Do you know which blog you visit the most? Have you noticed the amount of time you spend reading the content on that blog? Not all blogs are created equal. We spend hours of our time on some blogs while we only spend a few minutes on other blogs. The blogs that grab most of our attention are the ones that have optimized blog posts—the type of blog posts that we have a strong desire to read. In order to optimize your blog posts so more of your visitors read them from start to finish, follow these 10 tips.
#1: Write Irresistible Headline
The irresistible headline is what gets people through the door. Before someone reads your blog post from start to finish, that person needs a desire to read the article. That’s where an irresistible headline comes in handy. Irresistible headlines grab attention and encourage people to click the link in an email or social media post and start reading your blog post. Once you get someone to visit your blog post, the other factors become important.
#2: Start By Asking The Right Questions
Asking questions at the beginning makes your visitors think about answers that relate to your blog post’s content. Visitors who think about the answers to questions you write are engaged visitors. When I ask questions like, “Do you know which blog you visit the most?” I am asking questions that make my visitors think and have the right mindset for going into the blog post. I could have started this article by saying, “How much traffic does your blog get?” but that wouldn’t have made as much sense. I typically ask 2-3 questions at the beginning of every blog post.
#3: Turn Your Blog Posts Into Conversations
When was the last time you left in the middle of the conversation? Was that an awkward feeling? When we are engaged with conversations in real life, we typically stay in that conversation until it ends. Then, we look for the next conversation to be a part of.
If your write your blog posts like conversations, it will be more difficult for your visitors to stop halfway. That’s just like leaving in the middle of a conversation you are in, with you doing most of the talking (and then suddenly walking away). Look for more ways to include I, you, me, we, and us in your blog posts. Having a conversation with your reader makes that reader feel welcomed. It is this feeling that encourages a reader to read your entire blog post.
#4: Use Pictures Throughout Your Blog Post
They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, and I say that an infographic is worth 2,000 words. Pictures are especially valuable right now because we are visual learners. That’s why infographics are so attractive (and that’s why some go viral). I encourage you to use multiple pictures in your blog posts. Start with one picture in every blog post and then see how you can incorporate other pictures in other parts of your blog posts.
An additional benefit to using pictures is that your blog will get more traffic. Including pictures in your blog posts makes it possible for people to pin your blog posts (according to a study done in 2013, Pinterest has over 70 million users, so allowing people to pin your blog posts is a big deal), and if you use alt tags, your pictures will also get more visibility in the search engines.
The best policy for using pictures in your blog posts is to use your own pictures. Using your own pictures is better for SEO than using someone else’s picture (especially if the other person’s picture is already established on the search engines).
[tweetthis twitter_handles=”@MarcGuberti” url=”http://bit.ly/1BdRdOm”]The best policy for using pictures in your #blog posts is to use your own pictures.[/tweetthis]
#5: Make Your Blog Posts Bite-Sized
I could have made this entire blog post one paragraph, but I don’t think my readers would stick around for a long period of time if I did that. The way you display your content is growing in importance. We can’t read big paragraphs on the web. They need to be tiny.
3-5 lines per paragraph is the sweet spot. If any of your paragraphs are over six lines long, then you are approaching the danger zone. Making it easy for your visitors to read your content is just as important as writing valuable content.
#6: Make Your Blog Posts Unique
No matter what you choose to write about, there are thousands of other blogs like yours. My blog is not the only blog about digital marketing. There are plenty of others. In order to stand out from other blogs in your niche, you need to develop a unique writing style and over deliver in value.
One of the most successful bloggers in the SEO niche is Neil Patel with his Quick Sprout blog. You’ll only have to read three blog posts on his blog to understand why he is dominating the niche.
#7: Do Your Research
Conducting research about your niche will make you stand out as an expert in your niche. Each time you write a blog post, do some research about your blog post’s topic. See what facts you can get from the web that would support your content.
If I write another article about why Pinterest is a big player in social media, I could mention that Pinterest pins have a half-life of 3.5 months which is 1,600 times better than Facebook posts. Providing this type of evidence would support the message I am trying to send with that particular article. It may take some time to do research, and the research may only add up to a few extra sentences, but you will know more about your niche and write a more valuable blog post at the same time.
#8: Put In All Of Your Effort For Every Blog Post
The amount of effort you put into your blog posts determines how long people will stick around. If you are only putting half of your effort into your content, then your visitors will know that. Many of your visitors have read thousands of blog posts before encountering your blog. They know the difference between a valuable blog post and a dud.
You must put all of your effort into each blog post you write because you never know what piece of content your visitor will read first. When I think of which blog post a first time visitor visits, I think of a huge spinner that will land on a random blog post on my blog. I don’t know where it will stop, but wherever it does stop, that is the new visitor’s first impression of my blog and maybe even my content.
Having a strong first impression is critical towards getting returning visitors and getting those returning visitors to read through your blog posts from start to finish. Some returning visitors won’t have to read your article to know that they are good. It is at this point when you know a returning visitor is actively engaged in your content.
#9: Build Your Authority In Your Niche
There’s a blog post written by someone with 100 Pinterest followers and a blog post written by someone with 10,000 Pinterest followers. Both of those blog posts are about getting more Pinterest followers. Which one do you read first?
Building your authority gives your blog posts extra leverage. People relate strong authorities to more valuable content, and in many cases, that’s how strong authorities on the web work. The most successful bloggers are often writing the best content. Growing your social media audience, writing more valuable content, and creating products are three great ways to build your authority in your niche.
#10: Show Your Results
Every informative blog post gets some leverage when it shows results. After many get quick rich schemes filled up the web, customers have turned into cautious buyers. Visitors are cautious when visiting a blog. When they hear things about a blog post getting a certain number of visitors, they want proof. They want to see your results.
Showing your results lets your visitors know that you speak the truth. Showing your results boosts your credibility and makes people believe what you say (this is a special privilege. Use it wisely). Pictures that prove certain earnings, traffic, or any other desirable result is possible are the pictures that often spread far and wide on the web.
In Conclusion
The most successful blogs are the ones that attract attention for a long period of time. In order to establish yourself as a top blogger in your niche, people must visit your blog, and those visitors must read through numerous blog posts on your blog. Write blog post headlines that make your blog post content sound valuable, and then live up to that expectation. Look at other blogs in your niche and see how they do it. The best way to learn is through examples.
Which tip did you like the most? What do you think makes up a blog post that visitors would want to read from start to finish? Please share your thoughts and advice below.
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