Top 10 ways to write an engaging blog post

Reader engagement is very important. It is a measure of effective writing.

You can’t say your blog is successful if readers don’t like it. Posts that have zero comment, like, or share are worthless. People don’t think they’re relevant, useful, or even remotely entertaining.

That would also mean you’ve wasted all the time and energy writing the post.

So how do you write an engaging blog post?

Here are 10 very easy and useful tips.

1. Write like you’re talking to just one person

Readers are most likely to stay focused on something they feel is written specifically for them. It creates exclusivity. It will make them feel special.

Wouldn’t you? If someone you follow on Twitter or Facebook sends you a private message and shares something, wouldn’t it make you go crazy? That’s what happens when you ensure your posts are speaking directly to one person in particular.

How do you do it? Write as if you’re talking to a friend. Use words that you’d normally use in everyday conversations. Don’t try to sound smart and use terms that you can’t immediately define. Be natural. Be simple and brief.

2. Strive for a word count that’s less than 600

I think of blogs as newspapers. That’s because there are so many of them and people now rely on them for news and information about everything.

The thing is many blog readers are very busy and they barely have time to go through posts that run 1000 words. Or they could be subscribed to other blogs and they only have a limited time to check each one.

They are always in a hurry. Most read blogs they way they read newspapers: they check the headlines, read only the lead paragraph, and scan the rest of the article.

Keep your posts as short as possible. Brevity is an important quality of an engaging blog post. Use as few words as possible. You should be able to say what you want right away.

The only time you can go over 600 words is when you’ve got a lot of info to share.

3. Know who you’re writing for

A knowledge on who your market is will be extremely helpful in producing an engaging blog post. That’s because you will know what words, style, and tone to use. You can also use the right references to pop culture. You’ll know which issues appeal to them the most. You will know when they’re most likely to react and respond to your post.

You’ll be able to predict their behavior.

4. Use bullets and lists

Bullets and lists are great because they make information easily digestible. These are very useful when you’ have a lot of things to share. Plus, they make your post easier to go through.

5. Use statistics to scare the hell out of your readers

Statistics are awesome because they add credibility to your post. And these also pushes readers to take action. Imagine seeing this headline:

“98% of Bloggers Will Lose Income Because Of This One Common Mistake”

Of course you need to do research. You don’t want to mislead your readers, do you?

6. Make them realize how much pain they are feeling right now…

Pain is a great motivator. People who are in a difficult situation are easier to convince to buy something. That has worked for many marketers and it’s something you can use to your advantage as a blogger.

Find out what “hurts” your audience and write about that.

7. Don’t sound like everybody else

These days, anyone can claim to be an expert on something. The thing is, what they say is simply rehashed or taken from another blog. It’s alright to write about the same topic but make sure that you sound different. Be a louder and more interesting voice in a crowd full of people.

How do you do that? Research is one. Then hone your style and voice. Write differently. Make sure that you have a different but interesting and logical take on some issues. Provide useful information.

8. Tell your story

One of the simplest and most effective way to get people to listen is to tell your story. It’s innate in human beings to be curious about other people’s stories. That’s basically the reason stories about biblical characters and historical figures exist today. We love to hear about stories.

Do that and you can create an engaging blog post. Just make sure that it’s relevant and your readers can get something out of it.

9. Sleep on it

Your post will look a lot different several hours from now. You’ll be able to spot typos and words and sentences that need tweaking. To refine your work, sleep on it. Or simply take your focus elsewhere.

10. Spend at least one day to come up with the perfect headline

It’s tough to come up with the perfect headline. It takes a lot of skill and practice. That’s why many writers spend so much time to write a good headline. Want to learn tricks on writing effective headlines? Here’s one tool that you can use.

There you go, the top 10 ways to write an engaging blog post.

Try these the next time you blog and see the difference in your audience’s response to your post. Feel free to share more in the comments section below.

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Top 10 Ways to Write an Engaging Blog Post