You received a gift on December 29 if you are a WordPress user.
Did you like the gift?
Did you find it valuable?
Do you remember what it was?
You received your WordPress Annual Report for 2015.
Thanks to the report, you have the ammunition to create content your readers will consider valuable.
What if you didn’t save the report? No problem! This post will still empower you.
What if you’re not on WordPress? This post will end with an action plan so all bloggers get empowered.
What is Content?
In the context of blogging, the term content refers to the information you present electronically.
According to blogging guru Neil Patel, content should be interesting and worthy of the time spent reading it. There are many different types of content you can produce in order to attract visitors and turn them into loyal followers.
The point isn’t to create content. You could keep a diary or journal if you wanted to do that. The goal is to create content that gets noticed.
How to Create Content that Will Turn Your Readers Into Subscribers
According to recent statistics, there are over one billion websites. There are ways to ensure that your readers don’t leave your blog and go to another website.
Have you looked at the annual report that WordPress sent you? To find it in your Email box, search Annual Report.
Let’s look at mine as an example:
- 1 71 Awesome Tips That Will Make Your Blog Successful November 2015
- 2 How To Make 1,406 People Look At Your Site in 1 Day November 2015
- 3 How to Quickly Get 3,000 New Blog Followers August 2015
- 4 How to Quickly Find 3,000 New Blog Followers August 2015
- 5 How to Get Swarms of Free Blog Traffic With Flipboard August 2015
These posts received the highest page views. It is easy to analyze them to find commonalities that I can replicate in future blog posts.
They have many factors in common. First, four of them were How To posts.
Next, and more importantly, the content of #2-#5 all has to do with getting traffic to your site.
The headlines indicate the content of the posts:
- #2 How to get 1,406 people to your site,
- #3 and #4 How to find and keep 3,000 new blog followers
- #5 How to get blog traffic
My readers have spoken! Their message is crystal clear. They want me to write about how to get traffic to their blogs.
It does not matter what I want to write about. If I want traffic and the chance to have my readers become blog subscribers, I need to write about this topic.
There is an expression, The customer is always right. What if you are thinking that it’s your blog, shouldn’t you do what you want to do?
I have read many articles by blogging guru Jon Morrow. His answer is “no!”. If you want to attract subscribers, do what makes the reader happy.
How to Vary Your Blog Content
Look, I certainly don’t want you to get bored writing about the same topics all the time. I certainly don’t want your readers to get bored by your repetition.
There are multiple ways to vary your blog content so that the information is basically the same, but the format is still engaging because it is novel.
You can vary the way you present your content by varying the format. The following are effective formats for presenting the same information that would be in your blog posts:
- Case Studies Readers love case studies, so they know your methods are effective. My third best-performing article of the year, How to Quickly Get 3,000 New Blog Followers, was a case study. I have written many spin-off posts in order to capitalize on the success of that case study. My 4th best-performing post of the year, How to Quickly Find 3,000 New Blog Followers, was one of those spin-off posts. (Examples: https://mostlyblogging.com/category/case-study/)
- Tutorial posts Teach your readers a skill they might need. Tutorial posts are effective because they consist of action plans, usually complete with screenshots, that readers can take immediately. (Examples: https://mostlyblogging.com/category/tutorial/)
- Interviews There are different ways to present your content in the form of an interview. First, you can interview many people, ask them the same question, and present their answers. An alternative approach would be to interview one person and ask that expert many questions and present their answers in your post. (Examples: https://mostlyblogging.com/category/interview/)
- A Mistakes Post Instead of telling readers what to do, tell them what not to do. Readers love mistakes posts for peace of mind. They get assured they are not making those mistakes. (Example: 8 Backlinking Mistakes that Every Blogger Should Avoid )
- Guest Post Just like teachers are encouraged to have guest speakers, you should feel motivated to have guest authors. Your readers get the variety of hearing a different voice on your blog. Also, the guest author may be an authority in an area you don’t consider yourself to be strong. (Examples: https://mostlyblogging.com/category/guest-posts/)
- Reviews You could review a product, a book about your topic, even a blog in your niche you’d recommend to your readers. (Examples: https://mostlyblogging.com/category/reviews/)
- Infographics Readers love infographics since they read it faster than they would a blog post. Infographics also appeal to readers who learn by looking at pictures.
- Mega-lists List posts are common, so why not create a mega-list? Google your headline, and beat your best competitor. Whatever their highest number of tips is, add at least one tip to your post. (Example: 71 Awesome Tips That Will Make Your Blog Successful)
- Debate Readers love a good controversy. Find a writer who believes the opposing view, and collaborate on an article together, each supporting the opposing position. Readers can weigh in on who they agree with. (Example: 18 Important Things You Should Know About Self-Hosting)
- Question/Answer Post You can have your very own forum right on your site! Copy readers’ questions or concerns as you publish. When you have an ample amount of questions, publish a question/answer post. Since your readers will have written the questions, all you have to do is copy the answers you gave them and paste them into your post. All the writing will be done before you even start. These are great for blogging days when you are especially rushed. (Example: How to Blog Like an Expert)
- Series Create a series around a certain keyword. (Examples: How to Get Tremendous Blog Traffic with Instagram and How to Get Tremendous Blog Traffic with Instagram Part II)
- Videos YouTube has never been more popular. Your information does not have to be conveyed in writing. Actually, readers’ ability to see you builds trust. Embedding the video in one of your blog posts will keep readers on your site longer and help lower your bounce rate. The shorter the video the better, so they won’t take you long to make. The goal is for viewers to go to your site for more information. (Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Yzh40LHWUA)
How to Schedule Your Content
Many marketers, as well as bloggers, feel you need a strategy for the kind of content you will create. According to Steven Bradley of Vanseodesign.com, that strategy becomes your roadmap for producing your content. According to the blog, that strategy can help you focus on what your topics are and the formats they will take. Even SEO will be enhanced if you use this strategy, Bradley went on to say.
Bradley continued by saying the way to ensure you vary your content is by using an editorial calendar and planning different formats on there.
How often are you supposed to put out this content? You should publish content on your blog, at least, several times a week to be effective.
What if you can’t think of content that will lend itself to these various formats? How You can Immediately Overcome Writer’s Block discusses solutions.
Are You Ready to Create Different Forms of Content?
You now know how to find the information you need to develop a strategy for your content.
Look at your Annual Report in order to assess
- What interests your community
- What problems they’re trying to solve and needs they’re looking to fill
- What type of content trends among your community
Experiment with the different forms of content offered in this article and see which gets the highest results.
If you are using Blogger, or a platform other than WordPress, look at your stats pages to see your blog posts with the highest page views. Play to your strengths and create content like those posts, content your readers love.
Readers, please share, so others know about these different types of formatting your blog content can take.
Can you think of any other ways for presenting your information? Which type on the list have you tried? Which have you had the most success with? Which formats are you planning to try? I look forward to your views.
Related Posts:
How to Get Loyal Visitors to Repeatedly Return to Your Blog
How to Engage Blog Readers Who Are in a Rush
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