that’s more interesting.
When people read your content, they’re seeking one of three things:
- Information
- Entertainment
- Education
Keep this in mind when writing your post, and even consider blending more than one of the offerings together. At the very least, you want to keep your blog post as relevant as possible to your potential customers and hopefully inspire them to take action.
Make It Suitable for Your Target Audience
Don’t write your blog post aimlessly without a direct reader in mind. Instead, write content that aims to meet the needs of your target audience – someone whom you should have defined while crafting your content marketing strategy.
As the consumer who will most likely want your brand’s offering, your target audience should be defined in ways including age, gender, income, and location. Using this ‘insider knowledge,’ you can craft compelling content that appeals to them.
BLOG COPYWRITING EXAMPLES
Not all blog post content formats are created equal – some get more results from the reader than others. We’ve outlined a few of the most popular ones below:
How-To Blog Copywriting
Since most Google searches are done to find information, it’s no surprise that how-to and tutorial blog posts are top-ranked content ideas. These types of blog articles (with examples here and here) are simple ways to relate to your audience and establish authority in your industry.
Listicle Blog Copywriting
List headlines are what help many bloggers get eyes on their posts. According to MOZ, 36 percent of readers are likelier to click on an article with list headlines – such as this one 😉 Why? Because listicle blog copywriting helps readers easily consume the content of your post and take action.
Predictions and Trends Blog Copywriting
Using your expertise to help predict the future (as demonstrated in this post) can captivate your target audience and help them view you as an industry expert.
Readers are always interested in knowing what’s up and coming and the next market trend. This type of blog copywriting is a great way even to spark a debate!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT BLOG COPYWRITING
How Often Do Bloggers Post (and How Many Blogs Should I Post Per Month)?
The golden question – how often should I blog?
Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer. If your main goal is to generate some amazing SEO results, we suggest posting as often as possible – even a couple of times per week at the start.
But for established brands more interested in maintaining their brand authority and SEO results? Blog publishing can scale back a bit. Even two to four times per month is a good amount to blog without starting to publish for the sake of publishing.
How Long Should My Blog Post Be?
Just like there’s no concrete answer to how frequently you should blog, there’s no easy answer to how long of a post you should create.
The length of a blog post depends on your content goals, who your audience is, and your audience’s search intent. Our best advice is to write a blog post that clearly serves your audience’s needs while avoiding writing any fluff.
For evergreen content (content that stays relevant over time) and search engine authority, experts suggest writing at least 1,500 words. A good rule of thumb is to see the length of the top blog articles in the SERPs and make your content, at a minimum, a similar length.
What’s an Advantage When Writing a Blog?
We know that Google rewards sites that publish regular, fresh content. Having a blog is one of the easiest ways to do this (without adding clutter to your site).
When we add new pages to our site, we alert Google to come back and re-crawl our site – which can help achieve a better position on SERPs. The more traffic that lands on your site, the more opportunity you have to convert that traffic into a sale.
Another advantage gained from blogging is the ability to become authoritative in your industry. When we blog regularly, we are seen as someone knowledgeable about industry trends and can be relied upon to utilize the latest skills and knowledge.
How Much Do Blog Writers Charge?
Blog writers can charge either an hourly rate or a project rate. Rates can vary depending on the years of experience and niche that the blog copywriter has. The more experience, the higher the rate – but the greater opportunity for results.
One of the biggest differentiators from our competitors is that we’re transparent about our rates, which you can check out here.
How Do You Write a Good Blog Post?
There are four key things to do to help ensure your blog is as strongly written as possible:
- Complete ample research
- Write well
- Complete proper SEO
- Edit your work
For more information on each tip, check out this article on writing a good blog post.
What Skills Are Needed to Write a Blog Post?
Blog copywriting is like almost everything else in life – you get better with experience. However, having the following skills will make the task much easier:
- Research Skills: Before you can even start writing a blog article, you must determine a suitable topic, find background information, and locate stats to back up your article
- Editing Skills: Publishing work with spelling and grammatical errors can make you look unprofessional and untrustworthy
- SEO Skills: If you want your content to rank, you need to know how to utilize SEO to the best of your abilities
When Should I Hire a Blog Copywriter?
One of our most popular sayings around here is, “Do what you do best and outsource the rest.”
If funds permit, we suggest hiring a blog copywriter as soon as possible to get your website ranking higher on Google.
Business owners often lack the time or knowledge to complete blog copywriting well. In other situations, business owners have tried publishing a blog but aren’t getting the desired results. Whatever the reason, hiring an experienced blog copywriter is often money well spent.
Final Thoughts
We won’t sugar-coat it: Blog copywriting isn’t easy. It’s a skill that takes time to learn and execute well.
Results from copywriting are never overnight, either. Instead, blog copywriting should be part of a long-term strategy.
But when it’s done well? Blog copywriting can bring countless benefits, including brand authority, better SEO results, and opportunities to increase conversion rates. It may be money that’s difficult to spend initially, but once you start seeing the results, it all makes sense.