Content Writing Essentials for Compelling Blog Posts

Let’s look at 10 content marketing writing essentials that will help you create a great blog post for your brand:

1. Create an Attention-Grabbing Headline.

One of the first elements of your post that a reader sees is your title. If the title is effective at grabbing your reader's attention, it will prompt them to continue reading and (hopefully) click your call-to-action.

Creating the perfect eye-grabbing headline can be difficult sometimes, so the first thing you should do is brainstorm a variety of topics and titles. If you can’t decide which one is the best fit for your content, then ask for a second opinion.

If you know what your blog post is going to be about, but you can’t think of the perfect title, just start writing. You may find that your title just jumps out at you! Keep keywords in mind when producing your title, too. You want search engines to be able to identify your blog and rank it for relevant queries.

Remember, your headline should be specific, make a promise to the reader, and motivate the reader to read your blog post at that moment.

2. Write For Your Audience.

Your content marketing writing should be clear and concise. Using shorter sentences and paragraphs will make your post easier to read and boost your credibility with your audience. The tone of your post should match that of your reader. In most cases, it should be conversational, but educational at the same time.

Make sure to develop a consistent voice for your post and stay away from using the passive voice. Using the active voice will emphasize the relevance of your content.

3. Make Your Post Helpful to the Reader.

In order to write a helpful post, it’s essential to understand who your ideal reader is. You have to understand what questions they might need the answers to in order to write effective and relevant content.

When creating relevant content keep in mind the questions that your current customers have asked and make sure that your content answers those questions. You should also use specific examples to help your readers solve their problems. Creating easy-to-follow lists and graphics will help relay your information effectively.

The reader should want to go to your content to solve their problems. Refine the language of your content to ensure your writing is clear, helpful, and impactful.

4. Give Your Blog Post a Consistent Structure and Format.

There are a variety of blog post structures that can effectively convey your content.

Some Common Formats:

• How-To: Usually gives the information to the reader in an instructive list of steps.
• List: Or the “listicle” format usually creates lists to relay information.
• Question: Addresses the reader’s question up front and answers it throughout the post.
• Negative Angle: Addressing what the reader might be doing wrong and helps them do it the right way.
• Secret-of: Gets the reader interested by sparking curiosity in knowing what the secret is.
• Tips and Tricks: Similar to the list or how-to format, but tips and tricks are supposed to be quick ways the reader can gain information.

You should choose a structure that will be the easiest way to convey your post’s content to the reader. Many of these formats also make your post more interesting and engaging.

5. Support Your Brand With Your Blog Post.

Keeping your brand’s values, messaging, and strategy in mind will help you create content that supports and promotes your company. All of your blog posts should tie back to your brand in some way. This will create a consistency throughout all of your posts.

For example, if you’re an IT service provider, most of your blog posts should be related to common IT questions and actionable solutions -- specifically, solutions most people won’t be able to figure out on their own. You may be tempted to post your in-depth analysis of the latest Marvel movie, but chances are, your website visitors aren’t there to learn about that.

Using a conversational tone will motivate readers to become more active and engaged with your brand. Just because you’re writing for your business doesn’t mean you have to post “business writing.” Unless you’re writing something highly technical, keep it personable. Your post has to reinforce how readers view your brand as a whole.

6. Center Each Blog Post Around One Core Idea.

Your content shouldn’t overwhelm the reader with too much information. Everything in your post should unite under one main idea. Consistency throughout your content marketing writing is the key to ensure that you’re being as helpful, engaging, and educational to your readers as you can.

If you have a lot to say on a given topic, consider writing a series of blog posts. Pick a core topic and create branching subtopics. Create blog posts for each subtopic and generate a long, comprehensive webpage for your core topic. Then, link those blog posts to that page.

If you’re having trouble keeping your content focused, then your core topic idea might be too broad. Try narrowing your idea down to avoid adding in extra information that might distract from your main idea.

7. Add Something New to the Conversation.

You’re most likely not the first person to write a post on different subjects pertaining to your brand. You should research what already exists on the subject so you know what people have already been talking about. The trick is then to analyze that content and figure out how to make yours better.

Chances are that not every single question has been answered on your subject. Ask yourself “What’s missing?”, “How can I expand?”, and “What questions would I have if I was reading up on this topic?”. The goal is to create content that is more complete and of higher quality than content that already exists.

8. Outline the Content of Your Post Before Writing.

If you’re having a hard time getting your thoughts into paragraph format, you should try to make an outline first. An outline should organize all your thoughts and information about your post. You can choose to organize your outline in the way that works best for your writing process.

The goal of your outline is to help organize the format of your blog post. Having your format developed before you write will make it easier for you to get started. It will ensure that you discuss all the information relevant to your piece’s topic.

9. Write a Few Drafts Before Publishing Your Content.

First drafts are always a little sloppy and incomplete. You definitely want to read and then re-read your content marketing writing a few times. This will help guarantee that you’re getting the information across in the best way possible.

Some key essentials to draft writing is checking that your work is easy to read and digest. Edit your writing to make it more interesting, engaging, and educational for the reader.

10. Check, Double Check, and Triple Check for Spelling and Grammar Mistakes.

Spelling and grammar mistakes on a finished piece of writing could break the trust between you and your audience. Your audience is trusting that you have the best knowledge on the subject they are searching for. If your content marketing writing includes simple spelling and grammar mistakes, it might deter your reader from trusting your information.

Read aloud all of your work to ensure you catch all of your mistakes. Sometimes re-reading isn’t enough. Our minds tend to skim things we’ve already written, making it easy to miss a wayward comma or misuse of the word “their.” Getting a second pair of eyes to read your work will make sure that all your mistakes are caught before your content goes live.

Remember These Content Marketing Writing Essentials When Creating Blog Posts

Writing effective content will encourage people to read, subscribe to, and link to your blog. Write content that is relevant and useful to your audience so they are encouraged to explore more of your website. It’s hard to find original blog topics these days, but your writing should be unique to other content online that is similar to your own topics.

It is essential that your content marketing writing motivates your visitors to click on your featured call-to-actions. Your posts should attract your visitors and then eventually convert them into leads. Keep in mind while writing and producing content.