Blogs are an essential aspect of content marketing, and they can be incredibly useful for SEO, keyword usage, and link building. While creating ideas for blogs can be easy, I find that many people struggle with actually writing the content and I want to help! Below, I use my content writing experience to give you 9 blog writing tips for writing blogs – enjoy!
1. Create a Logical Article Structure Before Writing Any Content
A part of blog writing that many people struggle with is the structure and outline. But nailing this first before you start typing makes the process so much easier!
For example, before I started writing this blog, I took the title, settled on a number of tips, and created headings for each tip. I then thought of an appropriate concluding heading. From that, I essentially had the entire article outlined with a clear structure to follow – easy!
Once you have created an outline with appropriate headings, all you have to do is fill in the content in-between.
To create a logical structure, look at the blog title and think what headings could answer any questions or requirements posed. The headings should progress in a logical order where possible, and you should aim to include either a H2 or H3 for every 100 – 200 words to break up the text nicely.
2. Use Grammar, Spellchecking, and Plagiarism Tools
There is no excuse for sloppy grammar and spelling with digital blog writing! (If you find any errors in this article, know that I did it on purpose for comedic effect… honest!) Today, writing perfectly is easy due to the huge array of tools we have at our disposal.
My tool of choice is Grammarly1 – it’s free to use and it works as a standalone tool or a plugin for web browsers like Google Chrome. Simply upload your document and Grammarly performs an extensive check including spelling, grammar, and syntax. Other writing tools like the Hemmingway Editor2 go one step further and assess the quality and readability of your writing too.
Don’t forget about plagiarism either! Google doesn’t like it if they think you have copied text from other online sources! Plagiarism checkers like Copywritely and Copyscape can thousands of documents and provide you with an originality score so you can see potential parts of your blogs that could be flagged as plagiarised (even if they weren’t!).
3. Use a Consistent Tone Throughout Your Articles
The most engaging blogs I have read have a consistent tone from start to finish. A consistent tone is important as it makes the content easier to read while making the text cohesive and feel more well-written.
For example, you might find a blog confusing if the opening paragraph is to-the-point, factual, and serious, but the next few sections jump into a funny anecdote or start using completely different language. Constantly changing tone like this can cause confusion and throw the reader out of their rhythm. It may also make any useful information within the article difficult to digest.
If you are writing a serious piece about current affairs, maintain a serious tone throughout – keep the article factual. In contrast, if you are writing an article about a craft project, perhaps a lighter, more fun, and friendly tone throughout would be appropriate. Part of this includes matching tone with your audience too which I discuss below.
4. Insert SEO Inclusions Naturally
A primary purpose of blog writing today is to boost your SEO. This is done with keyword inclusions, internal links, and external links. Oftentimes you insert multiple keywords into a post such as in the headings and throughout the paragraph text.
This should be done naturally! Don’t just stick a keyword randomly in the middle of a sentence. It should fit within the context of the writing and still make the sentences sound normal.
The same applies for ahrefs and links – think about which words you want to use as anchors. The anchor text (I.e. the text that the HTML ahrefs code is placed around) should have a relationship with the page that it is linking to and not just be a randomly selected word or phrase.
5. Include CTAs Naturally
The best blogs include several CTAs (Call to Action) – something that prompts the reader to do something. This could be a link to a contact page (See what I did there?), a link to a new product release, or an invitation to sign up to an email newsletter, for example.
You should aim to include these naturally within your blog text and not simply rammed at the end of the post in a closing statement. Think about the CTAs you want to include and consider how you could work them into your text without it sounding too artificial. You should aim to strike a balance between natural inclusions, while still clearly emphasising the CTA to your readers.
6. Try to Show the Principles of E-E-A-T
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. This is a concept that Google is pushing in one of its recent updates3 and it is pushing content creators towards quality as opposed to quantity. It’s a concept that you should try and incorporate into your blog posts.
You should show that you have EXPERIENCE in the subject you are writing about, such as testing a product, or having a first-hand interaction with the topic. With this, you should be able to show your EXPERTISE and that you understand the nuances of the subject.
From this, your content should naturally show that you are an AUTHORITY on the subject and stand above competition in the industry, which ultimately makes you TRUSTWORTHY and a fountain of knowledge that people can gravitate towards.
7. Make the Content Have Real Value to Your Readers
Have you ever read an article and wondered… why did someone bother to write this and what did I actually gain from reading it? Now, read through your current blogs – do they have the same effect? If so, you need to do a little revamping and look at your approach to content creation!
I completely understand that blogs are part of the overall content marketing strategy and are there to boost keyword usage and backlinks. BUT they should still be useful too and offer something intrinsic to the reader!
Before putting finger to keyboard, think about your blog title and what benefits a reader can get from reading it.
Maybe you are giving them some useful advice, or a life lesson, or a step-by-step guide on a process. Perhaps you’re simply giving them comic relief or telling them a heartwarming story. Whatever it is, just make sure your blogs offer some value! For example, I’ve written this article to help improve your blog writing skills – after reading this you should have real tips and tricks that you can go away and implement!
8. Don’t be Afraid to Inject Humour and Personality into Your Content
I’ve read so many blogs that look like they’ve been written by AI – they are incredibly factual and accurate, but lack any life, soul, and personality. This is something I strive to include when writing. Firstly, it’s fun to do! Writing from the heart and letting your personality flow in a natural way is so much more satisfying than simply reeling off a reem of facts.
Secondly, it helps with user engagement and conversions. If you can make your readers laugh or see a real human being behind the text, they are more likely to have a positive reaction to your content.
You have to remember though that the key is balance – blogs should primarily be useful and serve a purpose for your content marketing strategy, with humour and personality serving as helpful additions – not the main focus.
9. Use the Right Tone to Suit Your Target Audience
What would you think if you read a medical blog about treatment for a condition you were suffering from where the writer was continually cracking jokes and using light-hearted language? It probably wouldn’t fill you with confidence and may even make you unsure about the credentials of the writer!
This is where tone has to be thought through. The tone of your blogs must suit the target audience, and the content subject. In the above example, we can class this as a YMYL subject (Your Money or Your Life – a term Google has coined) where the quality and tone of the blog is vital.
The subject is especially serious, and the information must be accurate so that readers can get the advice they need to treat their condition – humour and light-hearted language aren’t appropriate here. Knowing your audience and understanding their expectations is vital when writing blogs.
Become a Blog Writing Expert with These Simple Tips
With these tips even if you have minimum writing experience you can jump in and start creating engaging, useful content with smooth SEO inclusions that provides real value to your content marketing strategy and overall business development.
How We Can Help
If you have read through this blog are thinking ‘I’m still not sure’ or ‘I don’t have time for that.’ Then don’t worry because we can help! Our blog writing specialists can ensure that your blogs are SEO optimised and will reach an audience. Simply contact one of our friendly team today to see how we can help with your content writing.
Resources
3) https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/12/google-raters-guidelines-e-e-a-t
