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Craft Perfect Blog Posts: A Step-by-Step Writing Template to Quality Content

Craft Perfect Blog Posts: A Step-by-Step Writing Template to Quality Content

Jan 19, 2023 | Business growth, Content, Marketing, SEO, Social

Blog post writing template to get you crafting quality content. Laptop with phone and question mark.

Crafting the perfect blog post is no easy feat. Writing content that engages readers and reflects your brand’s unique voice can feel overwhelming. But with a step-by-step blog post writing template and the right approach, you can create quality content that will help your content stand out from the crowd.

This blog post template will help you develop your articles from start to finish, giving you the confidence to create content that your readers will love. You’ll learn how to research, structure, write, and publish your post so that it reaches its potential. You’ll also get tips on how to optimise it for SEO and share it on channels, so that you get the most out of your content.

Get ready to create blog posts that will draw readers in and make them come back for more!

Researching Your Topic

Your blog post will only be as good as the research behind it. Before you start writing make sure you have the facts to back up your content. Researching your topic is the first step in creating a blog post that will engage your readers and build your authority as a blogger.

When researching your topic you also need to keep your reader/ideal client in mind. If you really want to get to write and engage with them consider the following:

  • who is your target audience/ideal client/reader?
  • what are their interests and pain points?
  • what are their hobbies and everyday struggles?
  • what can your blog post teach them?
  • what do they care about?
  • what do they read?
  • where do they hang out online?
  • what keywords will your post be optimized for?

Your research will also help you stay on topic and avoid the dreaded ‘blogging paralysis’ where you’re too afraid to start writing. When you know exactly what needs to go into your post, it becomes much easier to start writing.

Armed with this information, you’ll be able to create a post your readers will love. It’ll be helpful, interesting, and valuable to them.

Structuring Your Blog Post

After the research phase is complete create a clear outline of what your blog post will cover. With an outline, you can easily stay on topic and avoid writing a disorganised or overly lengthy blog post.

When structuring your blog post, focus on answering the following questions:

  • what is the main takeaway the reader should get from reading your blog post?
  • what is the core argument or point you want to make?
  • what are the major supporting ideas or points you’ll include in your post?

Once you have a clear outline of your blog post, it becomes much easier to start writing. You’ll also find that your post is easy to edit and improve upon, even after you’ve written the first draft. Keep your reader in mind every step of the way.

Aim for a blog post around 800-1,000 words, as readers are less likely to read long posts but you need to have substance to your article. If your post is too lengthy, it will become difficult for readers to navigate your content and find the information they’re looking for. Long articles can also be intimidating, turn readers away and make them less likely to come back to your content again.

Writing Your Blog Post

Now that you’ve done all your research and have a clear outline of your post, it’s time to start writing! There are a few key things to keep in mind as you write your blog post, so that it comes out as clear, concise, and engaging as possible.

Consider the following when you start writing:

  • what is the emotional tone of your blog post?
  • what is the mood or feeling you want to evoke in your readers when they read your blog post?
  • what is the most engaging and relevant title for your article?
  • what are some interesting information/facts you can use?

Chop, chop, get writing and ensure your post:

  • is on topic. Nothing turns readers off more than reading blog posts that don’t seem to have a point or any clear direction.
  • has a clear structure with a strong introduction, where you hook readers and draw them into your post.
  • has a core discussion or point, and then finish with a conclusion that reinforces your main idea.
  • includes short paragraphs and sentences. Shorter, more concise writing is easier to read and comprehend. Avoid overly complex language or jargon that only a select few would understand.
  • is engaging and personal. Your readers are reading your content because they want to learn from you.
  • talks to your audience and addresses their needs and interests. Be authentic and be yourself. You’re creating content for your readers because you have something to say and knowledge to share. Let that shine through in your writing.

Editing and Proofreading Your Blog Post

Even the most experienced bloggers make mistakes when writing, and that’s okay! Writing blog posts is a skill that takes time to perfect, so don’t be too hard on yourself. However, it’s important to make sure your post is as error-free as possible, so it doesn’t distract readers from the helpful content you’re trying to share.

