Write blogs like a pro: 5 copywriting hacks you can try today
We all know content is king when it comes to online marketing, so writing blogs that are loved by both your audience and search engines is an important skill to have.
Why do we invest time in producing blogs?
- To drive traffic to our websites through search and social media
- To build trust and authority with your audience
Here are my 5 top copywriting hacks will help you write blogs that are user friendly as well as search engine friendly.
1. Reverse engineer your content
Before you start writing, think about the purpose of the blog. What’s your goal?
I love this quote from Marie Forleo: “Begin with the end in mind.”
Having your goal in mind helps you to tie the content together and give a strong message.
Remember you’re there to inspire your readers!
Inspire them to take ACTION.
What action do you want them to take once they’ve read it?
Simple action words work best: Join, Contact, Subscribe, Share, Register, Leave a comment….etc.
Having a ‘next step’ for your blog is also very good for your SEO score.
When people visit another page of your website this reduces your bounce rate, indicating to Google that your site is relevant and has quality content.
2. Focus on what your audience are interested in
Who are you writing this blog for? Answer — it’s not you!
Unless you’re writing a personal diary, chances are that you’re writing it for someone else to read.
That means you need to be thinking about what it is they are interested in. Understand their emotions. What do they want to know?
Keep your audience front of mind when you’re writing.
When you talk about yourself or your business, tell them WHY it’s of interest to them.
My secret trick to nailing this is what I call the “so what?” factor.
When I coached my teams on how to write better marketing copy, blogs or sales pitches, I always challenged them with this question “so what?”
You might have written a great explanation of your topic, but if you haven’t told the reader why they should care about it, you’re missing the most important bit.
Try it next time you write — if you ask “so what?” and the answer isn’t obvious in what you’ve written, go back and make sure it’s in there.
[If you’re not sure who your audience is, download my free customer avatar worksheet to find out about your ideal customer — this is who you’re writing for.]
3. Practice your headlines
You’ll almost never come up with a great headline the first try.
The headline is almost more important than the blog itself because, if it doesn’t entice your audience to read the story, your whole blog has been a waste of time.
Your headline should be enticing, intriguing and informative.
A good headline will:
- Tell the reader what the article is about
- Indicate why they should care
- Entice them to read more
Magic words that I like to use in blog headlines: How, Why, When, What and This.
For example:
Instead of “Creating images for social media”, try: “How to create stunning images for social media: 5 tips from the experts”
Instead of “Behind the Brand — Little Ducks”, try: “This clever strategy made Little Ducks a trusted brand for new mums”
A good headline is like a good wine — it takes time.
My challenge to you: every time you write a blog, wait until the end to write your headline.
Then brainstorm at least 25 headlines. Write them down as you’re thinking of them, don’t critique or edit them.
Why do this? Because the best headlines will come to you once you’re down to number 25. You’ll get the feeling of the right words and put them together.
When I wrote this blog I drafted 27 headlines. Yep, true story.
TIP: Research your keywords for SEO first, then aim to use the main one in your headline.
4. Use simple everyday language
Want to sound intelligent?
Talk with authority and give useful information. But say it in normal language you’d use talking to your Mum.
A classic mistake people make is using lots of jargon and long important-sounding words — but that fluffy language isn’t helping your cause.
Instead of impressing your audience, you’re putting them to sleep! You’re challenging their brains and making it harder for them to follow your thoughts.
They’ll be clicking away before they finish reading, and they definitely aren’t about to act on whatever it is you want them to do.
Mission failed.
“A confused mind always says ‘no’.”
(Another brilliant quote from Marie.)
What you should do is use language that you’d use in an everyday conversation — this is how you connect with people’s minds.
For example:
- You’ll instead of you will.
- Don’t instead of do not.
- Here’s instead of here is.
- While instead of whilst. (Who actually says whilst, honestly?)
Make it easy for them to understand you — you want to be the voice inside their head. Talking their language. A voice that makes a lot of sense. A voice they can trust.
5. Write for online consumption
Ok, here’s the deal: writing blogs (or any content) for people to read online ain’t the same as writing for print.
There’s been loads of testing done on this over the years and the fact is that when we are looking a screen, our eyes tend to jump around a lot.
Has your blog got big blocks of paragraphs with long sentences? Might as well give your readers a valium and say ‘night, night’!
You need to adapt your writing and formatting so it’s easy for people to consume your content.
Making it easy for them (yes, there is a theme here isn’t there?) is how you get a reader to stick with you and read the whole article.
And, guess what? Search engines like it too.
You should use:
- short sentences
- plenty of white space
- bullet points and bold highlighting
- subheadings (super important!)
- at least 600 words (or 1200 to be considered as cornerstone content)
That’s it — my 5 hacks for better copywriting skills so you can start writing blogs like a pro!
Would you like to read more of my articles about online marketing? Check them out here: https://jessicaosborn.com
