HOW TO WRITE ENGAGING BLOG CONTENT THAT BRINGS (AND KEEPS) YOU BUSINESS

20 pages of articles all saying (more or less) the same thing about catchy copy, the importance of headlines, using bullet points, demonstrating trustworthiness, being authentic, adding links, using simple language, proofreading before you post and, and, and, and… This is all good and well, and yes, these are important points to consider when writing an article. But where’s the drama? Where’s the story? Where’s the entertainment value? Where’s the human touch. I’ll absolutely concede that not every subject, especially when it comes to business writing is made for fun, laughter, and jest. But I do believe that any subject under the midday sun can be given a special creative spin that will turn it from the ordinary and mundane into something of interest. The trick is to develop and write with your own very unique character, style, and tone. So by all means, provide your readers with backlinks, write SEO friendly copy, include pretty pictures and other writing strategies that work, but to get, keep and hold attention, you need to think personal (and when it comes to ranking in this day and age, Google thinks personal, user-experience first – well, so they say anyway). Here then, is what I believe really works…

Respect everyone, fear no one. This might sound rather obvious, but people are just people. When Mr. Purcell, the CEO of The Fake Fruit Factory gets home, he enjoys just as much of a fart in front of the telly as you do. Believe me, he also blushes when you push the right buttons and his friends will tell you that he doesn’t have great taste in furniture. So don’t fear him – he’s human. If he’s your market, write in a way that will challenge his thinking. Argue your point with him. Make him roar with laughter. Urge him to nod knowingly. Don’t write at him, write to him. Make it a case of ‘this is you and me, buddy.’ If he shares your post after reading it, you’ve nailed it.

Sell yourself, or get someone to do it for you. Writing blog posts and articles are all fine and dandy, especially when you’re ‘passionate’ about it, but let’s be honest, it would be a lot nicer (not to mention rewarding) if you could earn some decent loot out of it. Writing engaging blog content takes serious effort. It’s time-consuming. So you may as well acquire new customers and grow your business while you’re at it. It really is all about attracting highly targeted visitors who you can convert into customers, so try to use your content to drive consistent sales rather than short bursts of traffic. If you don’t know how, well, you pay me and I do it for you. See! It’s all about sales! Remember, you want people who are searching for a topic online to FIND your article, READ it, ENJOY it, VISIT other pages on your site, and then BUY from, BOOK, RESERVE, or HIRE you.

Stay on topic. You can write the most well-intended, insightful, brilliant piece of literature ever to make its way online, but if no one is actually searching for the topic of your article, there’s really no point. Think before you write. If there’s no interest in your topic, find another. 

If you want to talk to the children, learn to speak their language. Read through my site and you’ll discover I use the word ‘hey’ a lot. I also use a fair smattering of slang. I use lots of humour. I write the way I speak. I tell people I love them. That’s who I am. That’s me. I want people to really get a feel for who I am. I receive amazing feedback from my readers on a consistent basis, so I know I’m hitting the right chords. This is important. Because when you start to open those channels of communication with your customers, you’re going to need to develop a tone and a style of your own. I’ve always believed in wearing my heart on my sleeve and you should too. If you run an extreme adventure business, be tough. But don’t be so tough that you become unbelievable. Everyone cries. So be tough, but show your sensitive side because people will love you more for it. You might be a Plastic Surgeon (in which case leading in with ‘we know you’re not perfect’ might not be quite appropriate). But then, you wouldn’t exactly want to sound like a State Advocate either. ‘I put it to you that we’d love to rearrange your face’ will definitely see you losing a lot of business quite quickly. So work carefully and diligently on your personal or professional persona – then keep it consistent so that your audience comes to love and respect you. Work at it hard and you may even reach the lofty heights of thought-leader shortly. 

Create a family. When you put in a ton of effort you create more than just followers – you create a family who will defend and support you through thick and thin. Take a look at what Superbalist is doing on their blog and tell me they aren’t doing a fantastic job. They’re relevant, real, sincere, honest, knowledgeable, and just great to be around and hang out with. Content marketing is a commitment – treat it as such and you’ll reap the rewards.