After you’ve met with one of our sales reps and decide to move forward with an online marketing plan, you’re probably a little overwhelmed at all the potential.
In reality, there are only two ways to gain traffic to your website: pay for it or build organically.
If you want to pay for it, you can be up and running in a short amount of time. This includes things like pay-per-click advertising on Google or Facebook. Once your ad is approved and funded, traffic starts feeding through the process and delivering your message to visitors and prospects.
You can also build organically. This takes time. You invest in things like SEO – search engine optimization – to ensure your pages are built strategically to attract the attention of Google and other search engines. This helps you rank high on the key terms your prospects are searching for.
One of the best ways to do that is by writing blog posts.
We recommend blogging because it adds depth to your site. Very few people will buy from you on their first visit. They also won’t buy from you on a daily basis. But that doesn’t mean they can’t fall in love with your for other reasons. With blogging, they can be loyal fans that follow you because they like what you have to say.
Blogging gives them a way to fall in love. It makes you an authority. It makes you an entertainer. It gives them a reason to come back again and again.
Sounds great, right? Fill your website with blog posts and they will come. Well … It’s not quite that simple. You can blog the right way or you can fill it with useless information.
You’ve probably seen the wrong way to do it. You visit a site and look at a post or two. The information has nothing to do with their business. It has nothing to do with their industry. Or with their community. In fact, you’re left scratching your head wondering what it’s all about.
Others load it up with keywords and expect it to be interesting to readers. Google may like it. But once you get there and start reading – Boring! There are only so many posts with a keyword in the title you can read before you start yawning and click away.
Then there’s the right way.
Blog posts should be engaging. They should be about things your readers are interested in. Here are a few ideas for blog posts you can write.
Lists
Lists are probably one of the most common types of blog posts you’ll find online. You probably click and read them all the time. In fact, you’re reading one right now.
People love list posts because they know exactly what to expect. Your title clues them into what information they will get if they read, and if written properly, your blog post delivers. They’re straightforward and organized in such a way a reader can scan it, get what they came for, and move on.
Of course, you can write your list blog post titles in an expected way:
- 7 Reasons To Get Organized This Year
- 10 Ways To Prepare BBQ Chicken
- 21 Places You Have To Visit Before You Turn 40
But you can stretch way beyond numbered lists too. The key is to tell people what to expect, then deliver:
- Become A Better Traveler By Following These Ten Guidelines
- Ready To Win? Put These Strategies Into Place
- Want More Website Traffic? Write These Types Of Blog Posts
You get the idea. With any of these title ideas, the goal is to build curiosity and make a reader want to click and read more. They’re excited because of the promise you make with the title. But you have to deliver or they’ll be disappointed and never return.
Long Blog Posts
Google likes content. So does your reader. Don’t let anyone tell you that visitors clicking around the web won’t read for more than a few seconds.
If they find something interesting, something high-quality, they stick around and read. And that increases the likelihood they’ll want to take the next step.
Ever seen short blog posts – 250 to 500 words – and zipped through it? That’s how many blogs work. And for good reason. Short blog posts give quick ideas. And for some, that’s a good place to start.
Other blog posts have more meat to them. When you build blog posts up towards the 1,000 word level, you can touch on more topics. You can provide more depth. You can educate or entertain in a different way. And that works for a lot of readers. Studies show that the average blog post is now 1142 words.
Of course, you don’t have to stop there. Some blogs are well known for their in-depth reporting. For them, a blog post of 2,000, even 3,000 words or more can be commonplace. It provides them with more opportunity to add images, links, and keywords to play with.
When you do build in more content, make sure you fill it with an equal amount of graphics, photos, charts, and white space. Even someone who loves to read can be intimidated by a page full of words. By adding extras, you give the eye a break. You give the mind something else to focus on. And you engage a happier visitor.
Product Reviews
No matter what business you’re in, there are many ways you can build product or service reviews into high-quality blog posts. Car companies can compare two similar makes and models. Plumbing companies can compare different fixtures or appliances. Security companies can compare different plans or equipment.
The key to a good product review post is to ensure it has a natural flow to it. You can Google a few and quickly see how most put them together. You’ll want a good description of both items being reviewed. Get into specifics, such as dimensions, features, benefits, colors, etc.
You’ll also want to include a pros and cons list. Every product has a few of each and it’s important to be honest with what they are.
You can also give examples of who a product works best for. This paints a picture in a reader’s mind.
Guest Posts
Want an easy way to post to your blog on a timely basis? Let others do it for you.
For many businesses, that sounds counterintuitive. Why let someone else talk about their business on your blog? There are two reasons, actually.
1. It can help make you more of an authority.
2. It can help introduce new people to your products and services.
Businesses at the top of their game aren’t afraid to share a host of information with their customers. They love being a resource to their loyal customers. And that means sharing as many ideas as they can to keep their audience engaged and coming back for more, even when they won’t be purchasing directly from them.
If another company has a blog post on your site, chances are they’re going to be excited about it too. They’ll tweet it. They’ll share it on Facebook. They’ll pass along a link in their own newsletters and emails. And that will have brand new people visiting your site. They might sign up for your information and eventually do business with you. All through a simple guest post on your site.
Plus, think of the backlinks you’ll get that will help you with your SEO. Google loves when other sites link to you. It helps you rank higher with your overall site content. Do it enough, and you’ll see the results.
Conclusion
Your online marketing needs blog posts. It’ll help you create a site people love.
That’s why you need to be writing content on a regular basis, and creating different types of content that attract in different ways.
Not sure how to do all that? That’s where we can help. Let us take over your blog writing … you’ll simply reap the rewards.
