Blogging for Business Part 4 – Putting the HASSLE into Blogging

If you’ve followed the first 3 parts of this series you will have set up your blogging site with all the tools for sharing, SEO and analysing your traffic. You’ll also have a list of great ideas for blog topics. Now you need to start writing. But what are the secrets to creating something that people will look forward to reading?

If you think blogging is a hassle, let’s work with that thought. All copywriters love acronyms so here goes with HASSLE.

H – Headlines

It is impossible to overstate the importance of a headline in any piece of marketing copy. When you post your article to social media sites or email it to your customers and prospects, the headline will determine whether they click on the rest of the article. Aim for something that makes it clear that they should be interested, but also something slightly intriguing. Posing questions can work well, as long as it’s not something that people can answer with a simple yes or no.

‘List’ headings are a common ploy: ‘5 reasons why you should be blogging’, ’10 mistakes that new bloggers make’, and so on. These work, but try not to overdo it as they are becoming very commonplace.

Often, I write headlines last. Sometimes they come in flash of inspiration and sometimes I sweat over them. Give them the effort and attention they deserve or your content may never get noticed.

You should also use your analytics data to see whether there are particular styles of headline that your readers prefer.

A – Angle or Approach

Every time you write a blog you will have a point that you want to get across. However, just stating that point does nothing to engage an audience or get them to think about how it might apply to them. You need an ‘angle’.

An example: I was writing a blog post recently on how to deliver better PowerPoint presentations. I could have just listed a whole load of do’s and don’ts and made the whole thing very preachy. Instead I started it by talking about using PowerPoint as a cure for insomnia. What I wanted was for people to be intrigued and to start thinking more about their own presentation style, wondering whether they are sending people to sleep rather than getting them to hang on every word.

Try to come at subjects from a slightly different angle. One that draws people in and makes them think about things in a different way.

S – Style

Something strange happens to people when you put a pen in their hand or sit them in front of a keyboard. They seem to be transported back to the classroom and start writing in a formal school essay style. A ‘natural’ writing style, perversely, doesn’t come naturally.

Here are my tips for sounding more natural:

  • Forget about grammar. People want blogs that are informal and easy to read. If anyone is sitting there marking your work out of 10 for grammar, they are probably people you don’t want to be around anyway.
  • When you’ve written something, ask yourself whether you would phrase it that way if you were speaking the words. If not, change them to what you would actually say.
  • Try dictating rather than writing.
  • If all that fails hire a copywriter to edit your words.

S – Story

Stories are important and are closely related to the point about angles and approaches above. For example, find topical issues as a way of introducing and illustrating the points you want to make. Stories about customers you have helped will naturally give similar customers something they can relate to. People like to read a story rather than a sermon.

L-Links

It’s always a good idea to plan the links that you want to put in a blog article. You might want to direct attention to other things you have written to achieve deeper engagement, or you might want to direct people to specific pages on your website. Links give you the opportunity to direct people to other places once you’ve grabbed their attention with your article. Links also mean that you can use carefully chosen anchor text to help your SEO.

L could also have been for length. Think about your poor readers and don’t expect them to read a 2000 word blog, unless it truly is fascinating and indispensable. Once I get past 700 words I start to wonder whether I should be splitting the content into two posts.

E – Engagement

This is the point of it all. Blogging is all about engaging an audience so always ask yourself the question: Would this engage me and make me want to find out more?

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series of articles and they’ve inspired you to give blogging a try. It might seem daunting at first but it really does get easier and more natural over time.

Business bloggingRichard Hussey

I am the founder of RSH Copywriting and support businesses in the South West to use written content to win new business.

 

 

 

Blogging for Business Part 1

Blogging for Business Part 2

Blogging for Business Part 3

 

Martin Gommel via Compfight

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