How to Write Better Blog Posts

Who among the blogging community does not want to write better blog posts?

After all, for many of us online marketers and business builders, our blog is the pearl of our Social Media oyster, the place from which so much of our income originates.

With content being king on our blogs, having great posts is always a goal. How to write better blog posts comes down to three simple things, and they all begin with the letter “e” (for “easy to remember”). 🙂

These three “e’s” are:

1. Entertainment
2. Enlightenment
3. Education

Let’s take a closer look at each of these three “e’s” and how you can put them to use right away in your blog posts to make them even better than they already are.

Entertainment

Let’s face facts: we live in a world ruled by entertainment. Everybody LOVES to be entertained! You Tube alone proves this every single day with its enormous archive of videos made to entertain audiences of all shapes and sizes.

To illustrate, as of June 2010, among the top 10 You Tube Videos are two from Lady Gaga (music), two featuring babies, and two comedy routines — all entertainment videos, and all with more than 200 million views each.

This is not to suggest that in order to be an entertaining blogger you have to put on weird costumes and dance around in bathtubs (ala Lady Gaga) or film a bunch of cats doing strange cat things (unless you happen to like doing this already).

Writing for entertainment is like any other kind of writing: know your audience, craft your message accordingly, and deliver on your promise. Being funny with words is a skill that can be learned through practice and study.

However, you don’t have to be a comedian to be entertaining. Sincerity and transparency can go a long way and earn a lot of social clout, as can telling a good old-fashioned story.

Because our brains are wired for stories, blog posts that tell a great story with a clear beginning, middle, and end, perhaps with a bit of dramatic action thrown in for good measure, are sure to please audiences every time — and be remembered.

For an example of a terrific storyteller in the blogging community, check out my friend Nelson Schroeder’s blog.

Enlightenment

The second “e” stands for enlightenment, and it is also a very popular way to attract and hold an audience. My friend Val Wilcox is a stellar example of someone who enlightens her audience through her blog posts. I always know that when I visit Val’s blog I am going to find posts there that enlighten me about how to become a better person or get closer to achieving my dream or simply a warm and fuzzy reminder about what it means to be human.

Like a good story, a good inspirational message is something many readers crave. If you can write blog posts that enlighten readers about various topics, you are sure to gain loyal readers.

Education

Finally, blog readers are notoriously hungry for information that will educate them on whatever it is they have a need to learn. Whether you are teaching readers how to change the oil in our cars to the best ways to use SEO in our marketing efforts, you can never go wrong with a post that teaches the reader how to do something.

The key to how to write better blog posts when education is the focus is again, to consider the audience — what questions do people typically want answered about your topic? Make a list of 5-15 FAQs related to your area of expertise, then create one blog post for each answer.

My friend Clifton Hatfield is a technological wizard and provides terrific posts on his blog about using Word Press effectively. I have gone to Clifton’s blog many times to pick up practical tips about Word Press that I immediately am able to apply to my own blog — with great results.

If you are an expert in something that you enjoy teaching, writing keyword-rich blog posts about that subject can be a terrific way to attract traffic to and develop loyal readers of your blog.

So there you have it. If you can consistently entertain, enlighten, and/or educate your readers through your blog posts, you will definitely grow a loyal following of people who will be more inclined to syndicate your content to their connections because you have given them something valuable.

Let me know how you put the power of the three “e’s” to work for you on your blog and share your insights about writing great blog posts here! Sharing with others is also most appreciated, so feel free to spread the word!

To Your Best Blog Posts Ever!