Editing and proofreading your blog post are essential steps that shouldn’t be forgetten when creating content. It will help you catch errors like typos, missing words, and formatting problems that can turn readers off. There are a few ways you can edit your post:

  • reading your blog post out loud is a quick way to catch any mistakes or anything you missed
  • hire a proofreader or editor if you don’t feel comfortable editing your own work
  • use online editing tools such as Grammarly or Hemingway App, that are designed to help you quickly find and fix common mistakes.

Balancing Act: optimising for SEO & the reader

When you’re creating your blog post, you’ll want to keep SEO (search engine optimisation) and your reader in mind. This will help your post rank higher in search engine results, so your article is found, but meaningful to your readers too. Don’t write just for the bots!

When optimising for SEO be guided by the following:

  • what are the core topics your post covers?
  • what are the main keywords related to this topic?
  • how can you incorporate these keywords into your post without being too obvious or spammy?
  • what are some engaging, keyword driven titles for your blog post?

When you’ve finished considering the above, it’s time to optimise it for search engines. This will ensure your post is easily found by readers and has a higher chance of going viral.

To optimise your articles for search engines:

  • keep your blog post around 800-1,000 words. It will allow readers to get through the content, give Google enough content to rank, but also allows you to share your knowledge.
  • use strong headings with keywords. Headings act like topic sentences in a paper and are good for SEO. They allow bots and readers know they’ve found what they’re looking for, making it easy to navigate your posts.
  • include your keywords naturally. Keywords in your content will help optimise your blog post but don’t force or overdo it with keywords. Include them naturally, just like you would if you were talking to a friend.

Publishing Your Post

Now that you’ve written your post, edited and proofread it and optimised for SEO, the only thing left to do is publish it!

Ensure you publish your blog post at a time when your readers are likely to be paying attention (during the holidays isn’t a great time). Different audiences are online at different times throughout the day. Publishing your post when most of your readers will be paying attention is key to making the most out of your content.

Share Your Article

Don’t pop your article on your website and hope people find it. Share it on your business social media channels, to your mailing list, collaborate with others and ask them to share it too, and even share it on your personal social channels.

When sharing your blog post, don’t just post a link to your blog. Instead, engage your readers and build a relationship with them by sharing your post in a more creative and interesting way.

Post interesting photos or visuals, short videos, or engaging GIFs that are related to your post. Be sure to include your blog’s title and a short description of the post so readers know what it’s all about.

Finally, well that’s it, there are no more steps. Now off you go, and make a start. And if you are still daunted, you can:

Thanks for reading and feel free to email me any questions you may have.

Thank you for reading my blog post template
Collaboration Over Competition

Collaboration Over Competition

Mar 2, 2021 | Business growth, Marketing, Social

Collaboration is power. And competition is fierce. So, which one will you choose?

First things first, your business isn’t alone. Wait. What? But you’re the only person doing what you do.

Wrong, my friend.  The service you provide isn’t stand-alone because other people (probably squillions) are doing it as well.

Now before you get all doom and gloom, I’m starting this with reality, that’s all.  Remember, what makes your business unique is you.

But we’re not here to talk about that in this article.

Which means if thousands (squillions) of other people provide what you do, then why fight it?

In this blog, you’ll learn why embracing the power of collaboration can drive your business further.

What’s Competition?

As I said earlier, it’s fierce, and it’s not going anywhere. So, you’re doomed? 

Quite the opposite. Because there’s so much competition, why don’t you work with it rather than against it?

Argh, but they’ll steal my clients, I’ll lose money, and they’ll like my competitor over me.

Is that what your brain is telling you right now?  It’s ok if it is because it’s normal for sure. Here’s the shocking revelation for you, the pie is massive.

And guess what? You’ve also got a giant planet of clients. Which means there’s enough in the pie for all. You may not think about it. But it’s reality.

Competition & Human Nature

Now you may have heard, “survival of the fittest” as a saying.

So you may have thoughts of competing is the way to get ahead.

Think of when people,

-Go for a promotion

– Play sport

– Fight over who gets to eat the chicken butt

– Compete to run a country

Yes, the world is competitive, people thrive over it, and a bit of competition is fun.

