How to write an engaging Blog Post – a question I always asked myself, as I read those posts from a Darren Rowse or, Neil Patel and saw it being shared and commented by thousands.
My celebrations would begin when a post has about 10 shares and these big bloggers would easily churn out blog posts that gets a 100 shares on the day it gets published.
And I would keep scanning their posts to find the formula that they use and to learn a trick or, two on how to write an engaging blog post that gets shared like crazy.
Was there really a formula?
There was something that I realized over a period of time. While virality is important and you would want people to share your blog posts, what is more important is engagement. Your posts have to engage your readers and they should feel like reading the entire blog post.
And at that point my focus shifted towards learning how to write an engaging blog post that gets read.
How to Write an Engaging Blog Post that Gets Read
So we were talking about a formula.
If there really is a formula to create something that goes viral is something I do not really know. One thing that I noticed about almost everything that has gone viral be it the “Gangnam Style” video or, anything else, is the fact that it was sheer coincidence and chance that made these content viral.
But there definitely is a formula to create content that can be engaging. And anything that is engaging has the capacity to go viral.
So in this week’s link roundup, we have a selection of blog posts, all of which will show you how to write content that gets read. And content that glues your reader to it until they have finished reading it, is the most engaging content.
17 Writing Tips For Bloggers Who Think They Can’t Write!
Blogging is all about writing and if you get stuck at a point where you start to feel as if you can’t write, then it can be extremely disastrous. “Writer’s Block” is destructive for a blogger and if you do not address it in time, it can trigger the death of your blog.
A simple activity of jotting down points as you read an article in a magazine or, while reading a blog post can be enough to make your creative juices flow.
And there are many more such simple activities you can do, to hone your writing skills and become a better writer.
These 17 writing tips from Barry Dunlop at incomediary.com can be extremely powerful, if you want to be a better writer.
Writing tips for the writer who thinks they can’t write.
First a question…
Are you a better speaker or a better writer?
Personally, I’m a much better speaker than I am a writer.
I can speak confidently in public, but with writing, it is a different story.
I am not unique – For some of us it is more natural to speak and for others it is more natural to write.
Of course there are some who are blessed with both skills but anecdotal research suggests they are a minority.
I ask this question because my first suggestion is:
Image Courtesy: incomediary.com
4 Ways to Diversify Your Blog Content to Engage a Huge Audience
One of the best ways to engage a wider audience is to diversify your blog content. With diversifying, I don’t mean that you should branch out your niche blog into other parallel niches. Instead what I meant by diversifying is to experiment with different forms of content.
In fact this is what Kostas has to say, in this post. He talks about experimenting with formats, type of content etc. and quotes some nice examples as well to prove that experimenting with different formats and types of content really works. If you are looking for tips on how to write an engaging blog post, then this simple 4 step guide can be a good starting point.
The need for consistent content creation is crystal clear…
Between more leads, conversions and opportunities to dominate the blogosphere of your niche, it’s obvious why more and more brands are investing in smarter content marketing.
However, the expectation to constantly churn out new content leaves many businesses in a bit of a bind. That is, how can we possibly write pieces that always knock it out of the park?
Consider this: according to Hubspot, businesses that blog more than sixteen times per month garner a staggering 3.5x more traffic than competitors blogging on a weekly or monthly basis.
Six Reasons Why I Won’t Be Blogging on Your Site
This was one of the best posts I read the last week and one of my favorites. Not only because it is on my favorite topic of Guest Blogging, but also because of the way it is presented.
Guest posting is one of the most underutilized blog marketing strategy. Until Google decided to crucify guest bloggers for “inappropriate link building techniques”, bloggers were using it. But not as a marketing strategy, rather as a link building method.
And this was where it all goes wrong.
What blogs you guest post on is an important aspect to consider in this strategy.
You might not always be able to write a post at a problogger and you will have to settle with a blog that is not as established as Problogger. Irrespective of the brand value, it is still a different audience that you will be able to reach out to and this can do a ton of good to your own blog.
But how do you choose the blogs to guest post on? What are some key metrics that you might want to keep in mind when evaluating a blog to guest post on?
This post talks about all of these aspects in a clear, simple and understandable way.
Let me warn you in advance, there’s a bit of a rant coming – all of the points I make below are actual things that I’ve experienced and observed while blogging. Sometimes a girl’s gotta vent!
The other day I got an approach from someone asking me to publish a guest post on their site. I also get a lot of approaches for the posts I write for my clients through sites like MyBlogU. Now as you know, I’m pretty much a blog-a-holic. I love blogging and guest posting and I love writing about all kinds of things, but I turned this blog owner down. Why did I do that? Here are six warning flags for me when I visit a blog.
