Effective Blogging 101

Pin It

Show of hands, who wants to be a successful blogger?

Are you one of those who makes excuses as to why your blog isn't faring as well as some of the others you've visited? It seems that some bloggers just have it down to a science. I'm here to tell you that the science of effective blogging is much easier than you might think. I've pared down the most important and recurrent practices of the 'successful women in business' demographic and am happy to share them right here with you.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Let's learn from those who know how to do it, and do it right.

Effective bloggers are focused. They know what their readers want and they give it to them. While you don't need to rehash the same topic time and again (in fact, please don't!), you're wise to stay within the bounds of your niche. Stick to topics within your forte, but be creative about it. If you're feeling stuck, get out there and learn. The more you know learn your field, the more topic ideas will begin to open up to you. 

If your blog is teeming with relevant, easy (and fun) to read content, you'll gather interested readers who'll want to come back. You've also got other blogs who will recommend your posts (awesome!) and you've got some credibility as being a good source of information within your niche. Maybe even an expert, which, of course, is ideal. So keep up on it.

Make a schedule and do your best to stick to it. Whether you write two posts a day or two posts a week, your reader will come to know your general schedule and will check back regularly. If they keep coming back and nothing has changed they may begin to {gasp!} lose interest.

An easy way to avoid coming up short is to keep a few posts in the coffer. When you have more time, put together a few posts relevant to your niche and keep them in reserve. That way when life happens, you be left hanging. And neither will your readers.

AND, in case you didn't know... the search engines love dynamic, unique content. If you're providing that by posting much and posting often, you're putting yourself in a better position to be found. 

As a general rule, you don't have to try to push all of your content into a paragraph or two, but you absolutely don't want to load your posts with what I call 'filler', those seemingly worthless words used to plug white space. Consider a conversation where someone says awkward things to fill the silence. Who likes that? No one.

Your goals in a post should be to fulfill a need for the reader and to do so in a concise, yet thorough way. How many times have you landed on a blog post and before you even start reading it, you notice that it runs the entire length of the page? Are you likely to stick around? Probably not. Readers want information and they want it quickly.

The most effective bloggers artfully provide an attention grabbing title, an easy-on-the eyes layout full of engaging content and a memorable closing (that may or may not include a call to action). If you've got a post that you feel requires more space and is in danger of being too long, consider splitting it up over a few days. Something of a series. Another effective strategy to keep 'em coming back.

Whether they realize it or not, people who do a lot of reading (especially online) need to have their content spaced well and easy on the eyes as far as layout. It's difficult to read something that's all mashed together, done in a repetitive paragraph format and devoid of any sort of visual stimulation. Consider pictures, bullet points, infographics or anything else you think might jazz it up a bit.

Way back in kindergarten we learned that sharing is nice. Having your post re-blogged is a wonderful thing. Ask your friends or colleagues if they'd be interested in re-posting your latest piece. They're more likely to agree if your post isn't totally self-serving or dripping with sales language. Try to keep it fun & educational and they're likely to share it. It's one less post they have to write!

Note on your blog that the post is being shared today on ____'s blog with a link to it. Now you're 'in demand'. You should also share it on Facebook, Twitter, article dissemination services and social bookmarking venues. Work it!

Put your stamp (a.k.a your author's resource box) on everything you post. Include your full name, your business name, and a tag line if you have one (you should probably have one), your website and your email. Your website and email should be linked back to your site. This way if someone re-posts it as an article or wants to re-blog it, you'll get the as well as a valuable link back to your site.

Don't be discouraged if you don't see yourself in all of these tips. 

Some of these skills are innate while some are acquired over time. The more you blog (and read other people's blogs), the more effective you'll become. Besides, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it. Keep learning and you'll keep growing. And so will your audience and your business.

Melissa Bolton, Copywriter & Internet Marketing Strategist

Designher Brands | melissa@designherbrands.com  

Get on the Mailing List