Do you want to improve your small business blog posts?
Maybe you've noticed your posts aren't as good as the ones on Google. Maybe you're not getting the conversions you want, even though your blog is several years old. Whatever the reason, you want to know how to improve your blog post.
Well, you've come to the right place. In this post, I'm sharing small things you can do to write better blog posts. By implementing these tips, your posts will look more professional and get better results.
8 Tips to Improve Your Blog Post
Use an Outline
On a personal blog, it doesn't matter if you publish a word-vomit post that rambles all over the topic. But that won't cut it on your business blog.
For that, you need a neat, well-organized post clearly providing value for readers. That's where an outline comes in.
With an outline, you can organize your thoughts and points before you start writing. It also helps you see any areas that could be cut or added to, saving you time when editing.
You'll even find writing easier with an outline. You won't have to think about what to say next because all you have to do is follow what you wrote.
There are different methods for creating outlines, but my favorite is making a bullet list. It's simple, and the bullets make it easy to scan through while writing.
Example:
For this post, let's pretend you own a stationery business and want to write a post covering how to write a letter. Your outline might look something like this:
Introduction
The art of letter writing
Tips to write a great letter
Be friendly
Write clearly
Stay on topic
Anatomy of a letter
Header
Opening paragraphs
Body
Closing paragraphs
P.S.
How to address a letter
Final thoughts
Call to action
Choose a Keyword
If you want your blog posts found on Google, you need to have a keyword.
If you aren’t familiar with the term, a keyword is the search term people use to find your content. For example, I chose the keyword “how to improve your blog posts” for this post.
You'll want to include the keyword several times throughout your post in a natural manner. When Google analyzes your new post, they'll see that term multiple times and know how to catalog it in search results.
You can use WordStream or Google Keyword Planner to brainstorm keywords with good search volume and low competition. As you research keywords, you may change your post slightly to better align with your findings.
If you want to learn more about keywords and how to research them, I suggest checking out this article by HubSpot.
Example:
For your letter-writing post, you initially thought your keyword would be "how to write a letter". But after doing a bit of research, you realize that "how to write a letter to friend" has lower competition and aligns better with your blog, so you choose it instead.
Edit Your Blog Posts
Please, please, please don’t write a post and immediately hit publish. If you want your blog posts to sound professional, you need to edit them first.
First drafts are messy. Your job is to get the words on the page, no matter how bad they are.
Editing gives you a chance to clean up your messy draft. It takes your work from a pencil sketch to an oil painting. If you want your posts to stand out among the millions of posts published daily, this is a necessary first step.
Make it Scannable
You want to write the best post you can. But the sad truth is many people won’t read it– they’ll skim it.
There's just too much content online for us to focus on reading every word of every post. Instead, we skim through articles and sub-headings, jumping to the sections we want to read.
That doesn’t give you a free pass to skip editing. You want the parts of the post people read to be well-written. But you also need to make the information they came for easily findable.
Make a post skimmable means:
Using short/easily readable sentences.
Make important paragraphs or sentences bold.
Shortening your paragraphs to 1-3 sentences.
Use bulleted or numbered lists when appropriate.
Dividing your post using clear headings and sub-headings.
Include a table of contents for longer posts.
As you can see, I just used one of those techniques to make that information easy to skim and absorb. If I wrote a paragraph on each of them, your eyes would glaze over, and you'd move on to something more interesting.
Include CTAs
I’m a big advocate for including calls to action, or CTAs, on all your posts. They help drive engagement and conversion, which are essential to a successful business blog.
You don’t want to end your blog post with a little “final thoughts” paragraph (although you should have one). That doesn’t give the reader anything to do besides close your post. Instead, you want to ask them to do something. Leave a comment, sign up to your email list, read more posts, etc.
I wrote a whole post on blog post CTAs, so I suggest checking that out if you want to learn more.
Example:
You guess people looking up letter writing are interested in sending letters to friends. So, you end your post with a CTA telling people about your complete letter-writing kit that contains everything they need to start sending letters today, along with a button taking them to the product page.
Workshop Your Headlines
Another thing you don’t want to overlook is your headline. It needs to be clear and eye-catching enough so people click on it, which can be tricky to accomplish on the first go.
I suggest writing at least 5-10 headline ideas for every post. Make it a goal, even if some of your ideas suck. You'll build your headline writing muscles by challenging yourself to write so many variations.
If you're feeling stuck, try using a headline formula. Or go to a website with great headlines, like Refinery29, and mimic their styles for your post. I also suggest putting the headline you like best through an analyzer to help you identify ways to improve it.
Example:
Potential headlines for your letter-writing post could include:
The Ultimate Letter Writing Guide
How to Write the Perfect Letter to Your Friend Every Time
This is the Best Method to Write Beautiful Letters
How to Write the Perfect Letter in 3 Easy Steps
3 Simple Steps to Perfect Writing a Letter
How to Write a Meaningful Letter to Your Friend
How to Write a Letter Your Friend Will Treasure Forever
Post Consistently
When you run a blog for yourself, it doesn’t matter how frequently you post. But with a business blog, you need a consistent schedule to see results.
Don't worry; I'm not saying you should post every single day.
You want a set schedule you can stick to. I suggest doing at least 2-4 posts a month for best results, but choose the frequency that works best for you.
Don’t give up if you don’t see much happening on your blog for the first few months or up to a year. Blogging is a long-term growth strategy that brings in results for years rather than overnight.
Link to Other Posts
Links are powerful when it comes to blogging. They're the web linking together websites all across the internet. That’s why you should add at least one link in each of your blog posts.
Don’t just link anything, though. Your links should:
Go to helpful content.
Be to reputable sites that won't damage your blog's reputation.
Not be to competitors.
You should try to include one external (to another website) and one internal (to your website) link per post. You can add more, but don't go past five.
Example:
You decide to add two links to your letter-writing post. One to your full post on addressing envelopes and one to an essay on the lost art of letter writing. Both provide value to readers and help build your post authority.
Don’t get overwhelmed if you aren’t doing these things yet. Pick one and implement it on your next post. Then try another next time. Bit by bit, keep improving your posts until they shine.
Are you interested in more small business marketing tips like these? Then subscribe to my monthly newsletter, Your Small Biz Bestie! Oh, and did I mention you'll get a cheat sheet of my favorite free marketing tools when you sign up?
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