Blogging is one of the most effective channels marketers have to drive traffic, engage target audiences, and drive leads.
B2B marketers who use blogs generate 67% more leads than those who do not (tweet this). And companies publishing at least 15 blog posts per month get 5X more traffic than those that don’t blog at all (tweet this).
But most marketers struggle to do it regularly. That’s why we created this free blog post template. It Includes a simple formula for writing concise, engaging, and effective blog posts.
We’ve highlighted the 10 key steps to better blogging below. Download the full template for a detailed yet customizable formula for following them.
If you don’t know who you’re talking to, and what your target audience wants to learn, your blog post won’t be effective. Before you start writing, identify your audience.
Your blog post should answer a question, address a specific need, or provide something new and insightful for your audience. If it doesn’t, why would anyone need to read it? Identify the value of your post in one or two sentences.
The most effective blog posts generally follow one of five formats. For more info on each, check out the template. And for a deeper dive, take a look at these awesome format-specific post templates from HubSpot.
- The How-To Post (shows the reader how to do something valuable)
- The List Post (compiles a list of steps, tactics, or examples on a specific theme or topic)
- The Newsjacking Post (capitalizes on breaking industry news)
- The Curated Post (compiles exemplary pieces of content)
- The Featured Content Post (features a multimedia or image-heavy asset like a video or SlideShare presentation)
Your post should have a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Make this part of your writing process. Buffer, one of the best content creators out there, dedicates an entire day to researching a topic before writing.
To drive leads and valuable action from your blog, every post you write needs a clear and relevant call to action (CTA).
Titles matter. On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest. Make sure your post title is shareable, SEO-friendly, and packs a solid punch.
Even if you write the best blog post of the year, it’s not much good if no one can find it. Make sure to optimize your blog post copy, title, and images for the search engines.
After you’ve written and edited your post, ask someone else to take a look. A second set of eyes ensures your post is readable, relevant, and grammatically correct.
Publish your post when your target audience is most likely to read it, and make sure to promote it across owned and paid channels.
Get the Template and Get to Writing!
Download the FREE blog post template and begin bringing content to your target audiences.