What do you want your blog post to accomplish?
Why do you blog?
The answer to this should be: to get results. What those results are might vary.
Two examples of goals:
To make sales immediately.
To generate leads you can market to going forward.
Of course it could very likely be both of those goals.
How to write a blog post that sells
The first thing to think about is how to create a headline that catches attention.
It should be something easy to understand and talk about.
Here are some examples:
- How to BENEFIT without PAIN/PROBLEM
- How to BENEFIT in 5 easy steps
- How to BENEFIT just like INDUSTRY LEADER
What might this look like in practice?
Let’s say you sell cookware that makes it easy and fast to whip up quick yet healthy meals, with minimal cleanup afterwards.
Your headlines might look like this, using the example above:
How to BENEFIT without PAIN/PROBLEM
How to cook a delicious meal without having to spend hours of your time
How to BENEFIT in 5 easy steps
How to bake vegetables to perfection in 5 easy steps
How to BENEFIT just like INDUSTRY LEADER
How to prepare fast meals at home as delicious as any restaurant chef
After the headline: By “Your Name or Your Company”
Immediately start begin to build trust and a brand. Something people can refer to and remember.
Make a Promise
Start out by using a qualifying statement to make it clear what the post is going to be about.
Make a guaranteed promise. Something that the reader is going to take away.
Mention the biggest benefit and what they’re going to get out of reading this post.
Using the example above, this could be:
Jane Doe can teach you the secrets of easy, healthy and fast cooking.
If you ever wished you could whip up a gourmet meal in the oven, in record time and without being left with a sticky mess to clean up afterwards, keep reading.
Always keep your goal in mind
You want email addresses and you want to get them from people.
Create your CTA (Call to action)
- Opt-in box/sign up form
- Offer something in exchange
List your posts points
Use bullet points if you like
3–7 key points (no more than 7, it is too much for people to absorb)
Just one action for each point
Remember to use subheadings
Questions work well for subheadings
Example of subheadings:
Feeling too tired to cook? Make it easy, make it fun again!
Describe how easy it is to oven bake vegetables on a the very special cooking device you sell.
Want to eat healthier?
Describe how you can use less oil when cooking with the very special cooking device you sell.
Tired of messy cleanup after dinner?
Describe how easy it is to clean up when cooking with the very special cooking device you sell.
Tired of how much space all your cooking utensils are taking up?
Describe how much easier it is to store the very special cooking device you sell.
Short sentences.
Keep them short and to the point. Don’t over-complicate anything. Think about how you would you tell this face to face, be conversational in your writing.
Use bold headings
Make headings, titles and key words stand out.
Make it easy to opt-in.
You can your opt-in forms/sign up forms in your content and on sidebars, at the end of your post, or perhaps as a pop-up. Don’t go too crazy with it, but do make sure it is easy for your reader to take the next step – which is to sign up for your offer, and give YOU their email address.
Keep to the essentials
Don’t overthink while you are writing, let your creative juices flow, but when you are done, go back and ruthlessly destroy anything that is not actually delivering value. Chances are you won’t need it, unless you are a very concise writer. Make sure every sentence delivers something valuable and has a purpose.
Use captions.
If you’re using images, using captions is a good thing.
Make promises
Remember: Make a guaranteed promise, something that the reader can take away and make use of. Make clear the biggest benefit and what they’re going to get out of reading to the end of this post.
Sell the CTA.
Why do I need to sign up? Sell the benefits of the call to action. Use the same headline and benefit technique as in your post.
Talk about what they are going to get when they sign up and make a promise.
Use the concept of: ‘We want to give you more’.
Give something away, in essence a bribe to get them to give you their name and email.
Something like the below, using our fictional character Jane Doe from above:
“I have created a collection of recipes that you can prepare in only 30 minutes. Start having fun in the kitchen, eat delicious healthy meals and enjoy family time to the max!”
Get them to sign up, give you their email so that you can start building trust and creating a relationship.
Use this template
Go use this template to create a few blog posts. You now know how to create blog posts that SELL. This is however just ONE example of how you can structure a blog post. As you get comfortable with blogging, you can get creative and deviate from templates, as long as you always keep the end goal in mind:
You want more subscribers to your list!
If you’re serious about growing your customer database and selling to more people through your website, then grab the eBook below.
Let me know if this was useful, please comment below.
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