How to Write Great Content That Readers Will Love

Starting and Growing a blog is like raising a child. If you are a parent you know how much time, effort and commitment it requires to raise a child. Similarly, growing a blog requires your time and attention to nurture to write great content that will engage the readers. You will need to write blog posts that generate traffic and rank well in Google.

Starting a blog is super easy but growing it requires a considerable effort and time. You will go through many ups and downs but don’t lose hope and just keep at it. You have heard from many that you need to write great content. Essentially you need just two things to grow your blog:

Write Great Quality Original Content

Generate Traffic to your blog

Just keep doing these two things and you’ll eventually nail it. I may have oversimplified the whole process but if you think hard it boils down to just these two things.

There are about 600 million blogs in the world today, out of over 1.7 billion websites. Effectively 1 out of 3 websites is a blog meaning competition is stiff. Creating high-quality original content is the key to success.

But writing great content is not easy and will require a considerable amount of research and effort. As per Kyle Byers on an average 3.5 hrs are spent writing a blog post.

What follows is my tips – these are the things that I use when I write content for my blogs. But before we jump into the tips I want to share another truth. There is no silver bullet to create content that will rank well in Google every time. Also, these tips will not work every time but having a sound process is helpful.

Step 1: Select your topic

First and foremost you need to decide the topic that you want to write about. Trust me this might sound simple but is often the part where most people stumble. I use the Notes app on my iPhone to list down the ideas that I want to write about.

Every week I revisit this list to refine these ideas and try to build out the story in my head. This is also my opportunity to think about how I can improve these ideas.

Once I have the topic finalized it’s time to come up with a title for the post. Coming up with a post title that ranks well and attracts the readers is the key to pulling the reader into your blog and engaging with them. Engaged customers will share your links with other websites, friends, and families and that will start the snowball effect.

Important

Spend the time needed to come up with a title that will produce great results. Your title is the sales pitch of your blog post and if it isn’t catchy enough customers will skip reading and Google will stop ranking it.

Step 2: Write your Great Post

So you have your post title and now’s the time to start writing the great content that you have been planning for. You have already done your research and have the story laid out in your head.

Write Post that Sells / SEO By Design

Start by creating an outline of the post and thinking about how you are going to incorporate the targeted keywords in the content. It is important to have the right keywords blended into the great content that you’ve written.

A word of caution – Don’t overdo it. Embed keywords where it makes sense for the customer (your reader) and not to the search engine.

Also, note that you are writing this post for your readers and not for yourself so you need to think of the format, length, headings, authentic content, actionable ideas, rich content, and links to reputable resources.

Rules of thumb

• A short and catchy title 60 chars or less
• Write authentic content and make it actionable. Most of the reputed bloggers have started writing posts which are about 2000 words (2017, Backlinko)
• Target the keywords that readers are searching
• Solve a real problem for the reader – Start with what do my readers want?

Step 3: Spread Word About Your Blog Post / Marketing your Content

So you have written the great post and now you can wait for the readers to start reading and sharing your work. Now the amount of effort required to generate traffic for your blog post depends on the authority of your blog.

Posting your content on a popular blog you might not have to worry about how to bring eyeballs on your content. However, if you are just starting out on your blogging journey it might require a lot more time to generate traffic for your post.

Some of the marketing strategies that you can use are listed below:

• SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – This will require a lot more time in link building and generating traffic for your blog
• Social Media – Don’t hesitate to spam your friends on Social Media. Ask them to help you out in sharing your work
• Display or Search Ads – It is unlikely but if you have money to spend to generate traffic to your website all means do it.
• Guest Posts – Reach out to relevant blogs asking to write guest posts for them. In all likelihood, they would let you link to your post.
• Reach out to Influencers – Ask Social Media influencers in your niche if they want to tweet about your post.

Few considerations to writing great blog posts that attract readers:

• Don’t get married to your ideas – You are writing the content for your readers so be open to change. Spend time reading other blogs in your niche and others. Learn what works for them and see how you can add value to your readers by writing blog posts about your own experiences, learnings, and views.
• Set Realistic Expectations – Your first blog post or even the first several blog posts are not going to drive a ton of traffic to your blog. Just keep writing high-quality original content in your posts and the rewards will come.
• Avoid Plagiarism – There is nothing else that would hurt your blog post more than duplicate content. Take your time, do your research and then write original content.
• Write for the Customer: Make sure you are writing the posts for the reader, solving a problem for them and not writing for search engines or yourself.
• Commit to Writing and Selling: Don’t start a blog if you can’t commit to a routine or you can’t provide the love and attention

Conclusion

Hopefully, this post has given you some food for thought on how to write great content for your blog posts that ranks well and deserves sharing. Lastly make sure to leave your feedback, suggestions, and criticism in comments.