Business Growth & Marketing Ideas
September 21, 2021
For some people, content creation it's a creative outlet—a blank slate from which creative thoughts and ideas flow. For others, it's akin to having a root canal. In fact, many people out there would rather have a root canal performed than write a blog post. Blogging should be an essential part of your marketing toolkit. It can provide a wealth of valuable information to potential customers, show them that you're a thought leader, and even have a chance at ranking well in the organic search results for keywords that can drive new business. We want to share with you a few tips on how even the most reluctant business owner can quickly write a blog without having to channel their inner Wordsworth. Of course, you can always hire a professional writer, but if you'd prefer to keep things in-house, here's a quick lesson on how to write a blog post.
Before you put literal or proverbial pen to paper, you'll want to come up with a blog post idea. One of the quickest and most effective ways of doing this is to consider and write down your customer pain points. What challenges do they face that your business can solve? For example, if you're a plumber, you might go with:
The pain point should serve as the title of your blog post and a starting point from which you can expand upon. Remember that you're not giving away any information that isn't already out there on the internet. Unclogging a sink can be done by a handy homeowner. However, the fact that they read your blog post for tips means that you're probably going to be the first person they call when they have a severe plumbing issue.
There are six common types of blog posts that you can use — An infographic is a colorful design that people can share via social media and other image-sharing sites. You'll probably require the services of a graphic designer for the best chances of success.
Newsjacking—Newsjacking is the process of taking a current news story, repeating the gist of it, then providing your unique thoughts. For example, if there is a controversy in your niche, briefly talk about it in your blog post, then explain why you agree or disagree. The "Ultimate Guide" post — An "ultimate guide" is usually a guide that's 1,000 words or longer and provides a wealth of information about a subject. List-Based post — A list-based post is simply a list. "Top ten ways to keep your garden green year-round' is a good example. "How To" post — The "how to" post tells the reader how to do something. For example, "how to safely unclog a toilet." "What Is?" post — The "what is" blog post informs the reader. For example, "What is the best way to maintain my car."
Now that you've got the content ideas down and the type of blog post you'll write, you'll need to create an outline. An introductory blog post outline is as follows:
To see the above outline in action, simply look at this blog post that you're currently reading.
If you follow the above steps, you'll find that writing the blog post will come naturally. Don't worry about grammar or readability just yet. There's a free tool out there that we'll talk about in the next step. Here are a few writing tips for your consideration.
For this step, you can hire a professional editor or take advantage of free tools such as Grammarly and Hemmingway. You can cut and paste the content you wrote into either of these two free tools, and they will provide you with grammar and readability suggestions that will help improve the blog post.
We hope this blog post has provided you with an easy way to create an effective and valuable blog post. However, if you're still struggling, give the marketing experts at AlphaGraphics of Downtown Raleigh a call. We can help with your blog post and content marketing efforts and provide you with a turn-key solution. To learn more about how AlphaGraphics of Downtown Raleigh can help with your sign and marketing needs, you may email us, request a quote, or call us at (919) 832-2828.