In my nearly 14 years of writing for the Internet, I have seen quite a few blogs and articles online. Some of them are good, some of them are, well, not so good. That’s why, when i write a blog post, I make sure that I remember the good ones and try to emulate them. This means staying away from the mistakes that the bad ones make. To do this, I ask myself three questions that help me make sure the blog post is on the nice list rather than the naughty list.
Does the Blog Post Give the Reader Value?
The biggest thing about a blog post is that it needs to give value to your readers rather than simply being an advertisement for your business. If all you are doing is shoving your business in their face and not showing them why your business is the one that they should choose, then chances are they will run the other way. But if you give them something for reading your blog and leave them wanting more, it’s a win-win.
Is the Blog Current?
If you have a landscaping business and you want to give people tips on protecting their flowers against the heat of summer, you don’t do that in the middle of winter. Now, protecting your flowers from cold during the springtime? Absolutely, especially if you live in a northern state where there could still be frosts at night. But think about what is most likely to happen where your business is during the time you are posting the blog, and then choose a topic based on your personal knowledge.
Is the Blog Post Readable?
Here are some things that make a blog post readable:
- subheadings
- short paragraphs
- good spelling/grammar
- technical words explained in laymen’s terms
- font that is comfortable to read
Now, I am not going to say that I am perfect with my spelling and grammar. But that’s why things like Grammarly exist. We’re only human. But I have seen articles posted on so-called professional news sites written by reporters which I couldn’t get through because they were so poorly written.
Finally, make your blog nice by adding a photo. You can use a website such as Pixabay that is wonderful for free photos that don’t require attribution.
Many business owners write their own blogs. However, if you have enough on your plate without worrying about writing blogs and finding pictures, blogging is one of the services we offer. If you are interested, contact us and we’ll be glad to answer your questions.
