How to write for blogs

…in 15 seconds

If you only have 15 seconds here it is:

1. Provide extra-useful information for your readers.
2. Write attractive headlines with your keywords in it.
3. Create scannable and highly readable posts.
4. Reveal your points at the beginning, explain them, then sum up.

in 5 minutes

Writing Great Blog Content is a science that takes a lot of time and mistakes, but can be learned.  Darren Rowse`s problogger.net provides great advice on writing for blogs. Another superb author is Brian Clark at copyblogger.com.

After reading Darren`s first article in series “How to craft a Blog Post?” I immediately identified myself. I found I am rushing to get things published. And the problem with hurrying is, that I overlook things that are important and make mistakes. So TAKE YOUR TIME and read Darren`s complete series called. I recommend it. Next thing you should do is read a series called Copywriting 101 from Brian Clark. It is an introduction to Copywriting for beginners.

The post below is a checklist for my writing process compiled from the series above.

Crafting a Blog Post

Darren suggest taking a pause at the following key moments of crafting a Blog post:

1. Choosing a topic.
2. Crafting a post title – Title is extremely important!
3. The opening line.
4. Your points.
5. Call to Action.
6. Adding depth.
7. Quality control.
8. Timing of publishing.
9. Post promotion and
10. Conversation.

This actually make sense. If I take more time I will produce posts of better quality and this means people will more likely read it, like it and recommend it.

Structure of persuasive Copy

• Focus on the reader and make a promise early.
• Each part should have a idea and purpose that support main idea and purpose.
• Be specific and give reasons WHY!
• Demonstrate credibility and authority.
• Get back to the reader – what`s in it for him?
• Make an offer.
• Sum up, restate original promise and show how it is fulfilled.

Presenting Content

Content needs to be scannable.

There are several techniques for making posts more readable to the eye and mind:

• lists (I am already using lots of lists. Thumbs up!),
• text formatting (bold, italics, – use them consistently),
• headings and subheadings,
• pictures,
• get to the point and don`t burry your points,
• stick to only a few ideas in one post

Post length

Post length is a common question when it comes to writing for my 51 grand blog.

One long post and a few short posts along the day. There is no rule for this one, but posts need to be short enough to deal with readers short attention spans and long enough to decently present the topic. I guess I will experiment with this one a bit.

Creating Titles

Titles are probably the most important element of my blog posts. They are the first thing my visitors (Yes, that’s YOU) see even before they reached my blog. Titles are seen in Search Engines, RSS feeds and on my blog.  According to Brian Clark the purpose of copy is to get the first sentence read. And then the second, and so on, step by step to the sale. Here is what title should be like:

1. Keep it simple.
2. Grab ATTENTION!
3. Meet a need – promise a benefit.
4. Be useful.
5. Use KeyWords.
6. STOP! Carefully evaluate your Title before you hit publish button!
7. Half of entire time writing should be spent on crafting a title.

Organizing the Writing Process

Posting Workflow

• Create drafts when you get ideas and.
• Review these drafts when you want to writ new post.
• Do some more research or combine your ideas.
• Start writing.
• Review it. Double check title!
• Post.
• Get feedback.
• Update.

Post Frequency

Try to find your own pace. Posting every day can become overwhelming. Posting just for the sake of posting can also hurt your blog.  I think it is ok to write posts ahead of time and develop a consistent posting frequency.

Motivation for Writing

How to overcome motivation problems?

• Starting a series.
• Invite questions from your readers.
• Revisit old posts.
• Keep an idea Journal.
• Develop a posting schedule.
• Get a Guest blogger.
• Take a break.
• Short posts.

As you can see, blog copywriting can be very extensive. But again you can`t go wrong if you remember only these 4 things:

1. Focus on your reader and make him a promise.
2. Title is the most important element of your copy.
3. Make your content readable.
4. Perform the promise.

Rerefences:

http://www.problogger.net/how-to-write-great-blog-content/
http://www.copyblogger.com/copywriting-101/