Tips On Writing Blog Content – How To Make Money Blogging
The reason I’m offering these Tips On Writing Blog Content is that I find that writing seems to be difficult for many aspiring bloggers.
One of the biggest obstacles to making money online is consistently writing good content!
Do you feel that writing SUCKS? I know many of you do.
As a matter of fact, I’ve come to appreciate that most of you dear readers feel the same way I do.
One of the reasons I hesitated building an online business is because I really didn’t want to do a lot of writing.
To complicate matters, here’s something I learned early on about SEO, or Search Engine Optimization and I’m going to pass this on to you:
Google wants content that reads like you’re writing to a person, not content that sounds like you’re trying to make a sale.
The search engines, particularly Google, have changed tremendously over the last 20 years.
That means the days when you could throw $%#@ against the internet “wall” and see what sticks are over.
You MUST learn how to write relevant, actionable content that will help your readers solve their problems.
Your content has to show an interest in people and their circumstances, not content that is pushing readers to click your affiliate links.
Likewise, do you want people to buy your stuff?
Absolutely! Ultimately, we do what we do to generate revenue – to make money.
However, you can’t write content that blatantly screams “Buy My Stuff!”
You have to learn how to show an interest in solving people’s problems so that they will want to buy your stuff.
Tips On Writing Blog Content: Can You Learn To Write Like A Pro?
The short answer is YES.
You CAN learn to write like a pro.
Writing like a pro is a skill we all can learn.
However, here is a fact that we MUST face: Learning to write relevant content is a skill that is necessary if you want to make money online. Period.
It’s like being at war; you’re at war to capture the attention of your audience from the relentless barrage of online distractions.
The fight to become a proficient blogger is not for the timid or the indecisive. heart.
Along with the tremendous challenge that comes with blogging are all the additional responsibilities and decisions you have to make as well.
Decisions, Decisions
Should I employ these marketing techniques?
Do I really need these plug-ins to maximize the effectiveness of my blog?
There are other social networks other than Facebook and Linkedin…Which ones should I use in connection with my blog?
There‘s all this “stuff” you need to sort through.
But guess what?
None of that “stuff” will ever matter if you’re serving up weak, amateur writing on your blog or website.
Not only will readers see through it, but they also won’t tolerate it and leave your site.
The bottom line is this: You’ve got to learn to write like a pro.
If you don’t learn how to structure your thoughts in such a way as to capture your visitor’s attention, you’re DONE. You’ve lost.
If you don’t devote time to LEARNING how to write like a pro, then your efforts to build a sustainable, long-term online business will fall flat.
You will not succeed.
Please remember this: writing effective blog posts is a SKILL, and it’s a skill YOU CAN LEARN.
Anyone can learn the skill of good writing if they’re determined enough to make it happen.
Arm yourself with the following tips on writing blog content – Your readers are counting on you.
Blog Writing Tip #1: Write the Headline Before the Post
Many bloggers make the mistake of writing the post BEFORE the headline.
This is a common practice.
When you do this, in most cases the blog post fails to achieve its goal, which is motivating the reader to take action.
If you spend time FIRST creating a quality headline then your readers will be absolutely clear about the destination you have in mind for them.
More importantly, a quality, the engaging headline gives YOU, the writer, absolute clarity as to what you are going to write on your blog post.
Be absolutely CLEAR what your intent is and write with CONVICTION. Your headline should set a clear destination that your readers/visitors would want to embark on.
Recommendation: Use a blogging platform that allows you to FOCUS on writing content – a platform that uses some of the best WordPress blog themes available.
Blog Writing Tip #2: Problems You Address in Your Headline Must Be Answered in Your Post
Readers have problems.
Family problems. Relationship problems. Money problems.
Problems with their job; problems with their supervisor.
Self-esteem problems. Problems with depression and anxiety.
They have problems with their dog or cat. Problems with their house; problems with their car.
Every single visitor has problems they’re dealing with.
I have often quoted the famous words of the late motivational speaker Zig Ziglar:
“You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”
And what is it people want? They want SOLUTIONS to their problems.
The key is to make sure your headlines promise readers the solution to their problem.
That’s how you keep people reading your blog posts.
You Have A Challenge
The challenge is finding out what the specific problems are for readers in your niche.
How do you do this so you can craft killer headlines that get your blog posts read?
How do you find out what’s really on the minds of people without playing guessing games?
I’m going to share with you two things I always do that are absolutely free and give you accurate feedback:
#1: Regularly read comments on the posts of other websites and blogs in your niche. You can find these comments at the end.
Really read these comments and find out what are the main concerns with people in your niche.
#2: Look up books in Amazon in your niche and READ the customer reviews. Read all the reviews or as many as you can.
Many of these customer reviews are exceptionally well written. These comments give you A TON of feedback to know what people in your niche are concerned about.
Again, look at the comments sections of websites and blog posts because many times people will not only reveal what their problems are but also any potential solutions.
As bloggers and website owners we need to remember one important point:
Our main responsibility is to serve your audience, to help them solve their problems.
You have to put in the work of getting to know how the people in your niche think.
