This week’s post has been shared by Betty Hilliard of Mainstay Editorial Services, Betty is my Copywriting/Copy Editing expert who has an extensive background in corporate communications developing award-winning marketing campaigns, marketing pieces including brochures, newsletters, print and radio ads, speeches and website content.
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Help Your Readers and Help Yourself at the Same Time
Readers come to your blog for one of three reasons.
- They want to be educated.
- They want to be entertained.
- They want to engage.
When writing a blog to educate your readers, you are writing a blog to help them. Readers come to you for answers and solutions.
Ways to Educate Your Readers
Teach more of what people need to know
Don’t assume you know what your readers need. Ask them about their pain points. What are they struggling with, and what do they need help with? Compile the responses and write educational blogs about those topics. Writing a separate blog about each topic you receive, enables your readers to easily browse your website and find the blog that meets their specific needs.
Review your previously published material
Look back at what you have already published. Which topics were hot? Which topics did not draw a lot of interest? Revisit the popular content. Can you update the material? Do you have new information or tips that will be useful to your readers?
Add graphics and images
We’ve all heard the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Online readers tend to scan text looking for the information they need. Create illustrations that really drive home the main points of your blog. Pictures and graphics provide readers with the information they want quickly.
Create a guide
If you’re readers need specific instructions about how to do something, write a brief guide outlining each step. Breaking instructions down to a step-by-step format, makes it easy for readers to follow along and to do exactly what is needed to complete a task.
Share links
If there are other websites that already have the information your readers need, share a link to that site. Don’t worry that you are driving traffic away from your blog. Instead, readers will value your willingness to help. This helps build trust with your audiences, and as a result, they will come back to you again and again.
By providing useful information to your readers, you become a valuable resource to them. Readers view you as being helpful and knowledgeable and soon your readers will become your customers.
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Betty is the owner of Mainstay Editorial Services — A Copywriting and Copy Editing service. Betty works closely with clients on a variety of projects to ensuring your communications are on-target for their customers. To find out more about Betty and her services, check out her website at www.MainstayEdit.com