Trying to keep your blog fresh and
engaging is more difficult than it sounds, so why not have a look at a few
hints and tips from the experts? We’ve put together a list of 11 brand new
ideas that you take pick up and run within no time at all. All you need to do now
is get to the end of this 5-minute read and then get busy putting them into
action.
Start compiling a list of resources so
you always have half a dozen ideas
One of the secrets of any successful
venture, not just blogging, is to have more resources at your disposal than
your competitors. Your job is to build your readership and to ensure that as
many people as possible come to you, rather than similar blogs that are being
written as you read this.
Compiling a list of relevant resources
is a great way to stay on top of your niche, and keep yourself up to speed with
the latest developments. It’ll also allow you to come up with loads of
different ideas for new topics, simply by immersing yourself in the field.
Guides and how-to posts are more
popular than ever
One of the most common blog mistakes is to write exactly the same style of the blog every
single time. Just because a listicle went down a storm the first few times,
doesn’t mean you should use it for everything you ever post from this day
forward.
As with everything, there’s a balance
to be found, and you’re the one tasked with finding it. If you want to be able
to catch the eye of as many readers as possible, you need to experiment with
your format. A how-to guide is a great way of getting a large amount of
information out there in a way that doesn’t run the risk of overwhelming the
reader.
Interviewing a key thought leader will
make for a great exclusive
You can also follow up your how-to
with an interview with one of the key leaders in your niche. That way you can
show you’re a voice of authority, and also someone who’s well connected and has
access.
These types of posts can easily
crossover into the mainstream media if you do them the right way, so really put
some thought into how you’re going to do it. Your piece should be far more than
a transcript of an informal chat. The basis of it should be a series of
carefully crafted questions that you came up with in advance, and it should
tell a story of how the interviewee came to be where they are today.
Building your blogs around an
infographic is a great way to put eyes on your work
Infographics are such an underrated
tool, and it never ceases to amaze how many people overlook then entirely when
trying to supercharge a blog. If you want to be able to create content that
people will love to share on social media, then you need to be able to
introduce infographics.
They’re a great way of breaking down
complex topics that would have taken 500 words or more to articulate. And if
you can make them look great as well as inform, then people are going to love
to share them with their friends and followers.
Write great guest posts, and focus on
building a backlink network
As well as creating content on your
blog itself, you can guest post to pull more people over to your page. The
clever thing about this is you’re actually getting twice the exposure you otherwise
would.
Readers of other blogs will get to see
your content and hear what you have to say, which is great. And then they can
be subtly nudged over to your blog via a backlink. It’s a great way to double
your traffic overnight.
Research your competitors’ listicles,
and then surpass them
Your competitors may well have already
written about a topic that interests you, but that shouldn’t deter you from
doing what you want. What you need to do,
however, is surpass them in as many ways as you can.
Listicles are a great example, and you
can show that you have more to offer just from the title. If a popular blog in
your niche has 8 ways to do something, make your article have at least 20. If a
browser wants to know everything there is to know, the likelihood is they’ll
pick the one with the biggest range of information.
Have a pro double and triple check
your punctuation and grammar
Online services like Trust My Paper are a really important part of the blog building process. Having someone check
your content with a fine tooth comb before it goes live is super important.
It’s an investment that will pay off in the long run when you develop a
reputation for quality, not quantity.
Create a posting calendar so that you
can build a content pipeline
Scheduling your content in advance is
one of the most effective ways to ensure that you don’t end up throwing
something out at the last minute. The more specific you can be, the more you’ll
find that you focus on writing. And when you do that, it’ll be your traffic
that reaps the rewards.
Have a global strategy so that you’re
not just posting for the sake of it
There’s more to creating blogs that
people want to read than great titles and engaging text.
You need to be able to see the big picture and to have a vision for what
you’re trying to do. If you can’t tell your readership what it is you stand
for, how are they ever going to know? Strategize from day one, and you’ll find
you have newfound direction and plenty of much-needed enthusiasm.
Find a voice that’s engaging and
readable
Your voice will depend somewhat on who
your audience is — a lifestyle blog is going to read rather differently to a
technical blog for example. What you need to do is find a voice that you would
listen to yourself, doesn’t get verbose for the sake of it, and people will
enjoy reading. Do these three things, and your writing will really start to
pop.
Embedding videos is a great way to
keep people on your post for longer
If you’ve tried to embed videos then you’ve been missing out. Don’t think for a minute
that they detract or distract from your writing, this couldn’t be further from
the truth. What you need to see is just how much longer people will stay on
your post when you embed a video. The longer they’re on there, the more of your
text they’ll read, and the more likely they are to jump straight to another one
of your posts when they’re done.
Exactly what you want to see when
you’re busy taking your blog to exciting new heights.
