7 Ways to Create Engaging and Relevant Content for Your Blog
There are so many blogs out there that it can be hard to keep track of what’s popular, what’s hot, and what people are talking about. Creating interesting and relevant content for your blog can help you stay on top of the blogging trends and ensure that your readership grows to include other industry experts and potential employers. These seven ways to create engaging and relevant content will help you find success with any type of blog you run or post on regularly.
1) Write What You Are Passionate About
I’ve learned over time that I need to write about what I love and are passionate about, otherwise I end up not putting much time into it. This not only makes you put more effort into creating content that your readers will love, but it also helps you find an interested audience who is looking for content on similar topics. After all, people are more likely to read what you write if you are writing about something they enjoy as well. So if there is something you love or care deeply about, think about how it might translate into writing a new post or project idea. You don’t have to be writing full-time at a company like CNET to get started in tech journalism—you just need your own website and some publishing software!
2) Choose Something Unusual
There’s a difference between writing about something mundane and something meaningful. When you write about something that’s familiar, you don’t have much room to express yourself creatively. The key is picking an unusual subject—whether it be a new take on a common idea or an unusual place or time. You should start brainstorming by just writing down anything that comes to mind, no matter how random, silly, or unrelated it seems at first. While you may not use these ideas in your post, allowing yourself freedom in your brainstorming process will help generate more ideas—and will make it easier for you to come up with different angles later on as well.
3) Don’t Post When You Are Bored
The biggest mistake bloggers make is not posting enough. This can be disastrous for your business. You want to create an engaging experience, but if you don’t post often, people will quickly get bored and go back to Facebook or whatever they do when they are bored. Even big blogs with huge audiences suffer from a lack of engagement if they don’t post at least weekly. So, before you hit publish, ask yourself: Is my target audience going to get value out of my post? Will it help them solve a problem or take action? Does it add something unique that people haven’t already seen online? If you answer yes, then publish it—even if it doesn’t seem like a home run right off the bat.
4) Take Photos And Edit Them Well
If you have any kind of visual content, make sure it’s high quality. Lighting is everything in photography—if it looks bad, nobody will want to look at it. Edit your photos well—it doesn’t take long. If you have just a smartphone or digital camera, apps like Adobe Photoshop Express are available for free download. It won’t replace good editing skills (and there’s a reason Adobe makes more than Photoshop), but it can help you edit pictures better than most people do on their own. The same goes with graphic design skills—take some time to learn how things like color palettes and design templates work together; they don’t come naturally to everyone.
5) Research Your Topic Thoroughly
The best piece of advice I’ve ever received is, Know what you’re talking about before you start talking. And, when it comes to creating content on your website or online journal, knowing what you are talking about is even more important. The biggest mistake bloggers make is writing about a topic they know nothing about. The end result? An awkward experience for readers (and Google). So, how do you research topics thoroughly?
6) Get Feedback From Others
It’s important to get feedback from other people about your post before you publish it. Whether that’s friends, family, co-workers or even complete strangers on social media, asking people what they think of your content can make all the difference in how successful it is. The feedback you get can be used to improve future posts and deliver exactly what your audience wants. The only way you’ll know if something resonates with others is by seeing what they have to say about it! There is no wonder why many professional companies decide to seek help from popular social media marketing agencies in order to get their content in front of the right audience, and get reliable feedback!
7) Stay Up To Date With Trends In the Field Of Interest
When creating content for your readers, consider staying up-to-date with current trends in your industry. By researching what topics are popular on other blogs that cater to your readership, you can brainstorm even more relevant ideas to write about. Pay attention to what people are talking about on social media and notice how certain writers in your niche approach certain topics that pop up on social media feeds. If it seems like a lot of people are talking about an event or trend, there’s a good chance it will have an impact on your business (and you should probably be thinking of ways you can contribute). Staying ahead of trends is always worth the effort; otherwise, you risk writing posts that won’t appeal to current readers or attracting new ones.