4 top tips for writing an engaging blog
409 million people view more than 22.3 billion blog pages each month – and that’s just on WordPress. Everyone is writing a blog nowadays and we understand why, as blogs are a great outlet for sharing insights, news and giving advice. But how do you make your blog posts stand out from the crowd? To help you out, we have put together our 4 top tips to make your blog the best it can be.
1. Create an irresistible first sentence
When writing a blog – or any content for that matter – you have to entice the reader. The first sentence is one of the most important as it will set your blog apart from the rest. Convince the reader you’re offering something of value and they will be sure to carry on reading.
Our advice: You could open with a quote, ask a question you know your target audience wants to answer, tell a story, a joke or even begin with some research. Keep it relevant to your audience and the topic of the blog.
2. Make it snappy and clear – no jargon allowed!
Often we get caught up in paragraphs of waffle. You don’t want your reader to lose attention before they get to the end. Therefore, it’s important to be as brief, yet as clear as possible. Every single word, phrase and sentence you write should serve a purpose to help you prove a point, don’t just try and fill up space or use phrases you just found in the thesaurus.
Our advice: Avoid chunky paragraphs and long sentences. Instead, when you are trying to explain something in detail use bullet points or numbered lists. It’s easy on the eye, effective and still gets your point across without the lengthy paragraphs to go with it.
3. Use images and graphics
Everyone likes images. We can’t deny when looking through a magazine, we always look at the pictures first. In fact, research shows that content with relevant images gets 94% more views than content without relevant images.
Our advice: Add in an image and draw the attention of the readers. Yes, blogs are made up of text, but they are a visual medium. Images are an all important ingredient – every book needs a cover; so every great post needs an image. Just remember to keep it relevant and cite the source of any images that aren’t your own.
4. Add a call to action at the end
When your readers finish the post, they should be encouraged to do something. That’s what engagement is all about. Some of them will like to share a great post, others will comment on it, and some people will do exactly what you tell them to do. A call to action is your secret to greater engagement.
Our advice: Ask your readers a question and invite them to respond or share on social media. Make sure they know how to contact you if they have any further questions.
Now it’s time for our call to action! Have you got the urge to write a blog? We write blogs for our clients every day, so if you would like to speak to us about how we can help with your PR & Social Media strategy then give us a call on +44 (0) 1296 733 867 or email us at prworks@neopr.co.uk. Or, if you would like to add to our list of top tips then tweet us @NeoPRLtd!
