Research shows that web users only read about 20% of the words on a web page.

This means every word counts.

If your blog articles aren’t engaging enough, readers won’t get the message. So how do you create blog posts that readers actually want to read?

Keep reading for six steps to creating blog articles that will have readers hanging on to every word. 

1. Choose the Right Topics for Your Audience

Before you start writing, you’ll want to do some research about your target audience.

The goal of blogging is to create engaging, relevant content that builds brand authority and ultimately directs readers to purchase your product or service. You want to create blog articles that provide the information your audience is looking for.

How relevant and engaging your content is directly impacts your search engine results pages (SERP). This is why it’s essential to take the time to choose the right topics.

When it comes to writing blog posts, you want to consider who you are writing for. Ask yourself questions like:

• Who is my target audience for this blog post?
• What questions do they have about this topic?
• What information would be valuable to this reader?
• What information can I include that readers will find interesting?
• How can I write about this topic from my unique perspective?
• What knowledge about this topic can I share that readers will find helpful?
• How can I make this topic engaging for readers?

When narrowing down potential topics, ask yourself these questions to get into the mind of your readers. One tool you may want to consider is Answer the Public. Simply enter a topic, then scroll down the page to discover what questions people are asking online that are related. You can then use that info to write blog articles with the readers’ interests in mind. 

2. Catch Readers’ Attention With Your Headlines

Once you decide on a topic for your blog article, you need to come up with a compelling headline.

The difference between a reader clicking on your article or scrolling past it often comes down to the headline. You only have one chance to make a first impression, and your headline is your first sales pitch.

So how do you create a headline that catches readers’ attention? Headlines for blog posts should be clear, engaging, and provide information of value. One of the best ways to meet all of these objectives is by using numbers.

Your title should also include keywords that tell readers what they can expect to gain by reading your posts. Don’t be afraid to rework ideas that have proven successful before. 

3. Make Use of Visuals

Humans are visual creatures. In fact, we process visual information 60,000 times faster than what we read via text. This means that visual content tends to grab readers’ attention more easily.

You can use visual content in your article blog post to convey information more quickly. Use visuals like photos, videos, and infographics to tell a story and get your message across. Readers are more likely to remember and share posts with visual content than text alone.

Here are a few key ways to incorporate visuals into your blog articles:

• Video tutorials
• Photo galleries
• Slideshows
• GIFs
• Infographics explaining complex ideas
• Before and after photos 

4. Create Sharable Content

One of the best parts of blogging is that readers are likely to share your content for you.

When you create content that users want to share, they are doing some of the marketing work for you. They will share your content to their social circles, introducing new groups of people to your brand without any effort on your part.

Be sure to add social media share buttons to your website so it’s easy for readers to share your content on their social media pages. 

5. Link to Related Posts

An easy way to keep readers engaged and boost your search engine optimization (SEO) ranking is to use relevant links in your blog posts.

Incorporating links to other websites and other pages within your own site can help engage readers. Use links to direct readers to other content that they are likely to be interested in.

These links can be used to connect directly to the source of statistics and help certify the credibility of any data presented. These are called external links.

You can also create internal links to other pages on your website, such as other blog posts or pages about your products and services.

Your blog posts should always end with a call to action. This is where you ask the readers to contact you directly for more information about your product or service or make a purchase now. You should insert an internal link here to direct readers to your landing page. 

6. Keep Content Easy to Read

Circling back to the concept of attention spans, the way you present your content impacts how engaged your audience will be.

Readers prefer to skim over text, looking for information that stands out and catches their attention. This behavior is called scanning. Your content should be scannable so that readers can quickly find the information they are looking for without losing focus.

This boils down to how you present your information. Fonts should be easy to read both on desktops and mobile devices. Avoid walls of text. Instead, break the text up using lists and bullet points.

Blog articles should also use small paragraphs. Readers are likely to skip over large chunks of text, especially if they use a mobile device.

Finally, white space is your friend. Blank spaces between text and images give readers a quick break and prevent them from becoming overwhelmed by information overload. 

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