However, when you think of competition, you probably say to yourself, well there can only be one winner if I’m competing.

Which means it can hold you back from achieving your dreams because it’s a limiting thought.

But what if I told you it never used to be like that? Think of times in your life where you’ve helped someone else.

– Given up your seat on a train

– Mentored someone

– Picked something up for a stranger

Collaboration is a human instinct, as well.

Perhaps you haven’t tapped into it because you think about that time you ran a 100-metre sprint to get a blue ribbon. I know I loved my primary school sports top covered in ribbons with safety pins.

But back to how it never used to be like that.

Another saying you may have heard is, “it takes a village to raise a child.”

Guess what? It used to and still does in many parts of the world. Back thousands of years ago, humans lived as pack animals as a way of survival. They all worked together to gather food, make shelter and raise children.

Which means humans have collaborated for thousands of years in order of survival.

So what changed?

My guess is many factors like companies, competitive sport and sibling rivalry. But it doesn’t have to be that way if you don’t want it to. And let me tell you, once you start collaborating, it opens up new doors that were closed before.

Let’s look at this blog as an example. I’m writing it for a dear business friend who’s now a personal friend as well. And who runs a business the same as mine.

So why am I doing this? Because this blog will give both our businesses exposure by sharing it through websites, socials and boosting SEO.

Plus, it offers extra exposure by reaching my humans and hers at the same time.

But your business is the same as hers, Gemma. Are you thinking that?

Because if you are, yes, it’s the same and we offer similar services but here’s the thing. Her target audience is different from mine. We serve different humans.

But picture this, what iI get a lead which isn’t best suited to my expertise and specific offering?

Well, rather than saying no, I have someone to refer the client too and vice versa.

Through Collaboration, We’ve Both Grown Our Businesses

Firstly, our collaboration created a meaningful relationship.

Because where we’ve contributed to each other, our relationship and businesses flourished.

Secondly, two brains are better than one, right?

Listen, are you a solo business owner? I want you to remember when you weren’t. You worked in a team with ideas and help from others.

And sometimes you can forget that now you’re on your own.

But once you start sharing and brainstorming with like-minded business owners, the magic begins to happen.

Collaborating has increased business opportunities for both of us, and here’s how it can work for you as well.

Increases Your Visibility Through Collaboration

As I said earlier, we’re getting our (stunning) faces in front of each other’s humans. Which means we’re becoming more visible to a similar yet different target audience.

Boosts Your Following with Collaboration

You’ll gain more website hits, social media followers and grow your email list. The possibilities are endless when you’re connecting with more people.

And once you’re following increases? You’re ultimately looking at business growth and making more money.

Expands Your Knowledge

There’s always something to learn.

And working together with someone rather than against them it’ll be a valuable experience. As you’ll gain knowledge, insights and learn new things.

Embrace Vulnerability

When collaborating, you can ask for help.

Go on, be vulnerable because I promise you, it’s fantastic.

Getting a helpful hand is a life-saver because it saves you from doing all of the things all of the time.

Furthermore, you have the opportunity to collaborate on projects, and it’s lovely to work together with someone like-minded and who you trust.

Creating Higher-Level Value

When collaborating, you can do things like (guest blog) podcast swaps, YouTube interviews and social media lives. It’s endless.

Creating higher-level value is terrific for exposure, SEO (backlinking) and your social growth strategy.

But it’s also wonderful to create content showing new ideas, further insight into your topic and giving different perspectives to your target audience.

Create New Offerings

This one is truly wonderful.

Because you can create offerings together, for example, something you both have qualities in. And the bonus is you can offer this as a larger package.

In summary

With a collaboration over competition approach to your business, you can better serve your target audience, create new opportunities and grow your business.

Are you in?

Over to you,

What are your thoughts? Have you embarrassed the power of collaboration?

 About The Author

Photo of Gemma Lumicisi, , Copywriter, Marketing and Coach

Photo of Gemma Lumicisi

Gemma’s the founder of Contently Driven.

She’s a copywriter and life coach. She teaches you how to write copy that sounds like you and how to be yourself truly.

Gemma’s business mission is to help more people be themselves in their business and life.

She helps women stop hiding, become intentional and create a life and business they love.

