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Hubspot reports that 53% of marketers say blog content creation is their top inbound marketing priority. With many brands placing a huge emphasis on blog marketing, how do you separate your content from the sea of articles published daily?

The best way is by sharing blog content that amazes your readers and creates a memorable impression of your brand. Consumers are looking for ways that you can improve their experience through content. Investing the time in posting great content that connects with your reader gives you the slight edge, making your content strategy highly effective.

Producing exceptional blog content isn’t difficult. By implementing the following 7 tips, you’ll produce amazing content every time that attracts and engages your audience.

1. Speak Directly to Your Readers

Blog posts are meant to be informal and conversational. It’s a platform that lets you inspire and educate your audience to address common problems, answer questions, and offer solutions. Writing to your reader as if you were having an in-person conversation creates an emotional connection, helping to build and foster relationships. Your message will resonate better when you speak directly to your visitor.

Therefore, keep your reader in mind during the creation phase of your blog post. Pose questions in your text to promote engagement. Also, write in the second person using words like youand yours.

2. Craft an Intriguing Headline

Your title gives the first impression of your blog post. It has a significant impact on social shares, how it appears in search, and whether people will interact with your article. Spending time crafting a headline is crucial if you want users to click on your article.

Consider these simple pointers to create an intriguing headline:

• Mention the value your readers will glean from your article. Rather than say “10 Ways to Lose Weight“, use “10 Ways to Lose Weight for Better Energy & Health“
• How-to’s and numbers (lists) make excellent blog titles. It sets the readers’ expectations and performs extremely well for social media shares
• Keep it short and concise, using 8-12 words
• Include your keyword in the headline, preferably towards the beginning
• Enhance your title by using descriptive words people connect with

3. Naturally Sprinkle Your Long-Tail Keyword

Optimizing your blog post for SEO does not mean overloading your article with as many keywords as possible to rank in search. Keyword stuffing will actually hurt your SEO and could possibly create a negative reader experience.

Instead, naturally sprinkle your long-tail keyword throughout your article so it flows smoothly and enhances your content. Include it in your subheadings, meta description, and the URL title for greater optimization.

Yoast is a useful WordPress plugin that grades your blog post for SEO, helping to improve its ranking and readability.

4. Use Subheadings and Formatting for Easy Reading

Many of your visitors will be viewing your blog posts from their mobile device. In fact, stats and research prove that more Google searches are taking place on mobile than desktops. Therefore, appealing to this market is vital to keep people perusing your pages.

Using subheadings to break up your text helps visitors scan your content and get what they need. It makes for easy reading whether from a smartphone, tablet, or iPad. You’re also able to expand more on key topics to deliver incredible value to your audience.

Additionally, refrain from writing long sections. Keep them short, at 2-3 sentences, so your article doesn’t appear bulky or overwhelming. Including bullet points and numbers offers an ideal change to the monotony of paragraphs.

5. Make it Colorful with Visuals

Adding visuals to your content makes it interesting and attractive. Studies revealed that articles with an image once every 75-100 words earned double the social media shares than articles with fewer images. Colorful photos, GIFs, memes, and infographics are compelling content pieces that will complement your message and keep readers more engaged.

Aim to incorporate an image about every 100-150 words. Royalty-free images are available on sites like Pixabay and Image Source to search for great visuals for your posts.

6. Boost Engagement with Interactive Content

Interactive content is said to be the future of content marketing (Source: Jeff Bullas). These content types include:

• Videos
• Calculators
• Surveys and Polls
• Games
• Quizzes
• Audios
• Slideshows
• Infographics

Interactive content allows readers to get more involved in your posts, separating your brand from previous articles they may have just read.

When visitors are clicking and scrolling through these content pieces, it keeps them on your site longer (dwell time) which dramatically improves SEO ranking. They’re more likely to remember your content because they’re actively engaged. Interactive content is a better way to educate and entertain your audience while enriching your content marketing strategy.

Another advantage is that some of these content pieces can be used to build your list. After taking your survey or quiz, for example, have participants provide their email address so you can deliver the results.

Commit to adding at least one interactive content type to your blog post.

7. End with a Strong CTA

Many blog articles fail to give a call to action at the end of their post, causing missed opportunities for capturing new leads or increasing engagement from their audience. Telling your readers exactly what to do next solidifies your blogging strategy, positioning you to generate real results from your posts.

Get people involved in your message by asking visitors to take action. Your CTA can range from sharing your post to their social networks, leaving a thoughtful comment to initiate conversation, or asking for the opt-in to receive your free offer. Decide on one clear CTA and post it at the end of your article.

Conclusion

Producing amazing blog content is within your reach when including these tips into your strategy. With a consistent publishing schedule, you’ll experience visitors remaining on your site longer, increased engagement, and more visibility in the search engines.