Good blog writing is about solving the searcher’s intent and giving them loads of gorgeous, juicy info.
It’s about finding out what your valuable readers want - the ones you work so hard to find - and giving it to them. So before we start, we need to know your customers inside out and know what they want to read. Then, we write with their interests ahead of our own. Who knew?
The key difference to blog writing, versus other types of online writing such as webpages, landing pages or sales copy, is that we are writing to help your reader – not sell to them.
Blogs must be relevant, helpful and downright interesting
Before I start blog writing for any company, I’ll spend time with the manager discussing the company’s customers or patients, and we’ll workshop what they want to know about. Most business owners are pretty good at providing information here, and I always find it the great help to talk to the receptionist or the salespeople. They’re the ones at the coalface, talking to the public, and answering their questions, listening to their complaints. It’s golden.
Quite often, I read reviews to see what matters to people in relation to the product or business and use a few online tools to get statistics on the popularity of topics.
Headlines are important, too. Depending on your audience, I’ll use certain words or hooks to help entice or intrigue them enough to order click through and have a read.
I’ll usually link through to other pages on your site, but I’ll be tactful. And again, I’ll link to information that is useful for the reader. Remember, we want to help them, even create a relationship with them – and build trust.
How often should we blog?
The frequency of your blog posts will depend on your budget – and your competition. For some businesses, once a month is enough. For other larger, more competitive businesses, it could be three or four times a week. We can discuss this.
About ethics
When I first started working as a professional writer, I was horrified at the power I yielded. And equally horrified by some business owners’ lack of concern regarding what I wrote. For example, I could say (I wouldn’t) that turmeric kills cancer cells (if I didn’t fact-check for BS), the article would be published, and people would believe me.
Why? Because they read it on the Internet.
Blows my mind every time.
What’s my point? I’m saying I won’t write rubbish. So if you are pushing an alternative medicine site and want to ‘educate’ people on some green juice alkaline balancing fiction, or homeopathics, or the ‘healing powers’ of coconut oil and crystals, or sticking jade eggs up your yoni, please don’t contact me. Just get off the web. You are harming people.
I will write factually correct information, and when it comes to medical writing, I will, of course, use citations. I have, we all should have, an ethical responsibility to do the right thing.
Words matter.
Think we might be a good fit?