There is a lot of information out on the world wide web for business, fitness, fashion, mommy or other bloggers but things work a little different if you are a creative business owner. Creative business bloggers have their own needs, as do their readers, so a regular run of the mill “How to write a blog post” post might not be so helpful.
Here are some tips for creative business bloggers.
Title: You want to craft a title that will get a potential readers attention but nothing overly gimmicky. This is your chance to hook the reader and convince them that they want to stick around and read more. You aren’t a news agency, you aren’t writing about the latest Hollywood scandal or the hottest looks on the runway. No need to sensationalize, scandalize or intrigue. You want to entice readers to click to your posts with information, ideas and creativity.
Make sure your blog post titles are a different font, size or color from the text on the rest of the page to help it stand out.
The Opening: The opening line(s) of your blog post are almost as important as the title. You want to give your readers a second reason to stick around and read more and you want to give them more information about what this blog post contains.
Examples of opening lines can include: Asking a question, stating a problem, answer a readers question, make a claim (such as This post will save you an hour of paperwork every week) or tell a story.
The Body: Use short sentences and short paragraphs. Use simple words. Don’t make readers work for the information.
Who is your favorite blogger? Why do you like them? Why do you look forward to their posts? Answer these questions and you’ll find a style of writing that works for you AND your readers. You want paragraphs that make them want to tune in and read all of your content.
I’m not saying to copy your favorite bloggers. I am saying to look at their style, see what appeals to you and then create a style that fits your personality.
Photos: As a creative business owner it is highly likely that you are a visual person and so are your readers. Be sure to include a photo at the beginning of your blog post and add more as needed.
A tutorial should have several step out photos showing your readers any difficult, tricky or fussy steps in detail. If you go to all of the trouble to post a tutorial for your readers you’ll want them to be successful in the completion of the project.
Don’t forget to include a “beauty shot”. This is the photo that will be pinned and shared on social media channels. Adding text to your image makes it that much more sharable.
Add Links: Links to previous blog posts can help clarify a concept or idea, they can lead your readers to more content keeping them on your site longer and they can help readers find your etsy shop, or other online sales venues.
The trick is to remember that when readers are reading your blog they are typically scanning over the content looking for valuable information. If I create a link that says something like “I wrote this post inspired by the one here“ The word here doesn’t jump out at your reader and it doesn’t tell them that the content provided by the link will be helpful to them. But if I write a sentence that says instead, “I was feeling uninspired until I remembered this blog post: 30 Ways to Find Some Creative Inspiration”
Sum it up: So you’ve gotten a reader to stick around to the end of your post. Now what do you want them to do?
Ask a question – Do you want insight from your readers or comments on your blog? End your post with a question.
Promote your work – Have you written an ebook on a similar topic as your blog post? This is where you can remind your readers about your ebook and include a link to where they can purchase it.
Link to more sources – If you are writing a post with tips for attending craft shows based on a recent experience you can end your post with a link to a past post you’ve written or to posts of other bloggers who have more insight.
More social media shares – if you want your readers to share your post this is the place to ask them to do that.
Finally, don’t be afraid to experiment. Becoming a better blogger is a process. You will improve with time and practice.
