Make more friends through how to blog posts. People love the DIY approach and giving away your “secrets” allows you to create sharable content.
Transcript:
Hello and welcome to another episode of Be Seen Blogging! I’m Jen Miller and today, on Episode #11,we are going to be talking about Sharable content starts with how to blog posts. Time and time again I see the value of how to blog posts. You’ll promote all the content you write, but some of it, particularly how to posts, if done right get shared by others and build you as an authority in your industry.
I’m sure you’ve seen your share of cooking, exercise and makeup tutorial videos while scrolling through your Facebook feed. These videos appeal to universal concerns : food, travel, beauty and fitness using a very engaging method – the how to story!
You can do this on your blog too! It’s as simple as giving directions to your home and reminiscent of the 3rd grade homework assignment where you had to explain how to make a peanut butter sandwich. You can keep your instruction pretty basic or get a little more creative with it but either way your writing needs to answer the question of how to.
The how-to blog post is sequence and Order based, answering the question of What takes place next? The key is to quickly write out the steps needed and then go back and develop each step into a mini story.
First off you choose a topic for your post. Your subject needs to be specific,interesting, and answer a question. For instance a blog post for an animal hospital might include the topic of how to walk your dog.
To make it more unusual and still address a need, the post might be changed to how to walk your dog in the rain. The power is in the modifier. As the post is written any ideas should be included, even those that seem silly or mundane. Consider the how, the who and the why. Think about the stress points and the possibilities. The goal at this point is to give as much information as possible.The editing will come later.
Next you need to review what you’ve written while thinking about your reader. Think about where they are located, what life experience they have, whether they have one or multiple dogs and what breed they are.
Determine why or where they would be reading the post. A dog walk on a drizzly day in Southern California is going to look very different from a dog walk in a blustery Boston storm.When thinking like your reader you are bound to have more questions which leads to the next part of your post which will bring you to your research.
Find trending or obscure quotes and statistics on related topics. Tell a personal story or retell a relatable one from a movie or book. In the case of dog walking, suggest local places to check out. If you introduced a new concept, provide the definition, explain what it is or share resources so the reader can go deeper on the topic. Consider what images or video you may use to augment the post.
Interview several people with insight on the topic. When writing about rainy dog walking, an interview with a veterinarian, pet owner and pet supplier could all be in order and add an interesting twist to your story.
Whenever you write remember to include descriptive details. Polka dotted rain boots or a bright yellow umbrella perfectly matched to your golden retriever add life to the post and draw your reader in. Use your words to paint a picture within your post. When you can see your post unfold, you’ll know you are on the right track.
Evaluate that you’ve covered every step so that your post describes your directions with precision and explains necessary actions before publishing your post. Use bolder headings and bullets to make the steps easy to follow and understand. Review the supplies needed and make sure none were left out. If it makes sense use directive words such as first, next, then and finally. Then wrap it up and share it as we’ve talked about in other episodes.
Thank you for tuning in to Be Seen Blogging today. I hope you enjoyed the show and have a better feel for how you can write a how to blog post! If you have questions, please reach out to me on Twitter @jenblogs4u or through my website NeedSomeoneToBlog.com. Talk to you next week!
Jen Miller has been writing since she was a child and spent her early career years soaking up all the information she could discover as a journalist of newspapers and magazines. Getting out the message and spreading truth has always been a high priority for Jen. Jen began writing website content for clients in 1996 and started blogging in 2008 for Today.com. That experience created a love for the blog and she has been an avid blogger ever since. Today she writes for her clients on a variety of topics as a ghostwriter/ghostblogger and connects their messages with personality through social media to deliver the most impact possible.
