How to write for blogs

The best blogs are packed with personality, useful advice and the kind of chat that makes customers want to get to know you better. But understanding how to write blog articles that tick all these boxes can be hard if your job title isn’t ‘VP Wordsmithery’.

You’re in luck, as we’re about to share some tips that will get you writing stellar blog content in no time. Before we do, we’re going to assume that:

• You’ve already developed a tone of voice for your brand
• You know your audience inside-out
• You’ve nailed your brand messaging and know what your company stands for

If you’re not quite there yet, get in touch.

Otherwise, let’s talk blogs.

Take care over your blog topic

When choosing what to write about, always balance the user’s intent with business need. If your customers aren’t interested in your chosen topic, there’s not much point in blogging about it.

Equally, if the theme isn’t relevant to the products or services you’d like to promote – or you don’t have anything of value to say – the blog post is going to feel more out-of-place than Desperate Dan at a vegan festival.

First, find out what your customers care about. That means starting with some keyword research (learn more about keywords on page 17 of our Guide to Optimising for Search).

It’s also a good idea to talk to customers and your sales team. Got a list of telephone or email enquiries from new customers? Use that too.

Next, pick the topics where your business can add valuable information or insights. For blogging to be worthwhile, you must have something new, interesting and genuinely useful to say. This is where your brand expertise comes in. Ask yourself, “What’s our brand’s answer to the customer’s question?”.

That’s what matters.

Blog for humans, tweak for search engines

We could talk about SEO copywriting for hours, but the crux is this: you’re writing your blog article for a human, not a search engine.

We read on screen differently to the way we read on paper. Web users often scan the page to find the information they need, or in the case of blog articles, to jump to the section that floats their inquisitive boat.

So help them out.

Add subheadings to show what each section is about. Break up big chunks of copy into shorter paragraphs. And always start with the most important information. That way, if the user’s attention dwindles, at least you’ve still hit them with some killer points.

As for the ‘tweak for search engines’ part? You’re going to need that keyword research again. Pick out the most relevant terms and sprinkle them strategically throughout the article. Placing them in subheadings is a great shout.

Nine times out of ten, you’ll have used them naturally in your copy anyway. Which gets you a big thumbs up from Google.

Tune into your tone of voice

Your tone of voice should shine out of every part of your marketing and customer service activity – blog articles included.

Nailing your tone of voice every time comes with practice. But here are our best tips for getting into the ‘tone zone’ when writing a blog article:

• Refer to your tone of voice guidelines (or style guide) before you start writing. Pick the tone points you want to land and stick with them. Remember, you can check back to make sure you kept to the script once you come to edit your article.
• Get into character (costume optional). It may sound strange, but getting into the head of your brand can make all the difference. Think about what you stand for as a business, your brand personality, and what you offer customers. Keep these in mind as you write.
• Own it. Exercising your tone of voice on your blog gives you the perfect opportunity to make an impact. And using it consistently over time will help users recognise your brand.

What to do if you get stuck

If the words aren’t flowing, don’t panic.

Try splitting your blog post into subtopics – and set a word count goal for each. Then pick off each section before moving to the next.

You could also try parking the article if your deadline isn’t looming. If you’re just not feeling it, switching tasks for a while can work wonders.

If you’re still toiling, you could be aiming too hard for perfection. Just get some words on the page. Forget about striving for flawless sentences or a finely-tuned structure. The magic of editing allows you to whip all your words into shape later on.

Oh, and one last thing: always ask someone else to proofread your work when you’re done. It might just give you the confidence boost you need.

Next steps in content training

Blogs, emails, websites – you name it and we’ll train your team to write it with exercises and examples using your own content.