Are you a blog writer or are you thinking of creating blog posts for your business website?

If so, read on…

Blogging remains one of the most important and powerful tools of digital marketing. Every blogger, company, and Digital Marketer needs to consider these 8 key points in 2021. 

1. Longer is Better

Not so long ago, the conventional wisdom around blogging was that short blogs of around 500 words performed best. This was largely based on the fact that people have shorter attention spans and prefer brief content. However, more recent studies have shown that search engines give preference to in-depth and longer content.

Google now tends to rank longer blog posts of quality information as opposed to short posts which have little to offer the reader. SERPS or Search Engine Results pages are the web pages that users find when they search for something on Google. The user will type in certain keywords and phrases and then Google shows the SERPS.

With longer blogs containing quality information and keywords, your article is more likely to be found in SERPS. Comprehensive and useful articles can help your blog and website climb the rankings in Google. 

2. Create Evergreen Content

So what is it? In a nutshell, evergreen content is content that stays relevant and valuable over a long period of time. It doesn’t grow old fast. It may need refreshing and updating from time to time, but the main content is useful to prospects for the long term. 

Evergreen content helps you drive continuous traffic to your website. Posting content that solves a prospect’s problems with a solution means guaranteed visitors to your website. The beauty of evergreen content is that you can use it again and again and also promote it. 

Examples of evergreen content include a cheat sheet, a how-to article, a short guide to something important for the target audience, a tool etc. 

3. Don’t Be Salesy, Offer Value First

A basic rule of thumb for blog posts is that the content should offer valuable information and not try to sell to your customers from the word go. The Customer Value Journey is about gradually building a relationship with your prospects by giving them value first. 

Today’s consumers don’t want to read content that is blatantly written for the purpose of selling. They can detect it easily and are likely to leave your blog as quickly as they came.

Your blog content should be the bridge builder that will give authority to your brand and build trust. It should show the internet that you are a problem solver for your target audience and not just in it for a quick sale. 

Every website should have a lead magnet which is basically a free giveaway of a really valuable piece of content to help your prospects solve a problem e.g. a pdf document on How To achieve something, a cheat sheet, etc. A lead magnet is given away in return for a prospects’ email, so you can start marketing to them.

4. Visual Content Draws In Traffic

Combine your text with stunning images and graphics, so your content has a greater impact on the reader. Well-written and compelling content with attractive visuals will help prospects have a better understanding of your brand. 

But don’t just post random images or create bland banners. Choose and create your images and graphics to properly lure in your audience with content based on their needs. 

There is a range of fab free graphics tools online such as Canva and Snapsneed. Also, you can get a range of images from Stock image websites some of which have free photos e.g. Pexels

5. Repurpose Existing Content

Repurposing content is about reusing existing content into different formats e.g. a blog can be made into a case study, a podcast, a social media post etc. 

A successful content strategy writing is more than just writing blogs from scratch. By repurposing your old content, you can leverage your old content to draw in more traffic. Rewriting, refreshing, and changing your old content to make it purposeful again will help your website get better rankings on SERPs. 

It is important to monitor the performance of your existing content to see which pieces were the most popular and then refresh, rewrite and repurpose them to gain a wider audience. 

6. Having a Content Strategy and Plan

A successful business plans its content at least 3 months in advance. Without the right strategy, you won’t get valuable results. A well-planned content strategy predicts what type of content will suit your brand the best, who your target audience is, where do you want to head, and what is the appropriate roadmap for your brand.

Using an Excel document or similar, plan at least 3 months ahead and write down the topics and subtopics which you will cover each week. 

Also, do SEO keyword research to include keywords in your blogs so that they are picked up in the SERPS on Google. Plus, include links to external websites to improve your rankings. 

7. Stand Out From the Crowd With Your Company Voice

Whilst keeping an eye on the competition and emulating their successful content, it is also important that your company has a distinct and unique voice. 

In today’s digital world, your business needs a distinct voice to get ahead of the game. If you simply follow what everyone else is doing, you won't attract the attention of your customers because there won’t be anything unique about your content. 

So it is fine to write blogs on topics that are trending (and most of the big corporations do this), but it is important that your brand voice stands out as different from everyone else.

Equally important in today’s worry-ridden world, is that your content should have bundles of positivity. Also, show empathy and support to your target audience and win the hearts of your readers with practical solutions to their problems. Sites like Think With Google are packed with useful ideas about market trends. 

8. Monitor the KPIs of your Content

It goes without saying that every piece of content should have a goal and a purpose. To check that content has reached its goal, you need to measure Key Point Indicators (KPIs) to see how each post has performed. Here are some KPIs you can use for blog writing:

• Brand loyalty and awareness: this is a little trickier to measure, but you can carry out social listening to see what people are saying about your brand on social media. Also, from the comments, likes, and shares on your blog posts. 
• Conversion rate - how many readers who discovered your blog became paying customers?
• Customer retention and engagement - how many customers who have encountered your brand via blog posts remained as customers?
• Email responses - what is the open rate on your email campaigns? You can send your blog posts via email too. 
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• Return on investment (ROI) - how much revenue did you make from your specific content campaigns compared to the cost of creating the blog posts? Particularly relevant if you are paying a Content Writer. 
• SERPs ranking - How are your blog posts performing in the search engine results of Google and other search engines?
• Social media engagement - What are the stats for engagement on social media? E.g. views, impressions, comments, likes, shares etc. 

Monitoring analytics and optimising your content requires knowledge of how to read the KPIs and stats of your social media platforms and to use tools such as Google Analytics. If you don’t have the time or inclination for analytics, you can always hire a Digital Marketing expert or team to do this for you. 

Well, that’s all folks! Remember that a well-planned Content Strategy for your blogging can help build your brand authority and convert prospects into buying customers. Lead with value to build customer relationships and don’t be salesy from the start. 

Remember this - the most successful of blogs is based on well-written, valuable content with compelling images! 

For more info on blogging strategy, contact the Blam team on info@blamwebsites.com