Website – www.contentlydriven.com

Group for tips – https://www.facebook.com/groups/727417801245179

Insta – https://www.instagram.com/contentlydriven/?hl=en

FB – https://www.facebook.com/contentlydriven

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/gemma-lumicisi/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instagram For Biz – It’s All In The Stories

Instagram For Biz – It’s All In The Stories

Feb 15, 2021 | Advertising, Business growth, Content, Marketing, Social

When you go to Instagram (IG) do you head straight to stories? [My hands in the air] I DO! Reels might be the new kid on the block sure, but IG Stories is getting the most attention, and the perfect spot to be sharing branded business content.

Statistics (from 99 Firms) show that 500 million users now use Instagram Stories every day and one-third of the most-viewed Instagram stories are from businesses.

As a graphic designer and business owner, I have been helping businesses showcase themselves using Instagram stories, yet I see so many underutilising the platform. Your social media and visuals represent your business and customers will ‘judge’ you (and your competitors) based on that. Having a set of pre-designed Instagram stories will help you plan your content (save time) and build a connection with your community.

Are Instagram Stories Really That Good For Business?

Stories are great for interacting with your community and sharing your knowledge, with behind the scenes, off the cuff tags, shares, interest. And it’s also the space to tell the world about your business and the value you add to their life/business.

By sharing eye-catching branded content, you create brand awareness & encourage engagement with your audience, and in turn this will give you a greater chance of appearing in your followers’ feeds and help you stay front of mind for when they’re ready to buy.

It may sound like a lot of work (and a little daunting) but the time you put into your social will be lessened by developing evergreen content, that can be used on a repeated cycle. It’ll bring value to your stories, to your audience and it will stop you from feeling flustered about what to post.

Making The Most Of Instagram Stories For Business

Develop a series of graphics that showcase your point of difference and what you stand for [eg. eco friendly, deep dive discovery, vegan specialist, selfcare expert, holistic approach]. Show how you solve your community’s problem through your unique services, products and the experience you provide.

This can all be shared through a collection of evergreen stories which are key sentences representing your business and its values. Sharing branded testimonials backs this up and if possible, include an image or video of a client sharing the testimonial. If you have a lead magnet or freebie create a graphic for your stories that showcase the value to your followers.

Share graphics that contain original imagery including your products, you and your team, as this humanises your brand and people want to know who they’re doing business with. How regularly should you share evergreen stories is up to you, I say weekly, just remember not everyone will see your story and you can rotate between evergreen content shared.

Remember to always think creatively to grab consumers’ attention. One way to do this is utilising music and basic animation libraries in apps like Canva, InShot & within Instagram. If this all seems too time-consuming work with a designer [hello] and copywriter [Hello] to craft the right keywords and graphics, showcasing the quality service you offer and your point of difference.

Video Is KING! Use It Creatively 

I know this might sound daunting but stay with me. There are ways to get around video shyness and still share video content. You can use a mix of photo’s, graphics & a little pre-recorded video and or voice over, and stitch these together. The free version of InShot will allow you to trim and adjust speed of content.

To maximise your story time on display, ensure your final video length is 60 seconds [Instagram will let you publish 4 frames at a time in stories [15 seconds x4].

Here are some examples of what you could video in a creative way:

  • share how to style an outfit, a room a product in it’s environment.
  • demonstrate a task.
  • share the environment you work in.
  • explain how or why to use products you use to service clients needs.
  • share customer experiences through their eyes,
  • take your audience on a journey in your story.
  • share behind the scenes timelaps in your field.
  • share client unboxing, receiving goods.

Encourage Engagement And Create Conversation On Stories

Interact with your community by asking your followers questions (using the Instagram question icon) relative to the problem you are solving and gather feedback to build more content, engage by responding in direct messaging and develop connections with members of your community.

Create polls that are fun, informative and connected to events in the calendar year. This will help boost your ranking with followers who engage with your content and identify who you’re connecting with.

Must-Dos On Instagram Stories

  • Design in Story dimensions (1080 x 1920 pixels) and utilise vertical space.

  • Keep wording short and sharp with business tags or instructions ‘link in bio’ or ‘new post’. Make it easy for your audience to find out more and access your goodies.

