How to turn your average posts into the best…
Have you ever seen another blogger’s post go viral and you think to yourself “I wrote on that exact concept a few months ago and no one cared???”
It can be a bit frustrating, but rest assured this has happened to all of us. Sometimes it’s just because the other blogger already has a larger platform with more people to share their content. Other times they may have just caught a lucky break or posted at the exact right time. But there are some things you can do to get more attention to your posts.
Most of these things simply have to do with making your posts more reader-friendly.
These are tips I’ve learned from observing other bloggers and from experimenting with it myself to see what works and what flops!
- Intros – Take a look at your introductions, those first few paragraphs of your post and see if they are really necessary. Sometimes they are very helpful for the reader in providing context or simply for introducing your post, but all too many times they are unhelpful and not needed. Your readers don’t necessarily need to know that you were standing in line at the grocery store when the idea for this post popped into your head. Maybe they do…sometimes that’s important to the storyline, but oftentimes it creates an excess of words that already has your reader clicking away before they even got to the “meat” of your post.
- Shorten Your Posts – Cutting back on the intros can do a lot to shorten a post, but sometimes this needs to be done all throughout the writing as well. Take out the sentences (or paragraphs) that are adding unnecessary “fluff” and keep the vivid writing that’s showcasing your ideas, and communicating your point. People are more likely to read posts that are shorter, and get straight to the point. So many posts in such a way that the reader has to wade through several different thought processes and ideas before arriving at the main concept the author is trying to convey. Keep it short and sweet. Use fewer words to convey more powerful concepts.
- Multiple Posts/Series – I understand, sometimes you might have a lot to say about a particular topic, and that’s awesome! Instead of putting it into one HUGE post (see above), consider breaking it up into multiple posts or even making a series out of it. This can do wonders to create excitement for your topic, and it makes it easier for readers to find what posts they are looking for, instead of having to hunt through an obnoxiously long post.
- Bullet Points or Numbers – Let’s be honest, a lot of readers will be skimming our posts, so make it easy for them! Adding bullet points or numbers (like in this post) makes it so much easier on the reader. They can easily focus on the points that are most relevent to them, and (gasp!) skip what they don’t need to hear. Breaking posts up like this also makes it much easier to read every word and not get lost in huge clumps of text.
- The Point – I can’t tell you how many lengthy blog posts I’ve read and when I get to the end I find myself thinking “…and what was your point?”. Read and re-read your posts to make sure that the point you are making is evident in your writing. Oftentimes, if I am not sure how a particular post might come across to a reader I will ask a friend or family member to read over it and tell me what they thought the point of my article was. If they understood what I was trying to say, I go for it. If not, I try to re-work it so that what I’m trying to say clearly shines through in the post.
I will let you in on a little secret. I used to be guilty of NOT doing every single one of these tips. Since I started implementing them on my own blog, I’ve seen a huge response from my readers. More comments, more page views and even more shares! It’s been a huge win all around!
These are great tips. I think I can definitely cut some of my intros down a bit. For some reason I sometimes think “It isn’t good unless it’s X amount of words”. Really, that is probably not a good measure of a successful post. It’s easy to forget, though. Thanks for sharing!
I am guilty of writing intros but I think thats what makes the post personal. but these days instead of writing a personal intro, I am trying to write a conclusion to make things better
Intros are not always a bad thing. You are right that sometimes they allow you to connect a bit more with your readers or share some more personal tidbits, but it is easy to get carried away. I always just try to go back and re-read my posts and make sure that EVERYTHING is adding value to the post. If it’s just “fluff” then I take it out. If it is adding value by sharing something personal then that works! 🙂 Play around and see what your readers respond to.
Thanks for the tips. I don’t know why but I always think I need to share a story or idea on how I came up with this post, like it makes it more personal or something. But I definitely need to shorten down the intros because people really don’t care most of the time.
Great tips! I’ve been slowly implementing some of these, but its nice to have these ideas all in one place. Thanks! =)
Hi and TFS at a handful of everything party. This helpful
Julie at julieslifestyle.blogspot.com
Ugh! I hate pointless posts!!! Sometimes a blogger needs to think like a reporter and put those facts up front. Hook the reader with something interesting!
(Stopping by from the Ladies Only Blog Share)
These are great ideas. Thanks for putting them together. I am still trying to figure out which posts are really hitting home with readers and this gives me some ideas to strengthen my writing. Glad I came over from #LOBS
thanks for the tips have a great day
Awesome tips! I need to re-examine my intros especially. I want to give readers a glimpse into my day-to-day life, but you’re right, some of that may be unnecessary to the story. Thanks for the food for thought, and congrats on your growing readership!!
Thanks for sharing your insights. I will have to keep these in mind and hope I get the same good results as you. Have a great weekend.
Makes a lot of sense.. Very helpful
I completely agree with you Paula–these are great tips! I am totally guilty of skimming over posts and I’m much more likely to “stick around” if the post is broken down into bullet points. I’m glad I stopped by from Saturday Show and Tell (my link ups were #2 Pumpkin Crock Pot Oatmeal and 4 How To Paint Cabinets)
Paula, I am pinning this to my Pinterest board. I use bullets and numbers because I learned about them previously. It’s great for e-mails too. Summarizing or recapping to make your point clear is something I never thought of. I’ve done one series, but you reminded me that I should do more. Thanks for sharing. Visiting from #LOBS.
Thanks for sharing these great tips with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
I like the tips about making lists and shortening posts. For the most part, online readers skim blogs, so taking the time to add subheads, bolding, and lists really helps us to get the most out of a post without needing to read all the details. Short posts are obviously great too!
These are great tips darlin’! I am guilty of sometimes not even including an intro, I’m trying to get better about incorporating more of my personality into my posts and doing more than only recipes. I love your ideas, I will try to work them into my posts in the future!
Ugh, I am guilty of writing some long posts. I need to watch out for that.
Thank you for the great ideas. I am new to blogging and think these will help me to create better posts.
These are wonderful points, Paula. I will definitely pin this post to share it with others. I really can’t stand long drawn out “fluffy” posts. With little time to read blogs, this is so so important.
I’m really buckling down this year on my blog and these tips are very helpful. Some I am already doing, but some are very important for me to start doing right now. Thanks.
Great advice; thanks for sharing it with us.
Such good info! I really needed a pick me up for my writing, and this was great.
I stumbled by your site this weekend and you have some incredibly helpful posts – I am trying on getting my page views up and these points are incredibly useful – thank you
I really enjoyed this post – I’m very guilty of “fluff”. I’ve seen in various places, though, that Google likes long posts. I’m wondering how I would adapt that into this… I do usually keep the organic length that my posts reach, though.
I admit, I tend to have lengthy posts and this is one area I can definitely work on. I guess I always believed I had to have a pretty good lengthy post to make the page look good.
Very good and excellent info, that I will definitely be implementing into my blog.
Excellent tips. I need to start adding bullet points to some of my post. I know that will make them better.
I’m so happy I found your site. This is the third or fourth article I’ve read in the last hour and it’s very straightforward, insightful advice. I just started my blog a month ago so I can use the help 🙂
Great post!! I will keep these in mind for all of my post. I always use bullets for list or key points, because that’s what I like.