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8 Savvy Elements That Make Your Blog Successful

CopySmiths May 4, 2022

Blogging is a core component of a content marketing strategy and it’s crucial to the success of any online business.

Blogging is also an excellent way to woo your prospects, drive traffic to your e-commerce store, and improve your site’s ranking on search engines.

With e-commerce businesses increasing daily, it’s more difficult than ever to stand out and rank highly on Google. However, blogging can do all the work for you if you apply the various elements that make for a successful blog.

These elements help to:

Build a loyal audience
Provide valuable information
Expand your reach

The Recipe for a Successful Blog

To make your content valuable to readers and prospective clients, you should include these elements when creating blog content:

Include a Magnetic Headline

The headline is what the reader sees first. It should be catchy, memorable, and say what the article is about—short and precisely.

Such headlines catch the reader’s attention and compels them to read on.

In other words, the headline should pull people in like a magnet.

To create a persuasive and appealing headline, consider these tips:

Use words that tap into emotion such as ‘amazing’, ‘brilliant’, ‘eye-opening’, ‘surprising.’
Use superlatives e.g., ‘5 Best Gifts for your Teen Son.’
Use questions in your headlines.
Include your keyword to optimise the headings for SEO.
Include numbers and statistics e.g., ‘10 Surprising Benefits of…’
Address specific groups of people e.g., ‘7 Common Mistakes Newbie Bloggers Make When…’ or ‘11 Best Podcasts For Small Business Owners.’

Compelling Introduction

Once a reader clicks on the headline and opens the blog post, the first sentence must compel them to read the article.

You should be fun, get straight to the point (directly answer your readers’ concerns), and avoid cliche introductions like dictionary definitions.

Here’s an example of a good intro:

Other ways you can make your intro unique and interesting include:

Opening with a fun fact or interesting statistic
Asking an intriguing question
Telling a brief and relevant personal story

Use Useful and Relevant Subheadings

Subheadings are a necessity in blog content creation. They have the following benefits:

Subheadings make the page look visually appealing by breaking up continuous slabs of text.
Subheadings help the reader navigate to important sections.
Subheadings boost SEO.

Additionally, subheadings are necessary because they explain more about the product, show the benefits of the product/service and encourage action from readers.

The Body Should Be Informative and Engaging

The body is the largest and most valuable part of your blog—it’s where the article’s big idea is answered fully and in detail. There are several tips you can use to make the body of your article more effective.

Create an outline before writing to help organise ideas.
Use short paragraphs of 3–4 lines.
Avoid awkward phrases and sentences.
Organise and break up the text using subheadings, lists, tables and images.
Include relevant keywords.

Don’t Forget Appealing Graphics

It’s well known that we’re incredible at remembering pictures. Research shows that after three days, you remember about 65% of the information when words are combined with images. You only remember 10% with words alone.

The use of graphics in blog articles breaks up texts and also provides illustrating points when writing ‘how-to’ articles and instructional posts.

Screenshot for use of graphics on an instructional blog post

Source: fixthisbuildthat.com

It also makes the page more visually appealing, encouraging readers to stick around, increasing time spent on your website. Consequently, SEO is improved significantly.

Always Add a Powerful Call-to-Action

One of the main purposes of blog content is to call the readers to action. These actions may include:

Urging the reader to check out a product/service
Urging them to read other blog posts
Urging the reader to contact you for your services

Every blog article should include a call to action. They’re often included in the conclusion, but may also be included in the body.

Relevant Internal Link

Internal links are the perfect way to advertise more of your content for free and redirect traffic to relevant posts. This means your blog post should include links to other products or articles on your site.

By referring to relevant older posts, you increase the number of pages your audience clicks per visit and therefore their time spent on your website. In turn, this increases your SEO and ranks your site higher on Google.

Write a Good Meta Description

The meta description of a blog post is the snippet displayed on Google’s search result pages.

Without adding a meta description, Google automatically uses the first two or three sentences from your article which may not be the best way to appear on search results.

A good meta description should summarise what the article is about and describe its big idea briefly, in 2–3 sentences.

Note that meta descriptions are in your site’s HTML code. However, you can use plugins such as Yoast to create meta descriptions separately and fine-tune them.

Why Is Blogging Essential for Your E-Commerce Business?

Blogging is the easiest and most powerful way to boost your e-commerce site. It’s essential for e-commerce stores to expand reach and increase sales to take your business to the next level.

Blogging Boosts Your Google Rankings

Regularly feeding your blog with SEO-rich content boosts your Google ranking. This is because more content means more site visits.

In addition, by including relevant keywords in the article, you build your website’s authority and credibility, therefore boosting its ranking on Google.

The ranking is also boosted when people spend more time on your blog. So, make sure you engage your audience by regularly providing them with useful industry insights.

Lastly, ensure your blog is optimised for search engines, like everything else on the web.

Blog Content Engages and Retains Loyal Customers

Attracting and engaging customers is one of the most valuable assets in your e-commerce business.

A well-curated blog will promote brand awareness and loyalty. It makes readers feel like they are a part of a community and converts visitors into customers. Additionally, the blog retains customers by keeping them engaged when they visit your website.

Blog Content Helps Build Brands

Blogging helps you reach new audiences to showcase your products and services. Posting blog posts weekly or daily increases your daily traffic and the likelihood readers will share your blog.

More visits means Google can rank you higher, allowing you to access a larger group of readers.

You can also share your company’s values, testimonials, and stories to become a trusted authority in your niche.

Other benefits of blogging include:

It proves your brand expertise in the industry.
It establishes you as a leader in the industry and builds trust from the customers.
It’s the most cost-effective way of e-commerce marketing.
It’s the most efficient way to provide answers to your customer questions.

Blog Content Gives You Authority in Your Industry

Great blog content is crucial, as it gives you authority in your field.

But what exactly is great blog content?

It’s content that is deeply researched, well-written and formatted, to withstand the test of time.

As an e-commerce owner, you may not have the time or skills to craft content for your website’s blog section, and here’s where outsourcing comes in.

Outsourcing to a writing agency such as CopySmiths ensures all your content is high-grade, crafted by experts and search engine optimised.

Content writing agencies are also:

Readily available
Affordable
Organised for quick turnaround times

CopySmiths

I'm Katrina McKinnon, founder of CopySmiths and Small Revolution. In my 20 years of experience, I have helped online businesses create high-performing content specifically on an eCommerce store's blog. Find me on LinkedIn and Twitter.