6 super easy tips to make your blog posts more engaging
Engagement. One of those words that’s thrown around the digital marketing world, that can easily pass you by (it has me, many times). But engagement IS a thing. It’s not just a buzzword. It means how many people INTERACT with your content - and if you’re slogging away writing blog posts for your business (or you’re paying someone to do so), you want to know that you’re getting maximum bang for your buck (or time). And, engagement is one way of measuring that. Which brings me to today’s blog: JUST HOW DO WE MAKE BLOGS MORE ENGAGING, ZOE? Well, I will shine a light on this lovely content writing conundrum…
In this blog post, learn:
How to approach ‘engagement’ in your blogs
Why the word ‘you’ is magical (and so bloody easy!)
All about ‘scanability’
The power of a fantastic title
When conversational quirks work
Why you need to ditch the obsession over word-count
Why images are your blogging best mate
How to approach ‘engagement’ in blogs
But before we get started, let’s define exactly what I mean by ‘more engaging’ when it comes to blogs. Firstly, go onto Google Analytics (or whatever analytics you are using), and you’ll be able to see how many ‘hits’ your blog post gets. That’s a pretty good indicator of blog performance, right?
Engagement = more comments?
Well, it’s part of the puzzle. But not the full thing. Strictly speaking, engagement is about interaction (remember). So, we are talking about getting more comments on your blog. More replies to your blog.
Lovely! However, the truth is, not everyone has the time (nor the inclination) to write a comment on a blog. I mean, some blogs don’t even give you the option. So if that’s the case, is your blog not very engaging? Absolutely not.
Eyeballs & bounce rates
The thing is, with blogs, you want to be focusing more on what people are doing (even when they are not writing comments). Eyeballs on your blog, reading your blog and taking in your info are pretty good indicators that your blog IS engaging them. Because if it wasn’t, they’d go elsewhere. So with that in mind, you also want to look at bounce rate (how quickly people leave the page), and what other bits of activity they do from that.
The robots don’t know it all
Above all, engagement can be measured by metrics. Should be measured by metrics. But when it comes down to what a person (a real individual) is thinking (rather than doing), that’s - well, erm - impossible to tell via analytics. So, my advice? Yes, of course, use your analytics! They will be amazing for telling you when a blog has captured people’s attention and got ‘em reading. But also, take a step back and look at the broader picture. So what if you’ve blogged for one year and only received one (spammy) comment? Instead, look at how many eyeballs (traffic) and how long they hung around. THAT will give you a good indication of how engaging your posts are.
Anyway, enough rabbiting on about what engagement in blog posts actually looks like. I’m getting to that point where a word doesn’t feel like a word anymore…
6 tips to boost engagement in your blog posts
1. Hey, you there! Use the word ‘you’
“Teachers often feel that…”
“Pregnant people can benefit from…”
“Mums feel frustrated by…”
“Parents struggle to understand…”
When your audience is the people you’re mentioning, it helps to speak directly to them. This makes it feel personal - rather than a generic piece of content. And this simple tweak of wording can create a more ‘emotional’ connection - which is ACE for your engagement. So…
“You often feel that there are never enough hours in the day!” - audience: teachers.
“You can benefit from breastfeeding support leading up to birth” - audience: pregnant people
“You feel frustrated by your Great Aunt Wilma’s opinions on gentle parenting” - audience: mums
“You struggle to understand why childcare costs so much!” - audience: parents
2. Think: scanability
How easy is your blog to scan over? Add headings, clear paragraphs, line breaks, bullet points and bold words. In general, make your blog super easy to navigate. Because, not every reader wants to read the whole thing (in fact, most readers want to scan over it, I bet!).
Bonus tip: add a ‘mini contents’ section to your blog to map out exactly what the blog will focus on. Check out alllll my blogs for this - I always do it. And I alwwwwaaays recommend it!
3. Focus on a brilliant title
Step 1, hook ‘em in! A fantastic blog title doesn’t have to be anything inventive or different - it just needs to say clearly what you are explaining with an injection of the ‘ooooh, yeah!’ factor.
Ok, Zoe, but what is this ‘ooooh yeah!’ factor. Often this is a simple adjective to clarify what you’re talking about. Or an adjective to add excitement, interest, desire (even!).
A quick edit to your blog title…
And, look what a difference it makes!
4. Know when to be a ‘Chatty Cathy’
I’m not saying waffle on for days about how your cat inspired you to write a blog post. Being conversational is setting a fun, lively and human tone - and while, a few extra words can naturally come in (‘cos it can be great to add in filler words to sound more human, for example) you don’t actually need to write anything more to harness that chatty/ friendly/ conversational side to your blog.
Even when talking about ‘boring’ subjects, be confident in the knowledge that your audience want to know about these topics. It might be boring to your next door neighbour, but it’s not boring to them. So, my advice? Inject a bit of personality into your writing. Make it sound like you, your brand voice or leverage a voice of someone key within your business.
You know that old cliche of people buying from people? Well, it’s simply true with engaging people too. We’d rather read something by a human - than a faceless company. Filler words are a wonderful way to be more human, and improve engagement on that basis.
5. Ditch the obsession over word count
Did you read some SEO top tip about the ideal word count to strive for? Or maybe your last two blogs were 750 words. So, for consistency, shouldn’t you do the same?
Honestly, I get asked about word count all the time as a copywriter. Both in paid word (i.e. “If you only write 500 words, is it cheaper?” - personal fave * eye roll emoji *) and in general conversation. My answer is always the same. The amount of words are not important. The quality of the content is important. Questions to ask yourself:
Are the words necessary and useful?
Would trimming this blog post down make for a better reader experience?
Would being more concise in my wording help my reader understand things quicker?
Do I need to elaborate on something?
Could additional detail here help my reader more?
And honestly, don’t sweat it about SEO. Yes, there are ideal guidelines around how many words. But that is NOT the most important thing when it comes to Google. In fact, I can confidently say it is not important. What is important is high-quality content that supports a Google user in answering their query.
6. Take the time to include images
I know. After writing a blog post, adding images can feel like the last thing you want to do. But trust me, this simple (and often forgotten) aspect of blogging can make a huge difference to how engaging your blog post is. The fact is that us humans like to feel things are easy. Images break the text up and make things feel easier.
What’s more, images can elevate your point, reinforce your message and even further educate a reader (think: a diagram or illustrated example) so that’s a sure-fire way to make your blogs more engaging.
Publish engaging blog posts
I hope this has helped you with your blog writing. If you ever need any help, I’m here - check out my blog writing services.
If you’re ready to get copywriting help now…?
Book a discovery call here - and find out more.
Content writer
I am a Cheshire-based copywriter who has clients all over the UK, ranging from child health & wellbeing specialists (think lactation consultants, independent midwives, paediatric dietitians and holistic baby sleep coaches) to architects, events companies, retail and more.
