When the Weidert Group team writes about blogs we tend to focus on the guts of a post - the quality of the writing, the relevance and value to the audience, and the connection between the topic and the target's pain points. But there are some "must-haves" beyond those crucial basics.
To be effective in attracting the readers and demonstrating your company's value to your target, every blog post should include these 6 essential elements.
A point. Too many posts are written without a thesis - the statement that says "this is what I'm writing about and the position I'm going to take." It frames everything - for you as you write the post and for your reader. In a blog post talking in-depth about thesis statements, Weidert Group's Greg Linnemanstons wrote, "As a writer, your thesis helps you focus by forcing you to declare what precisely you're proposing, arguing or defending. When you provide readers with clearly understood focus, it's far easier for them to make a quick judgment on relevance; they can see instantly if your point of view is something that matters to their life or business."
Even if you're writing about, say, elements of a good blog post, you can develop a thesis that helps you and the reader. In this case, my thesis is, "To be effective in attracting the greatest number of readers, every blog post should include 6 essential elements."
Something useful. You want your readers to walk away with something valuable that they didn't have before reading your post - tips for selecting the best process engineering software, ideas for more cost-effective ways to modify a conveyor system to accommodate a product laner, little-known facts about whey protein that will help food manufacturers develop fat-free products with longer shelf lives, an outline of the steps to take in order to avoid winter weather-related home damage, etc. Give the reader something to put in his or her pocket and say, "I just learned something that will make my job easier."
Examples. Especially when talking about subjects somewhat unfamiliar to your audience, it helps readers "get" what you're saying if you provide examples. Even if they don't have direct relevance, examples help illustrate your idea and make it easier for the reader to make the connection to his or her situation.
A picture. Given the choice, most of us would prefer to read an article or book or whitepaper that has pictures. Images help illustrate your point (they should, anyway), they give the eye break from copy, and they have the potential, all on their own, to attract someone to your post.
A great headline. A well-crafted headline is important because most of us make the decision about whether or not we're going to read a blog post based on that headline. So, if you're writing about simple methods for cleaning an oven, the headline, "Simple methods for cleaning your oven" won't be nearly as engaging as, "Cut oven cleaning time in half using this new method." When writing both your headline and your blog, keep in mind what your target will be typing in the search engine to find what they're looking for. Google loves headlines for blogs that answer a specific question a user types into the search engine.
A CTA. The primary purpose of blogging is to get your target audience more interested in and engaged with your company through its content. At the end of every post you should be directing the reader to another piece of content with a graphic call-to-action. Visually it should be strong, with an image when possible, and copy should be direct and concise.
Next time you write a blog post, first read it critically to determine if the "guts" are good; then check to make sure your post has each of these must-haves in place.
And now, my CTA - a tool for helping you create powerful content, like blog posts!
