Writing a Blog Post in the Age of Distraction – 3 Vital Steps

We’ve got major competition! It’s called the Internet. And it’s changing the way people read engage with our content. It’s more difficult than ever writing a blog post with impact for audiences are suffering information overload. What does this mean for blog/article writers? It means we have to adapt, and fast!

What does this entail? Well, little Timmy, there are only 3 things writers need to do to writing a blog post which is high-impact and high-value, in the Age of Distraction:

Writing a Blog Post principle 1: Know Your Audience:

One of the major downfalls of most writers is that they do not know who their readers are! It is impossible to develop a connection with your readership without tailoring the content for them. To have an impact on your readers you must ask:

• Who are they?
• Where are they?
• What do they have in common?
• What do they want?

Once you have a basic understanding of your readership try and understand their main pain points. A pain point is something your readers are searching a solution for. Once you know what answers people actually want, you can serve up relevant content that people want to read.

For example, take this site. It’s not meant for everybody between the ages of 2 and 100. It’s not meant for a vet wanting to learn about animal health. This site is tailored for entrepreneurs wanting to make successful businesses and overcoming challenges along the road by adapting to change and utilising the internet to stay relevant and valuable.

Writing a Blog Post principle 2: Be Very Specific:

Type in a word into google and you will learn from autocorrect that many search queries are very specific.

The key is to write articles on very specific topics that people are searching for,

For example, you can write a generic article on “Hotels in London”. Good luck with that because you will be competing with established sites with high rankings flooding the search engines with their content, while your article is drowned out. OR, you write an article called “Hotels in South-East London with parking”.

Going very specific works well with Google rankings – meaning your content shows up higher, and attracts more eyeballs.

Writing a Blog Post principle 3: Give People What They Can Handle:

Different readers want different things. Some are time-poor and just skim-read. Some want a bit more and some want a full on in-depth article. The best way to create impact when writing a blog post is to give them all what they want. How is this possible? With the ‘Bite, snack and meal approach”. This is a food metaphor (as you would have guessed) where there are ‘dishes’ that satisfy all, leaving the readers to choose what they want. Let’s break it down:

• Bite: This is just a taste for readers who just want the bottom line and fast, a summary. This will be in your heading, blurb and summary at the bottom of the article.
• Snack: This is a light course. These guys have a little more time, but not enough for a full read. Create a first paragraph with your main points to satisfy them.
• Meal: This is a main course for readers with an appetite. This is the meat of the article, going into a lot of depth reinforced by supporting evidence. This part will have a lot of Value. Just remember to keep it simple, because simplicity in writing often creates better impact.

Just as a restaurant menu carries all these options together, so must your content have all three options in the same place when writing a blog post – with a heading and blurb on the top, the main argument presented in-depth, and a small and brief summary at the end. Then, let the reader choose.

Writing a Blog Post Summary:

• Know your audience inside out. Ask who, where, what do they have in common, what are their wants? What are their main pain points where they need solutions for? With this, ensure the content is tailored to them and relevant and high value.
• Talk about specific Don’t get drowned out by excessive competition.
• Give people what they can handle with the bite, snack and meal approach. Just as a restaurant menu carries all these options together, so must your content have all three options in the same place – with a heading and blurb on the top, the main argument presented in-depth, and a brief summary at the end. Then, let the reader choose.

Now that you’ve learnt how to gain traffic in the age of distraction, you want your readers to begin sharing your content. Fortunately, we have a whole article on that called “What Motivates People to Pass Content On?”. Give it a read.