How to write a blog article

3. The “W’s” of Your Audience • Who are they? (male, female, young, old, business, mom’s, dad’s, college students, etc.) • What do they like? (hobbies, sports, values, etc.) • What do they need? (or what problems do they have) • Where are they online? (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pintrest) • When are they online? (am, pm, all day)

4. Capture Their Attention Step Two: Tell a story

5. Where To Find Your Stories Local News Your family Your experiences

6. It’s Not About You Step Three: Solve their Problems Don’t Sell Your Stuff

7. Putting All The Pieces Together Step One: Know Your Audience Step Two: Tell A Story Step Three: Solve a Problem

8. General Writing Guidelines • Pay attention to your headline – it’s what grabs them first • The first paragraph needs to also grab them and make them pay attention. • Keep it short and sweet. 300-600 words in most cases. • Don’t forget key words in headline and article • Use bullet point lists. • Ask them questions

9. To download this presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/lifesimplified/how-to-write-a-blog-article For more information on Life Simplified Life Simplified Website Life Simplified Blog Life Simplified LinkedIn Page Life Simplified Facebook Page You can reach Jen at: Email Twitter: JVsimplified Coming in April –Blogging for Business Workshops. If you’re interested in Receiving information, please contact us. 2012 Life Simplified 9

Editor's Notes

Welcome to the Life Simplified Mini Webinar series. This month we’ll be focusing on blogging for business. Today we’re talking about How To Write A Blog Article.
The first step in writing a blog article is knowing who your audience is. It sounds simple, but most people write to the big group of people you see in the slide figuring that more is better.The opposite is true. When you know who your audience is, the more likely they will find your blog when searching for topics. They will also want to read your blog because it feels like your talking specifically to them. Finally they will want to come back to your blog again and again.
You want to start asking yourself the 4 W’s about your audience, you start to build a picture of their lives and what’s important to them. The more you know the better your chance of writing articles that mean something to them.It’s also important to know where they hang out and when. Although this doesn’t effect what you write it will effect when you post.
The best way to capture the attention of your audience is tell a story about something they can relate to. Start off your blog with a story that relates to your main theme of the article. It doesn’t have to directly tie into the theme. Actually a story that seems not to relate is sometimes even more attention grabbing.Don’t think you have a story to tell?
Stories can come from any place. All it takes is paying attention to what’s around you. Keeping a small note book can help capture an idea for a story.You can look to your family for ideas (if you’re using a specific story make sure you get permission to use it), the local or international news, and your experience.Blogs have been written from the point of view of pets, chefs, adventurers, travelers, etc.
People look to blogs to help them solve their problems. If you did your homework in Step One, you will have identified the issues or problems of your audience. Now through your stories you want to help them solve these problems. When you’re able to provide useful information for your audience without selling your stuff, you will develop a loyal readership. People will want to come back for more. HubSpot (http://www.hubspot.com) is a great example of this.
One you have the first three steps in place, you can start writing. Just like any journalist, you need to consider how to grab your reader’s attention and bring them in. Here are some basic journalistic guidelines.Headlines are important – probably the most important thing you can write is your headline. Spend time here. If you don’t think they are important, pay attention to your own habits. What articles do you click on to read in your social media streams or email?Make the first paragraph count – You need to set the stage for the article in the first paragraph. Let your audience know you’re talking to them and you have some good information for them. Speak their language and give them a reason to continue reading.Keep it short – The tendency today is for shorter blog articles, but depending on your topic, it might benefit you to expand your article. Keep your articles between 300-600 words in length for the most part. Vary the length of your articles as well. Make some shorter and some longer.Keywords – Don’t forget that people will be searching the internet for information, make sure you are using highly used keywords in your headline and especially at the beginning of the article. This ensures your article will come up when your audience is looking for it.Use bullet points – Bullet pointed lists are great to keep your readers engaged and even coming back. It they have to sift through your article for the important tid bits you are sharing, they might not come back. If you put those in bullet points, they might even bookmark your article to come back to in the future.Ask Your Reader’s Questions – Start to create a dialogue. That’s the beauty of blogging. You can talk to your readers and your readers can talk to you. Ask them for their opinion, other ideas or even to disagree. You’ll be happy with the response.

How to write a blog article

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Editor's Notes