  • Download evergreen stories to your phone. Save to a folder for ease of access and for posting on the go.

  • When you upload evergreen content, save it to an appropriate Instagram Highlight. To do this, click on the love heart icon when viewing the story and select the highlight you wish to save the story in for safe keeping. This allows followers and newbies to your page to access this information easily, without leaving the platform. Highlights is another great space to showcase your business and the value you add.

  • Add a compact logo when sharing stories on the go (png file format is best if the logo requires transparent background). You want people to recognise your brand easily which will help you stay front of mind.

  • Don’t feel overwhelmed creating a set of evergreen stories, chip away at one a week and slowly build content that you can reuse.

Evergreen Stories Build Trust

When sharing evergreen stories on a regular basis, you are building trust with your community, you will be front of mind when the time is right for your audience to reach out to collaborate. Creating social media graphics is time consuming, so by building evergreen stories you’re using the platform strategically adding value to your business.

I hope you find this article helpful. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic and what you found most useful. Feel free to connect with me below.

About the Author

Photo of graphic designer Kelly Mevel

Photo of graphic designer Kelly Mevel

Kelly Mevel is a designer with 20 years experience working in the graphic design industry. She has worked with brands such as Ikea, New West, Nike, Australia Post, Giordano and Target Australia in her corporate days.

Since starting her own business she works with amazing small businesses who are ready to invest and extend their brand story and social media profile. She has been working with service and product-based business including copywriters, child psychologists, interior stylist and more.

She designs with purpose, creating visuals that engage with her client’s communities and further develop a brand story that can be carried through all the business’ visual touchpoints.

 

To connect with Kelly go to:

www.instagram.com/jamcreatives_

www.jamcreatives.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/jamcreative8

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-mevel-2905091a0/

*Statistics: https://99firms.com/blog/instagram-stories-statistics/

Conduct a Competitor Analysis in 6 Easy Steps

Conduct a Competitor Analysis in 6 Easy Steps

Apr 9, 2020 | Social

I get asked alot ‘why do you need to do a competitor analysis’? It is an important part of a marketing plan, it’s not done to copy what others in the market are doing but it’s about seeing how competitors are positioning themselves.

So, what is a competitor analysis? It is the research, analysis and comparison of players in the market which allows you to see how they are positioned, what services they offer and their current strategy. This will help you differentiate yourself in the market so you can stand out. It will also let you see what prospective clients will see when selecting and what choices they have.

To conduct the analysis find their website, look at their social media channels and the ways they choose to advertise. I have put together a template for you to include all your findings (when you click on the link, the document will automatically download).

Let’s conduct the competitor analysis!

Step 1: Who are your competitors?

List a maximum of ten direct competitors, think about ones you know and also do a google search to find others. Include only ones that are in direct competition, and consider your niche and location especially if you are restricted by your product or service offerings (e.g. if you are a plumber and only service parts of Melbourne, do not include Sydney competitors).

Step 2: Look at their brand positioning and personality.

Have they marketed themselves as a leader in the industry, are they quirky or serious? Are they a luxury brand or an everyday one?

Step 3: Write down the products and services they offer.

Notice the words they use to describe them. Have they packaged them together and how? Do they offer multiple services or specialise in just a few?

Step 4: Who are they targeting?

Are they targeting small businesses, a high-end consumers or retailers – look at their offerings, pricing and channels they use to work this one out. How are they emotionally connecting with their prospective customer? What problem and solution are they focussing on?

Step 5: Look at their strengths and weaknesses.

What are they doing well, what could they improve.

Step 6: What channels are they using and how?

Are they printing out flyers and doing a letter box drop, do they have a website and monthly newsletter, which social media channels are they using (if any)? Do they have sales, do they share valuable content? Check what marketing channels they use and what they use them for.

What to do with the template and findings when you are finished: this exercise will give you insights into your competitors, what they do and how. This will help you work out your place in the market and how you can differentiate yourself.

See what others are doing well and what improvements they could make, these will give you some ideas of what you can do and what you can do differently. Remember, it’s not about copying, it’s about being unique and doing it differently!