7 Easy Ways To Make Your Blogs Infinitely More Engaging
Blogging is both an art and a science. On the one hand, you have the human element: the part that helps your audience connect with you. And on the other, you have the technical aspects, the statistics, and the data.
The trick to building an engaging blog is to get both right. You want a combination of techniques to ensure that your blog is the one that stands out in your segment.
Of course, achieving such a thing isn’t easy. Estimates suggest that there are between 500 and 600 million blogs on the internet, roughly one for every twelve people on the planet. Around a third of all websites feature a blog of some description. Hence, standing out in this arena is seriously challenging.
So what do you need to do? Here’s a rundown.
#1: Give Posts Time To Mature
Bloggers like to write and post articles on the same day and then move on to the next. It’s just natural.
But the best blogs are those that writers continue to work on even after they publish. They view them as things they need to sculpt, like a sculpture continuing to chip away at a statue to ensure it’s perfect.
Remember, the chances of writing the perfect blog post right off the bat are zero. Things don’t happen that way usually. Instead, you need to take a break, go back, have another look, tweak the odd section here and there, and then only walk away from it when you think it’s perfect.
Taking a week-long break from writing is a great way to gain perspective. You can spot mistakes, see where your tone is wrong, and identify sloppy writing when you are tired.
#2: Add Pop-Ups That Bring Value To Readers
Many blogs spam readers with pop-ups that don’t add value. They’re attention-grabbing but also an annoyance.
However, the correct type of pop-up can make a difference in how people perceive your website. If you can offer them an intent-friendly pop-up, they’re much more likely to respond and do what you want them to do.
Think about your pop-up and refine it. Make sure that it appears suitable when scrolling through your pages and blog. Spend time nurturing leads slowly so that you can build a loyal base.
#3: Offer Value From The Top Of The Blog To The Bottom
Avoid wasting your audience’s time when reading your blogs. Ensure that every sentence offers something new and exciting that keeps them engaged.
The trick is always putting yourself in your audience’s shoes. You want to be like the tour guide beside them, explaining everything they see. The information you provide should solve their problems and seem effortless. Putting everything together in a comprehensive way that’s easy to understand can help.
So what do you need to do?
#4: Include More Visual Information
First, do some research. Quote data and look for ways to make it relevant and correct. Then present information in a way that your readers can easily understand. Stay away from the fluff and get to the point. Don’t plagiarize anyone else’s work. Finally, put everything into the proper format using top-rated guides.
Most people can’t read a large block of text, especially in today’s internet age. It’s just too long and dense. And it contains far too much information all in one go.
Instead, break up the text with visuals. Look for ways to include pictorial information in the viewing window.
If adding a side-by-side photo, make sure it tells a story. Get it to complement the text to encourage readers to continue reading.
If you add screenshots, edit and highlight them, showing readers where to focus. Circle areas that are the most important for the description in the text.
#5: Add Some Interactive Elements
Interactive elements are a great way to keep people interested in your blogs as they go along. Giving them a way to contribute to the post helps them feel more involved and less like you are lecturing. Collecting data, boosting conversion rates, and making yourself seem more trustworthy are all positive outcomes of such strategies.
#6: Don’t Make Them Too Long
The articles that perform best from an SEO perspective are usually around 2,000 words long. There’s nothing wrong with going a little over this figure. But you don’t want blog posts two or three times longer than the most effective threshold. If posts are longer than that, then you probably have two separate blogs on your hands.
If you’re significantly under this threshold, ensure that you provide readers with real value. Having the odd short blog post here and there is okay, but your pillar posts or significant contributions need enough substance to communicate all the necessary, valuable information.
The best way to check if you are covering enough of the topic is to compare your posts to the top-rated posts by competitors. If yours feels a little “thin” or unhelpful, you might need to go back to the drawing board and start again.
#7: Keep The Lead At The Top Of The Piece
Inexperienced bloggers waffle quite a bit at the start of their posts. They don’t introduce the topic immediately and get the reader hooked. Instead, they start with something flowery that isn’t to the point.
The trick here is to get right into the meat of the matter. Think about why readers would click a particular post and what they want to get out of it. Then write down their pain points and how you plan on resolving them. This method is the best way to connect with your audience and make the article stand out.
Most writers have an inverted triangle in mind when designing their posts. At the top – the most comprehensive section – is the lead, followed by the body and then the tail, with extra information at the bottom to direct people to more sources or other assessments.
