Over the course of my ten year stint as a part-time blogger (both personal and professional), I have been frequently asked, “What are all the ‘right’ elements of good blog post content” or “what should I include in my posts to make them great?” Both good questions that may have crossed your mind, yes?
STEP ONE — Find and bookmark great examples
Take a good long look at 5 Ways to Find Leads and Customers on Twitter over at Social Media Examiner:
Make note of how long the post is, but that it’s easy and fun to consume. You can read the whole thing start-to-finish, or you can scan it to pick out highlights, or you can select chunks that drew your attention and just read those. The one thing few people will do is glance at it quickly and move along. It’s really THAT engaging.
STEP TWO — Incorporate all the right blog post content elements
Now, open up Krista’s post in another tab and flip back-and-forth between her post and mine to see if you can pick out ALL of the following components that make her blog post really great!:
- Written within brand – There’s a reason this is at the top of my list. IT’S THAT IMPORTANT! To get a great overview of Flock Marketing’s concept of brand strategy, check out this video on brand strategy. I think you’ll find it to be enlightening.
- The post is planned and focused on a single, main keyword or keyword phrase – Krista is focusing on “find leads and customers in Twitter”
- Several instances of this main keyword/phrase should be found throughout the post BUT:
- Not so many that the post feels stilted, feels awkward or loses readability and flow.
- Variations of the phrase are used – not just a repeat of the exact phrase. For example, in her post you’ll find phrases like; “ways to find customers” and “finding new customers on Twitter”
- There should be more instances of these word/phrases variations earlier in the post, rather than later in the post.
- Several instances of this main keyword/phrase should be found throughout the post BUT:
- A powerful title that:
- Isn’t to long and isn’t too short
- Has the main key word/phrase in it – early in the title is better
- Inline images throughout the blog post
- The image should be supportive of the content next to the image
- Images need to be: informative, emotive or have title overlays that engage the reader. All of Krista’s images do this.
- Sub-Headers – In Krista’s post they’re even numbered sub-headers which is even better!
- Bolded text – bolded phrases should either be the main keyword phrase or variations. However, like in this post, I’m using bolding to guide the reader through important parts of the post to allow them to skip from section to section and only pick up the highlights.
- Italics – Same instructions as bolded text.
- Hyperlinks – Links should be wrapped around the main keyword/phrase or other related keywords/phrases
- The entire post should be comprised of SHORT paragraphs only!!! (yes, I just bolded that and used three exclamation points!!!)
- Bullet lists / Numbered lists – Lists are ideal for breaking up long content into easily consumed chunks, thoughts and concepts.
- Post structure – Yes, your high school English teacher should be proud of your post. Thoughtfully include an introduction, a post body, and a conclusion
- Concludes with a strong call to action
STEP THREE — Get Techie Help!
To create truly great blog post content, you may need a little help from a programmer or the assistance from a plugin or two. Here are some blog pieces and parts that likely fall into this category;
- Easy to find and use social share buttons/links
- Allows easy comments/input. Make it easy for people to engage with you around the content you’re creating.
- A well written meta-description
- Krista’s post uses this description: Have you used Twitter to find qualified leads? This article shows how to find leads and customers on Twitter, engage them and drive them to your products.
- A well written set of meta-keywords
- Krista’s post uses this set of meta-keywords: twitter leads, lead generation, twitter engagement
- Inline images have:
– embedded image titles — the first image on Krista’s post has “social media how to” as an image title.
– image alt-tags — The same image has “social media how to” as an alt-tag)
By the way, the only thing that Krista’s post doesn’t have, that I would include on this list (as an optional item), is an awesome “pin-worthy” image or info-graphic.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Again, kudos to Krista and her awesome blog post content artistry! It is, indeed, leadership by example!
