Ever wondered how blogs are out there and how many people read what they post? WordPress.com reported that there are more than 409 million blog readers viewing over 13.1 billion blog pages each month. 38.7 million new posts are produced on a monthly basis, generating over 50 million comments. And that’s just WordPress!
With these figures, it is of no wonder why you practically have only a few seconds to capture your reader’s attention, and maybe gain enough of their interest to have them read the rest of your blog posts. This can only happen if your blog posts are worth reading. This can only happen if you can master the art of writing an epic blog post.
With tons of content out there people are already tired of reading blog posts that talk about nothing but fluff. People want the juicier, meatier, and more satisfying blog posts that are really worth their time. But what makes a great post? What makes an epic post? Just sit back and brace yourself as Digital Marketing Philippines takes you on an epic joyride with these 8 tips that will teach you how to create the ultimate weapon in content marketing – an epic blog post.
1. An Epic Blog Post Requires Time
This is one area not-so-few digital marketers succumb to. In their haste to upload content on a regular basis (just like what the gurus say., they’ll upload haphazardly done content with barely enough research credits and qualified editing. The masters – yeah, those who write the really good, epic stuff – spend hours researches, writing, editing, re-writing, and editing again to produce high-quality epic content that their targeted audiences will read.
That’s a lot of wasted time, you may think, for just a single blog post. A lot of time, yes… but wasted definitely not for a really good, epic blog requires this considerable amount of time to get written into perfection. If you want to produce epic content, you must take time planning and writing it. If you want to publish content that hundreds or even thousands will read – then you really have to spend time working on it.
2. An Epic Blog Post is No Ordinary Post
This statement probably needs no explanation, as one of the descriptions you can put into the term “epic” is the fact that it is not of the ordinary. People don’t want the ordinary. They want to read something extraordinary that will send their pulses rising, their hearts pounding, and their eyes eager to devour every bit of information they could milk from an epic blog post.
- Arouse People’s Emotions with Timeless Topics
If your content doesn’t kindle a bit of spark from your readers’ emotions, then don’t expect to produce something really epic. People want something timeless, something important, something relevant that they will still remember reading, and maybe tell others to do so, a year or even years from now. An epic content knows how to stimulate people’s emotions, resonate with their core being, and solicit a level of interest that will capture their attention from beginning to end.
- Go Against the Flow
Epic content is not your ordinary content, and going against the flow of a popular belief or misconception in your business niche can lead you one step away from writing epic content. Go against the flow and challenge the norm – but make sure your arguments are backed by sound research and verified data – or this strategy will backfire on you.
- Be Controversial
Spicy. Edgy. Controversial.
These are the kind of content that gets noticed by your targeted readers, drawing enough attention for them to read your content to the full, and generating enough viral-juice to have your content liked, shared and re-tweeted throughout the whole social media atmosphere. There are myriad ways to be controversial with your content as long as you do it in an orderly, decent and correct way.
- Write About an Inside Scoop or Exclusive
People naturally love stories. If you place an exclusive inside scoop right in front of their eyes, they will surely drop everything they are doing at the moment to go and grab this juicy content you’re parading right in their faces. Insider content is something that needs no second look in order to grab people’s attention. It is something that gets traditional newspapers sold out for the simple fact that no other newspapers have the same. If it works with traditional advertising, it will surely work when writing epic blog posts.
You may say that these strategies are a bit manipulative. Yes, it may seem so but doing these things in purpose is just your way of satisfying their need for a good story.
3. An Epic Blog Post Provides an Ultimate Solution to a Problem
People come to the Internet to seek an answer to a question or a solution to a problem. An epic content just does that and gives your readers what they really want. Providing a solution to a problem, particular an ultimate answer to a perennial issue your targeted audience is struggling with, can raise your blog post to epic levels – and you’ll get rewarded with more loyal customers that you know will not be possible with content that is just ordinary.
When you offer a solution, make sure you’ve done your part in verifying this particular answer to a problem. You’ve already applied what you are talking about and you know it works – and is now telling others how to do so. People will surely appreciate that, creating brand awareness for you in the process, while increasing customer satisfaction, loyalty and of course greater profits.
4. An Epic Blog Post Captures Readers’ Attention with the First Few Lines
The first few lines are probably one of the most crucial segments with your content and it only takes a few seconds to create an impression with your targeted audiences, gain their attention and earn their readership. You should make heads turn with these first few lines and you can do so by adding in wake-up-call content that generates readership curiosity. Samples are starting off with a very eye-opening statistic or story with well-written, witty, precise and concise introductory lines. Avoid dragging your visitors along with long but lackluster description that will fizzle out their curiosity and interest to read the rest of your content.
5. An Epic Blog Post Takes Readers on an Epic Journey
People love stories and it would be easy to get your readers caught up in one by taking them on an epic journey that will get them hooked and still wanting for more. People can get easily wrapped up in stories, particularly those that really interests them or stories they can identify quite well with. If you back these stories up with real-life statistics and verifiable resources, you will surely get more following and greater readership.
6. An Epic Blog Post Tells People Where to Begin
People love and appreciate great blog posts that provide a solution to a problem. But if you can provide not only a solution to a particular problem, but also tell them exactly where to begin during the next steps – you are surely be on the threshold of a well-written and highly quality epic blog post.
People sometimes find it hard to figure out where to begin. They may know the solution, but they may not know what particular process to start with or the preliminary items and considerations to know and take before you even begin. Producing an epic blog post that provides such a guide will eventually brand you as the go-to guy that provides reliable information – gaining their trust and loyalty in the process.
7. An Epic Blog Post Is Long but Contains No Fluff
Gone are the days when blog posts were traditionally limited to 300 to 400 words. Google and other search engines love great and original content. Providing your readers with a lengthy but very comprehensive, relevant and useful content – minus the fluff – will place your blog post to epic ranking. With a lengthy blog post, you can put in more relevant keywords and key phrases integrated into your content that your targeted audiences will actually read throughout.
Don’t limit your epic blog posts with just plain texts and html code. Spice your blog posts up with graphics, pictures, videos, neat statistics and charts, and useful links they may be interested in. Just make sure than what you integrate into the epic blog post is relevant to what your content is saying at that particular point. You can explain your message more and in turn get appreciated by your targeted audiences – aside from grabbing their attention.
8. An Epic Blog Post is Well Edited
Lastly – edit, edit, and edit.
How great your blog post is and how amazing your content should be will be negated with poor or non-existent editing. If you have many mistakes and grammatical errors, it will only turn your targeted audiences off and lose your chance of eventually getting them to read, and be interested long enough to take the next step – conversion.
There are tons of gimmicks out there attempting to teach you how to create an epic blog post. Some may just be fluff, a weak attempt to pass off as epic blog posts themselves, while some may be really useful tips – like these fabulous 8 we’ve just shared with you – moving you steps, and a few edits, closer to an epic blog post your targeted readers will never forget, ever.
Jomer B. Gregorio is a well-rounded expert when it comes digital marketing. Jomer is also known as a semantic SEO evangelist and practitioner. Check out our Digital Marketing Services today and let us help you in achieving positive and profitable results for your business.