It’s no secret that the main thing that keeps your blog visitors coming back for more is your content.
But the problem is, many people simply don’t know how to create content that people will love.
And their blogs (and their bank accounts) suffer dearly for it.
That’s why in this lesson we’re going to cover the three topics that will help you create content your audience will love.
These three items include:
- Topics
- Types.
- Tone.
Let’s look at each of these separately…
Topics
Before you can start writing, you need to come up with a supply of both evergreen and trendy topics for your posts.
How do you find these topics?
Check out these ideas…
Check your competitors’ blogs.
Look for blog posts that get a lot of interaction, which is a sign the topic is popular.
Look for “most popular” article sections on blogs which list the posts that have garnered the most interest.
Also, take note of which topics appear across a variety of blogs in your niche (which is also a sign the topic is popular).
Visit social media.
Your first stop is to check the hashtags to see what’s trending in your niche.
(You can use a tool like Hashtagify at https://hashtagify.me/ to analyze hashtags.)
Your second stop is to check out the popular influencers and businesses in your niche to see what topics are popular on their social media pages.
If a topic gets a lot of likes, shares and comments, that’s a sign that the topic is popular.
See what people are buying.
Even though you’re giving your content away for free, you can still find out what content people REALLY want by finding out what they’re buying.
Check out books on Amazon and ClickBank.com, as well as courses on Udemy.
Every chapter and lesson in a product is a potential post idea for you.
Use keyword tools.
A tool like WordTracker will let you find out what your audience is searching for in the search engines, which should give you plenty of topic ideas (both trendy and evergreen).
For example, a search for “weight loss” might reveal that people want to know weight loss tips for vegetarians, which you can turn into a blog post.
Ask your audience.
Finally, you can simply survey your audience to find out what topics interest them the most, what they’d like to see on your blog, etc.
Note that this doesn’t need to be a formal survey. A simple post that asks, “Hey, what kind of content do you want to see on this blog?” will do.
Types
The next issue you want to consider is what types of articles you’ll create for your blog.
Ideally, you should create a variety of article formats, and then track responses to see which ones your audience responds to the best.
Let’s take a look at some of the most popular types…
- How to articles. This is the classic step-by-step article. E.G, “How to Socialize a Puppy.”
- Tips articles. This might be one short post explaining one tip, or (more commonly) an article covering three to ten (or more) tips. E.G., “27 Tips for Boosting Your Metabolism.”
- List articles. E.G., “Five Resources Every Copywriter Ought to be Using.”
- FAQ. This is a post where you answer 3-5 frequently asked questions about a particular subject.
- Direct-response articles. This is essentially a mini sales letter used to promote a product or service.
- Product reviews and comparisons. These are good articles to use when selling an affiliate offer. E.G., “The New Canon Camera Review.”
- Case studies. This is another type of article that works well when you’re trying to sell something (either an affiliate offer or your own product). E.G., A One-Week Case Study for Generating Quality Paid Traffic for Cheap.”
- Motivational/inspirational articles. This is where you tell your story or someone else’s to inspire readers to take action and/or get them excited about a task or event. E.G., “One Woman’s Inspiring Journey From Waitress to Million-Dollar Business Owner.”
- Opinion articles. These are rants, raves or any sort of opinion article. These work to build rapport with the audience. E.G., “Why You’ll Never See Me Cooking With Guacamole.”
- “History of” articles. These types of articles give people an overview of a topic. E.G., “The History of the Autoresponder.”
- Multimedia posts. This includes videos, audios, infographics, memes, comics, and similar items.
Now the next issue…
Tone
Before you start creating content for your blog, you’ll want to consider how to create your own unique writing voice.
That is, what makes your blog different from the test?
To answer that question, consider these questions:
- How is your writing unique? For example, what sort of slang do you use that no one else uses? What sort of “pattern” (or rhythm) can you detect in your overall writing style? Do you like to insert a lot of tips and examples? Point is, look closely at your writing to see how you can naturally capitalize on the way you write.
- What topics are you uniquely qualified to teach? Focus on topics where you can add a unique touch, such as sharing personal stories and tips.
- Is your writing clear and concise? Avoid rambling.
- Do you use a conversational tone in your writing? Are you writing like you talk?
- Describe yourself in five adjectives. Then check if these adjectives (such as “fun”) shine through in your writing.
- Who is your ideal reader? List as much as you know about this person (likes, dislikes, hopes, fears, demographics, etc.).
The point here is that you want to be YOURSELF in your writing.
You want to write in your own voice, but you also need to be sure this voice isn’t boring, rambling, repetitive or otherwise hard to read.
TIP: Think about the sorts of things you like to read (such as specific blogs), and then spend time thinking about WHY you like to read them. What is it about the tone that keeps you reading? If this tone is similar to your natural personality, you may want to adapt and tweak the aspects of it that suit you (to be sure your voice is unique).
Now let’s wrap things up…
Your Turn
For this lesson, your assignment is to develop your writing voice.
Ask yourself the questions outlined above to develop your tone.
In the end, ask yourself this overall question: how can you create a unique writing voice that keeps readers engaged and coming back for more?
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