How to Write Content that Keeps Your Blog Readers Coming Back for More

Content rules the web. From websites to white papers, videos, blogs and everything in between, content is what stands between you and the customer/prospect you are trying to reach.

First, if you are not doing anything at all to get your content to convert, you must start there.
However, if you have invested time and effort into your blog content but you are not getting the results you expect, it may be time to look at another important piece of the puzzle.

You can spend hours upon hours lamenting over techniques like great headlines, keywords, a winning introduction, professional images and product benefits, yet still fall flat. Though these techniques will improve your content, they may not be enough to take it to the next level.

Online marketers tend to get caught up in perfecting content and trying too hard to make it work.
Below are the three impediments to writing blog posts that work:

Perfectionist – Cut yourself some slack. You are not perfect and neither are your blog readers. Some of my best content came out of an attitude of transparency when I shared my weaknesses and struggles. I am not saying to share your deepest, darkest psychological hang-ups with your blog audience, but a little transparency can go a long way. Showing people your weaknesses will help them more than just force feeding them information.

Too Technical – Left-brained bloggers will often veer towards the more technical side of writing which can often be bland and uninteresting. Technical writing is appropriate for whitepapers and manuals, but not always the best choice for a blog.

Integrity – You may know you are a person of integrity, but your readers need time to scope you out and determine that for themselves. By following your heart more, you can reveal a more personal side to your readers which will make your content more interesting to read.

It takes a little bravery and courage to take a walk on the wild side and write from your heart. But, in the invisible world of the internet, the best content connects and jumps off the page. This dynamic is impossible with technical jargon and calculated prose.

Scratch the Rules


Sometimes it’s fun to throw away the rules and just go for it! Here is an exercise I want you to do for your next blog post.

Write a first draft purely out of an emotional response. Forget about headlines, grammar, keywords and images and just WRITE. Try to bypass your head and reach your heart.

• Think about why you started your business (aside from money) and what you want to provide your customers/prospects.
• Don’t write like you are writing to your blog audience. Write like you are sending a letter to a best friend to inform them of your business.
• Find a way to get happy about what you are writing. If you are writing about drywall, this may be a little difficult, but if you can re-frame it into something that makes you excited, it will show in your writing.
• Don’t get caught up in the details. Just stay connected to your heart and write.

Now, don’t post what you just wrote on your blog! Your post will need some editing but that first draft is important.

If you did this exercise correctly, you may find some interesting observations. You may re-connect with a desire to put your customers first. You may find new angles with which to introduce your products. You may realize that you have a lot more to say than you thought.

Now that you poured out your heart into your post, you can adjust it so it makes sense to your readers and is grammatically correct. Sometimes it’s helpful to leave the content for about a day and come back to it later. Fix the errors, add your keywords, but don’t take the energy and excitement out of the message.

Mix it Up


Sometimes technical content is needed and it’s perfectly fine to include it in your rotation of blog posts. But even in those posts, don’t forget to be authentic and real. You will find you can grow your blog community more by connecting with them on a level beyond their heads which will do more for your business in the long run.