Read more at basicblogtips.com
How To Make A Viral Video With 0 YouTube Subscribers
Vlogging can be extremely engaging because of the kind of content you are generating – videos. Video have a tendency to go viral fast and can be extremely engaging.
And since we were discussing about a formula to create content that can be engaging and can go viral, what better than dissecting a viral video and studying it in details to understand how and why it went viral.
And that is precisely what is happening in this post.
I made a viral video. In 2016, I made a video that got more than 300,000 views in just five days, and I did it with absolutely no YouTube following. In this post, I’ll show you exactly how I did it, and I’ll even tell you the biggest secrets about how I got the video featured on Good Morning America, a huge U.S. morning show on ABC, and on Mail Online, one of the most-visited news websites in the entire world.
Image Courtesy: vloggingcamerahq.com
Read more at vloggingcamerahq.com
Why do Most Bloggers Fail? A Review of Flawed Blogging Practices that Knock Most People Out
We have a habit of looking out for step-by-step methods and guides to do something. For eg: with blogging as well, we would search for and read a lot of posts on what is the right way to blog and write content that brings traffic.
Another important aspect that is often ignored is looking at what not to do. That gives you a perspective of what to avoid so that you don’t fail.
Avoiding something that doesn’t work can be the easiest way to preventing failures.
And since we as humans are programmed to digest negative things faster and also retain them longer, negatively looking at how to succeed can be a nice way to prep yourself for success.
This post by Neil Patel, that looks at some of the “Don’ts of blogging” does this thing of “negatively looking at how to succeed” really well.
Even if you’ve only developed an interest in digital marketing in the past month, there’s still a good chance that you’ve come across something that mentioned the benefits of blogging.
Whether you’ve read my content, or someone else’s, blogging certainly has its fans.
Though, for every successful blogger that is out there, pushing the benefits of blogging, there are also many, many bloggers who have failed.
Image Courtesy: neilpatel.com
5 WordPress Plugins For Note Taking
One essential habit that you need to cultivate, if you are serious at blogging, is notes taking. I developed this habit a couple of years back and since then, I ensure that I have my notebook with me, when I am reading – be it hard cover books, ebooks or, even blogs.
And these notes are what forms the basis of my blog posts.
Notes are very powerful. Not only does it act as a reference at a later time, it can also be trigger for ideas. And to be a better blogger and to create engaging content, you need to a lot of ideas.
This post at Hostgator Blog is about 5 WordPress plugins for Note taking. And when we are talking about blogging, what better than jotting down your notes right inside your WordPress blog?
Note taking is as old as the world itself. Trying to stay on top of hundreds of things at once is a task that not many people have the ability to cope with, and needless to say that keeping notes is fairly inexpensive, yet one of the most productive things we can do.
Whether it’s writing down the list of things we need to do, or important points from a talk we have just attended, keeping notes help us remember the most important things when we most need them.
WordPress as a blogging platform could be considered one big notekeeper in itself, but not all of us see it that way and not all of us want to see it that way, which is why a select few developers have gone out of their way to publish WordPress plugins for keeping notes, in several different categories.
For the most part, using these plugins is going to extend the functionality of your WordPress publishing platform as a platform that you can also use for direct content editing, though most importantly – to keep notes.
Image Courtesy: hostgator.com
5 Blog Post Ideas to Bring Variety to Your Content
We spoke about diversifying your blog content a little while back. Adding onto that is this post at Social Media Examiner, where Guillaume discusses about 5 different types of post ideas that can add variety to your content.
Adding variety prevents your blog from becoming monotonous.
Blogs can get typecasted very fast. You can become bored with reading the same kind of posts and once that happens, even the most engaging piece of content will fail to keep you glued.
It is hence, essential to provide variety. A list post can be a nice change to regular prose like posts. You could add variety by including video posts as well.
Adding variety to your blog not only helps maintain reader engagement, but also help you as the author remain engaged with your blog.
People love lists. We love to make them, read them, and share them. According to research from Fractl and BuzzStream, lists are shared on social media more often than any other type of article.
Listicles (also referred to as list posts) are easy to create and a great way to engage your readers. Simply pick a topic that fits your blog and then follow this template:
Include the number of items in your article title. Then open with a brief (two- to three-sentence) explanation for your list.
Image Courtesy: socialmediaexaminer.com
Read more at socialmediaexaminer.com
Over to You Now
Writing engaging content is all about researching to find the kind of information that your readers are looking for. Once you know what to write about, it is just a matter of putting it across in an easily understandable manner.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s roundup on how to write an engaging blog post that gets read.
You can write to me if you have any questions. Let us know your thoughts by commenting below.
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