3 Rules For EVERY Blog Post If You Want To Attract More Customers

Sat at your desk, trying to find inspiration for another blog post that you’re pretty sure no one is going to read?

 We’ve all been there… 

 It’s super easy to waste a lot of time and effort writing blogs that don’t serve any purpose other than to bulk out your website. 

But it doesn’t need to be that way. You see, if people aren’t reading your blogs, there’s probably a really simple reason. 

And here’s the good news – you only need to follow 3 simple rules to get those blogs read and build a relationship with your potential new customers.

1.  Less Of The Crap Headlines

 The headline is the single most important part of a blog. It’s what captures your readers’ attention and draws them in. If they’re not drawn in – they aren’t going to be reading your blog!

  It’s easy to make the mistake of trying to summarise what you’re writing in a headline, but this is more than likely going to make it long and ineffective in attracting your readers’ attention.

 On the other end of the scale, you could make no effort whatsoever and just list a date – YAWN!

This doesn’t make me want to read on. It makes me want to shut my laptop and go and spend some quality time with the cat!

 A good headline has one job and one job alone – to capture the reader’s attention and make them want to read more.

I have a few tricks up my sleeve that you can use to capture the reader’s attention. This can be as simple as asking a question – ‘Do you know how to make a blog interesting?’, making a bold statement – ‘Your blogs are rubbish!’, or promising some kind of list or tips (see blog title above!).

 Either way, someone who writes a blog, is interested in writing a blog, or has heard about blogs and wants to know what the fuss is about, is likely to be drawn in and read on.

 For extra tips on writing blog headlines check out my blog post on ‘Why Your Sucky Headlines Are Losing You Money’.

2. Tell Your Reader What To Do

 Getting people to read your blog is only the first step. You’ve got to be able to produce a result from it at some point too, if it’s to be worth your while.

 You need to tell your reader what to do next. Clearly! Spell it out! Here in the marketing world, we call this a Call to Action. Whether that be to visit your website, give you a call, or comment on what you’ve written, you need to guide them in the right direction.

 Summarise the message you’re trying to tell. Tie up any loose ends. Nudge them closer to becoming a customer. Engage with them!

 Only use one Call To Action per blog. If you’re asking the reader to like, comment, share, click, buy, all in one blog post, you might scare them off. There’s actually a thing called “decision paralysis” – give too many choices and they’ll choose to do nothing. 

 Remember you want to nurture your reader and draw them in, not scare them away.

3. Work Out A Strategy

 You’ve drawn them in with your snappy headline (which by the way, you’re feeling pretty smug about!). You’ve written what you feel is an informative blog. And you’ve included your Call to Action. Yet still your blog seems to have failed to make any impact.

 I read a lot of blogs in my line of work as a copywriter and content strategist. And there is nothing worse than getting to the end of a blog thinking why the hell did I just read that? 

You’ve been drawn in with the promise of an answer to a question, a solution to a problem, or a challenging argument to your beliefs, and you’ve come out with nothing. Zero. Nada.

 You as the reader have been left feeling like you’ve completely wasted your time reading the blog. You have been cheated. There is no way you are trusting this person and you are in no way inclined to click ‘like’ on their blog post, let alone click on the link below for further info.

 Blogs should answer questions, plant ideas and eradicate objections, all whilst nurturing the relationship with the reader.

 To create an effective strategy you need to know who your reader is and where they are starting from. What are their challenges and problems? What solutions are they looking for? What are their hopes and dreams? What questions do they have? Or even better, what questions do they need to ask but don’t yet know they need to ask them?

By answering these questions you can form a strategic plan.

Include all the topics, problems, solutions and stories you need to tell to move your reader along the path to becoming a paying customer.

Make sure you can stick to your plan. We’re all busy and there’s no point planning three blogs a week if you don’t have the time. All this will do is cause the reader to lose trust in you when you fail.

 If you get your blog strategy right, you’ll find you get some impressive results. Reaching out to potential customers through social media, increasing visitors to your website and converting those visitors into customers.

That’s All Folks

 So next time you’re sitting at your desk with your head in your hands, trying to get some inspiration for your latest blog, make sure you’ve followed these simple rules. A Good Headline, Call To Action (CTA) and Strategy.

It will get better!

Or if the idea is still making you feel like crying and you just want to bury your head in the sand and make it all go away, book a call with me and I’ll help you convert those blogs into sales.

 (That’s your Call to Action, just in case you didn’t clock that!)

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