I see a lot of bad bloggers with bad writing skills in recent times, most of them even give 'Professional Advice' making caricature of the blogging industry in Nigeria when they need help themselves, blogging - if doing it for commercial purpose, you must pay attention to these 6 things in order to stand out of the noise.

It seems to me that many are now seeing blogging as child's-play, they fail to learn or improve, all they're most after is cash! In my 5 years plus of being a freelance writer (ghost writer) for many blogs and brands, I have come to realize that constant practice & self improvement is the only way to stay long in the game.


This article is written for content creators and
bloggers who need better ways to engage their
readers and make them stick around longer,
rather than flipping through your contents and
logging off your website just because your
content aren't engaging enough or because your
post format isn't appealing.


There are certain rules to writing an engaging
post and if you aren't paying attention to those
factors then you'll be loosing a whole deal of
loyal readers. The problem might not necessarily
be that you are not dishing out valuable content
or information! The problem sometimes lie in
between how you arrange your post and the
kinds of illustrations and graphical backup
included in it.


Here are the key 6 elements of a great and engaging post or web-content.


* Valuable content*

* Scannable/Readable*

* Less use of irrelevant grammar*

* Straight to the point*

* Better graphics & images*

* Strategic post ending format {SPEF}*


Valuable content:

So this is often the most
shouted aspect of web publishing, why? Because
it is of great importance because if your content
isn't solving a problem then it's not worth
reading, problems can present itself in any form
and if the prospect isn't getting the solution
then he/she would probably look for another
means to get the value. {for example if what a
prospect needs is to read poetry because he/she
is bored and your content is just all crap and
copied without the touch of originality to it,
what do you think the prospect would do?}


Scannable/Readable:-

So the next thing we want to look out for is, your content being scannable and readable! What this means is that, you need to format your post well for readers to
have space for digesting what they are reading
as they scan through.

And this includes leaving {white spacing} while
you type. White spacing is very important for
anyone who's aiming to engage readers because
it leaves room for the eye to follow step by step
and for chance of digesting the contents, pause
while reading amongst other things.
If you are thinking of taking up writing as a
profession in the future these thing are very
essential and the earlier you start practicing it
the better for you.


Less use of irrelevant grammar:-

Some writers just tend to please themselves without looking at the implications of what they are doing and
how this might affect their readership, Some
writers usually think by using big vocabularies
and researching words from Oxford
dictionary and using them in their write-ups
would impress their readers, but that's 85% not
always the case, you don't expect your readers
to source for a dictionary just because they want
to read your contents.
Keep it simple and make your points clear.


Straight to the point:-

What is the point really?
If you start blabbing and just going round in circles just to waste time and to keep your
readers around for too long just to figure out
what you have to say, most people even think
this is a method to keep their readers on their
page and keep them engaged; but it's the
opposite, it pisses them off.
When writing, whether it is a "How To" tutorial
or simply a story, learn to quickly highlight the
point beforehand and try as well to go straight
to the point. This is very important if you want
your readers to keep coming back for more
contents.


Better graphics & images:-

A lot of the times we use clichéd photos and graphics in between
our post, most readers aren't moved by such
things anymore. In fact, it might quickly turn
them off because they might just assume they
already know what you want to say in your post,
one of the greatest part of an engaging content
or blog post is using pictures that would catch
the attention of the reader instantly.
When I said clichéd earlier on here's what I
mean! {you could be writing on the topic "How
to become a creative writer"} and the first thing
that might come to mind is a pen and paper or
someone typing on a computer keyboard. Those
are the kind of pictures I categorize as clichéd
because they have been over-used. Don't get me
wrong though! They still work for some people
but if you really want to break out of the norm
then you need to do better than that.


*lastly, I call this {Spef} don't worry you'll know what it means... Just read on.

Strategic post ending format {SPEF}:-

Finally! the method or strategy you
implement when ending your post is also as
vital as any other tip I have shared earlier on,
most writers have good starting but their
finishing is the problem, I use any of the
following to keep my readers engaged and feel a
sense of human behind the content they are
consuming.

One of the ways I do this is by throwing out a
question{?} at the end of the post, the question
could simply be based on asking their opinions
on what they just read, or what contributions
they may have in addition or if they'll need
extra help.

Another way I end a post is by giving out a free
guide either in form of an eBook, video tutorial or audio
podcast, depending on the kind of topic I'm
writing on, most cases it's effective when you
write about contents on "How to" health and
gaming. Etc.......

Your ending paragraph should also have a
"Thank You" message to it! e.g. {Thank you for
reading through my post, I hope it was helping
and inspiring. If so, kindly drop your sincere
comments as to how this article has helped you.

This way it can also help me to create more
articles like this to solve issues like this in the
future , once again thank you for reading} this is
a killer way to communicate with your readers.

Also, remember to always ask them to share
your post if they find it interesting and know
anyone who might equally benefit from the
content, this way you are indirectly getting more
leads from the free share your readers are
offering you.

Great... Weldone

Chillinmasoul:
Great... Weldone

Thanks sir