If you’ve been reading on how to prepare good content, you must have read this a lot.
Nearly all the professionals recommend adding a fascinating headline. But this tip has somewhat been overemphasized !
I have no count of how many times I’ve read a blog post based on its heading and content was nothing other than CRAP.
I am not saying you shouldn’t add a fascinating title. Instead, I do recommend using a creative title. But, at the same time, your content should deliver what your title promises.
A lot of times, this fact is ignored by news agencies and clickbait websites.
In this blog post, I shall discuss this issue in depth.
Why is it Important to Add Substance to Your Blog Posts ?
There is no doubt in the fact that search engines now focus highly upon user experience. You can somehow manage to fool search engines and rank with crappy content. But you can’t fool humans and force them to read that content.
A blog post without substance highly affects your rankings.
Once a reader closes your website and returns to Search engine results, search engines assume that your content wasn’t informative and hence the visitor returned.
I don’t need to mention how it might not be a good signal.
To rank high in SERPs, you need to publish in-depth, quality content that has “Substance” which can feed to readers.
What Exactly is Substance in Content ?
Good question !
I’ll repeat what I say the most in my workshops.
“Quality content is anything that satisfies the demand of reader”.
The length of your blog posts doesn’t define quality. If you can explain the topic under 100 words – you made a sure shot !
The whole point is your blog post should provide in-depth information on the topic you are writing about. So that reader doesn’t need to go anywhere else.
How Can I Add Substance in Blog Posts ?
#1. Make the Point Clear
People don’t read on the web, they scan !
This is why you don’t need to beat the bush. Just carry one obvious point and write around it.
Doesn’t this sound way too much obvious ?
Well, it does !
But still, a lot of blog posts fail to deliver any clear substance or argument. If your post lacks substance, readers won’t understand what you might be trying to present.
The above thing is more than enough to make them leave your blog and go for another one.
This brings us to the next thing – research and analyzing !
Next time when you share any article on social media, take a note on why you did so. Figure out what was in the post that made you share the blog post.
Below are some tips to present an obvious point or an argument :
- Include it in your headline :- A Weak headline is a dead giveaway, on the other hand, a strong one can be quite motivating.
- Make your point instantly :- Your very first paragraph or maybe the second one at max should convey what you want to tell. Don’t just confuse your readers wondering what the post is about. If you are writing instructions, you need to be very cautious about this.
- Prepare a conclusion :- Don’t let your readers forget the whole point by mentioning your point in the conclusion too. Bloggers like Neil Patel do this job quite well. In every post of him, you can see a definitive conclusion below his posts.
#2. Spark curiosity
It is believed that how-tos are quite valuable content. But, even those are not enough to keep your readers hooked till the end of your articles.
You should explain why should anyone bother about what are you saying. The whole point is to present the benefits of following your benefits.
A good blog post has this workflow :
- Explain the problem
- Promise a solution
- Reveal your strategy
- Share your instructions
- Wrap it up
But don’t get carried away in the second point. You shouldn’t over promise, this would only leave your readers disappointed.
#3. Add Stats and figures
Being an average student at the school, numbers don’t excite me.
But it can be a huge mistake to let go of them. They can be very useful in adding substance to your argument. When you put up facts and figures, it presents you as the expert and makes your content more factual.
It also boosts your credibility dramatically and appeals to those who think rationally.
Journalists know this fact and use this trick more than often to hook their readers. A lot of news items have stats and bold facts to back their statement.
#4. Add Quotes
Writing about something in which stats don’t make sense ?
You can then opt for adding a quote from a comparatively well-known expert in the domain. A quote shows you have knowledge about your field and in which direction you think in.
You need to be in the research mode all the time.
Read the experts in your field and create notes of valuable quotes which you can use later on. It would be recommended to use Evernote so that you can tag your quotes and recall them easily when needed.
#5. Add Stories and Personal Experiences
You might be an Introvert ( *Give a high five ! )
or maybe you don’t prefer sharing your personal experiences online.
It might be that you feel your stories aren’t suited to B2B Blogging.
Whatever you think, adding a personal touch is necessary. We are living in the 21st century, and among the content overload, it is this personal touch that you can use to engage your audience. Readers like to bond with humans, not with a company name.
I repeat my words again, don’t add stories for being personal, use them to add value in your content.
#6. Add examples
This is one of the tips I love using everywhere, be it my workshops, presentations or blog posts.
Examples are the ingredient that adds the much needed practical proof of your theory. They breathe the life into your content by making your concepts concrete.
Through examples, readers can effectively visualize your ideas.
You can use case studies, examples or even a series of examples and then present your comments on them.
Same as taking notes of quotes, you should also take notes of examples in order to speed up the writing process later.
#7. Try something new
Sometimes I get messages from writers who are writing in a niche which they describe as “boring“. Well, if you are feeling bored while writing, you can be sure that your readers are feeling the same.
It is at this point that you should challenge yourself by writing on something new.
The whole writing thing gets even more fascinating when the writer is excited about sharing their experience and insights.
Sometimes, you have to write for yourself and not only for readers.
#8. Add Mistakes ( Examples )
If you are writing a tutorial or guide, you might be aware of where people go wrong.
Mention those mistakes and also explain how those mistakes can be avoided. This gives a much-needed boost to the confidence to readers so that they can implement your tips.
It would also be recommended to share more than one mistakes, or as much as you feel are needed to make the subject clear.
After all, your aim is to guide readers towards NOT doing the mistakes.
#9. Write for a Segment
You can’t make everyone happy with your content.
In order to appeal to your target audience and secure more clients, you need to write for that specific target audience.
I’ve spoken this several times, and I’d feel happy to repeat !
Keep your readers in your mind while writing.
Use slangs and terms they are familiar with. This would personalize the content for the readers.
Take a note of interests of your writers and prepare content accordingly.
#10. Add Images
An Image is worth thousands of words, I am sure you’ve heard it earlier too.
It is so popular because its true !
Blog posts are no exception to this. You can always use images to explain your subject better. Not only in the blog posts, but also you can make attention grabbing featured images.
Conclusion – Producing great content one time isn’t enough !
You have to get used of this and repeat this every time you write a blog post.