6 Steps To Write An Effective Blog Post

If you're a small business, your most effective way to help keep your website relevant is with a blog. All Irez websites have a very easy to use blog system that includes all the goodies you need. If you think you haven't got time for a blog, you're wrong! What you're effectively saying is, I don't want to use the most cost effective tool I have at my fingertips to grow my business.

OK, so a little brutal truth out of the way, that's all well and good to say, but what do you write about and what's the best way to put it? Here's 6 steps to help nut it all out.

Know your audience, who are you writing to? It's your business niche and as a result you should already know who your audience is. Take one step back and think to yourself, if you were your own client, what information would you find valuable? Use any tools you have available like your Google Analytics or Irez SEO pack to know what people are searching for, looking for or better yet what are your direct competitors doing that you aren't?

What information are they seeking that you can provide your valuable wisdom on.

The headline is the first thing that entices people to read the rest of your blog. This is why it's crucial to get this part right.

We're shallow creatures and as much as every touts not to judge a book by it's cover, we still do and that's how clickbait became a thing in the first place. Obviously we are becoming more aware of 'baity' titles so keep that in mind with your balanced yet informative title.

Again the trick is to then not make the title too long, no more than 9 or 10 words.

You've got your audience reading, don't lose them with a constant stream of text. Break up the page with subheadings and bullet points and pictures. These all help make the reading experience that much easier. For example, summarise where we're at so far:

• Plan your content for your audience,
• Nail the headline to draw them in,
• Make it easy to read.

How are we doing so far.. Ready for the last few steps?

At the end of the day your blog has to suit 2 purposes:

1. Draw in and educate your audience
2. Help be found in Google Search

Both are self serving of each other. Your content must be informative enough for Google to warrant indexing it whilst the wording you use should also help it be found in search in the first place.

Optimising your search also includes adding alt tags to your images

Use the tools most of us have to get started, whether that be Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or even a pen and paper. Once you're happy with what you have, place it into your blog. Even then reread it and remember point 1 - does it sounds like something you'd want to read or know if you were your own customer?

Don't be afraid to come back and edit your post, months or years down the track, it never hurts to update or amend as circumstance or information changes.

Regularly is a subjective term and may differ for each business, but whatever and whenever you decide to start blogging, decide how often you are going to do it and stick to it. Just like posting to your social networks regularly, you should also blog regularly, so if that's several times a week, once a week or even just once a month, ensure you stick to your schedule.