Once you start to do this, the headlines of your blog posts will start to reflect your increased awareness of what they’re looking for.
Blog Writing Tip #3: Readers Will Give You the Answers to Their Problems in the Comments Sections
The amazing thing about reading the comments people leave on the posts of other websites and blogs and the Amazon reviews is this:
Many times customers will actually give you excellent suggestions and tell you how they want their problems solved!
Within the comments, folks will literally hand you the solution on a silver platter, right there for the taking.
All you have to do is invest a little time to READ these comments and extract the ideas and suggestions.
The next step is to present the solutions to their problems in the form of relevant content on one of your blog posts or a series of posts.
Within your post provide links to a relevant downloadable eBook, PDF report, or provide an affiliate link to an Amazon product.
Blog Writing Tip #4: Deliver Exactly What You Promise in Your Headline
As blog and website owners, we are endeavoring to build trust with our audience.
If we write headlines that promise SOLUTIONS to our readers problems, but FAIL to deliver on those promises, then we lose the trust of our readers.
Eventually, they no longer visit your site.
Never make a promise in your headline and fail to deliver.
The content of your post must fully deliver on exactly what the headline promises.
Here’s an example:
Let’s say you write a post called: How to Reach Your Goals While Living a Happy Life
The headline sounds nice, but here is the mistake you make:
Your post only talks about how to avoid distractions while trying to reach your goals.
You wrote more about avoiding distractions and very little about how goal setting can lead to a happy life.
Did you intentionally set out to deceive your readers? No, you didn’t.
However, your readers will walk away from your post feeling they were cheated.
That’s NOT the effect you want!
Don’t Cheat Your Readers
Another example — perhaps you write a post called: 10 Killer Ways to Improve Conversions to Your Blog or Website
In your blog post, you start out well by presenting 7 points website owners can use to increase conversions.
However, by the time you get to points 8 -10 you’re promoting your affiliate offers with useless rah-rah fluff and links to sales pages that contain no useful advice.
Your reader is sitting there frustrated asking themselves “Where are the last 3 suggestions?”
And guess what? Since they feel cheated they reward you by NOT clicking your affiliate link!
There is no better way to lose readers and potential customers than to FAIL to promise on what is stated in your headline!
Make it a habit that the content of your post will ALWAYS deliver exactly what the headline promises.
If your post only delivers part of the solution because of poor writing skills, readers will quickly feel misled and lose their trust in you.
And believe me, it doesn’t take much to drive away readers and potential customers.
In review, here are the 4 blog writing tips we covered:
- Write the Headline Before the Post
- Problems You Address in Your Headline Must Be Answered in Your Post
- Readers Will Give You the Answers to Their Problems in the Comments Sections
- Deliver Exactly What You Promised in Your Headline
Additional Resources
- How Easy Is Online Marketing – Are You Being Lied To?
- Can You Make Money With A Blog – You Absolutely Can
Get Rid Of Distractions That Kill Productivity
One of the biggest enemies of blog writing is distractions.
The only way you’re going to be focused on your content creation is to be self-motivated and productive.
If you fail to minimize distractions during the time you set aside for blog writing, time is going to pass by quickly without accomplishing anything of value.
This is especially true if you have a small window of opportunity to get your work done.
- Therefore, you MUST be as productive as possible.
There are some things you can do that will help you minimize, if not eliminate altogether, distractions that keep you from being productive. These include:
- Making sure that you have a tidy and neat work space. Before sitting down to work, make sure that only what you need to be productive is on your desk. If you have all kinds of stuff on your desk, you cannot possibly be productive.
- Here’s a HUGE distraction: The cell phone. Turn OFF your phone! Turn it off and have it face down or not even in the same room where you need to work is going to allow you to be productive.
- When you’re on your computer, torn off all unnecessary tabs. NO email, NO Twitter, NO Facebook, NO YouTube, Nothing except what you need to crank out content.
- It’s Important to tell everyone you live with that you cannot be disturbed during a certain time frame so that you aren’t distracted. No kids playing in your work space, no dog with a chew toy, no wife of girlfriend popping in to check on you every 15-30 minutes.
The Platform I Use That Is Excellent For Writers
If there’s one thing I hate is FAKE hype.
For the most part, that’s all you see on the internet.
The platform I use to write my blog posts is not based on fake hype and overblown promises.
It’s the best platform I’ve ever used when it comes to writing my blog posts, like the one you’re reading now.
It’s called Wealthy Affiliate.
The owners of Wealthy Affiliate are so confident you will like the features it offers, that you can create a FREE account to try it out.
You don’t need a debit or a credit card to create your free account.
I can honestly tell you this: Wealthy Affiliate has helped me tremendously to become a better blog writer.
The reason why is they’ve made all the tools available in one membership so that I can FOCUS on my content, not the other technical aspects of building an online business.
I don’t give out the hype and fake promises and I don’t do shenanigans.
Wealthy Affiliate works.
Let’s buckle down and get this right.
You CAN do this!
Please let me know if you found these tips helpful by leaving a comment below.
Talk Soon,
Howard
