how-to - Express Writers

How to Write Reader & Conversion-Friendly Landing Page Copy

May 7, 2024September 26, 2017 by Adam Oakley

A landing page is chock-full of marketing ROI potential. If you do it right, a landing page has the power to work miracles. It can pull your visitor toward your brand, continue to pique their interest, and, finally, accomplish the Big One. It will convince them to hand over their personal contact details. They’ll become a quantifiable lead. ….*abra-cadabra*…. You can’t get there, though, without knowing how to write good landing page copy. This is basically copy that expertly guides the visitor, meets their expectations, persuades them, and builds trust with them –all at the same time. Because this is quite a Task, with a capital “T,” we’re going to divulge some tips for writing landing page copy that can do it all. First, there’s something you need to understand. What a Landing Page Is (and What It Isn’t) Some people use their homepage or contact page as landing pages. This is a huge mistake. The most common use for a landing page is giving visitors a place to “land” after they click on one of your ads. You’ve piqued their interest – they want to learn more. You got that click. But, if you take them to your homepage after telling them about an offer or deal in an ad, that’s confusing. That’s like taking them to an ice cream shop with 100 flavors but abandoning them at the entrance. You’ve given them no reason to try the ice cream – no idea which flavor is the best and no motivation to go inside. You’ve got to give guidance if you want them to convert. Your landing page, therefore, is all about the call-to-action. Because you’re trying to get the reader to do something, every other piece of information on the page needs to line up with that CTA. In short, every element on that page must work hard. No cop-outs or lazy writing, here. Every single sentence is important. Landing Page Copy, Deconstructed: 5 Elements of a Razor-Sharp Page that Works Landing page copy is composed of a variety of elements. Each will contribute toward urging your visitor to take you up on the CTA. Before you begin, though, you must know the answers to the following questions, according to Kissmetrics. They’ll give your page its direction and purpose: What am I offering? – You’re directing traffic to this page because you have an offer they can’t refuse. What is it? This is your CTA. Whether it’s “Sign up now!” or “Get your free download!,” it’s the most important part of the page. You must know what it is before you can start writing, according to Copy Hackers. How will the visitor benefit from the offer? – If you take too long to tell the visitor about the benefits, they’ll fail to care. They’ll leave, because they won’t know what’s in it for them. Tell them, and tell them quickly. What do visitors need to know to accept the offer? – Make sure they understand the offer inside-out so they’ll have no hesitations about proceeding with the CTA. Once you’ve got your answers, you can move on to writing the page. The most critical elements are the headline, the description, the benefits, the social proof, and the call-to-action. 1. The Headline No matter what kind of copy you’re writing, a good headline is indispensable. It’s no different for landing page copy. Make your headline echo your CTA. – Your visitors need to know exactly what you want them to do, and why they’re on the page, from the first few seconds. Make it abundantly clear and echo your CTA in your headline (and vice-versa). For example, if the offer is a discount on software, your headline should say something about that software. Tying into that, your CTA should be akin to “Get your discounted software today!” Look at how HubSpot’s headline echoes their CTA on this landing page for one of their products: Go bold. – If you can make a bold claim in your headline, do it. However, you must be able to back it up. If you can’t provide evidence, don’t say it. Get to the point. – Avoid filler words and fluff. These deaden your copy and make it harder to read. For instance, here’s a clunky headline: “In Order to Go the Distance, You Can Get a Faster Car.” Omit the filler phrases “in order to” and “you can.” The slimmed-down, leaner headline is more impactful: “Go the Distance. Get a Faster Car.” Be clear and simple. – Again, confusion is your worst enemy. The point of your entire page should be crystal-clear from the headline on. Spend enough time on your headline. – Your headline sets the tone for the entire page. Spend enough time on this piece to make sure it’s really good, and the rest of the landing page should follow suit. 2. The Description The next three elements – the description, the benefits, and the social proof – go hand-in-hand. Often, the description is composed of the latter two elements. The benefits show your prospective lead what’s in it for them. The social proof shows that it does what you say it will do. Basically, this is the space where you tell the person why they should follow through with the offer. Here is where you can provide evidence for your claims. You can also list compelling statistics, or generally show why what you’re offering is so great for them. The better your descriptive copy, the better it will lead visitors to the CTA. Just remember there are some basic best practices to keep in mind: A) Shorter and simpler are always better. – No matter what, always remember you’re taking up the visitor’s time as long as you have them on your landing page. You must make it worth their while. Unbounce calls this ROTI – “return on time invested.” If visitors feel like you’re waffling, waxing poetic, droning on, or wasting their time, they’ll leave without converting. B) … Read more

#HowToWrite Guest Blogging Content: 10 Keys

September 5, 2022June 12, 2017 by Tara Clapper

Here’s the scoop on guest blogging: Google doesn’t appreciate paid links or content published just so you can “win” a link. However, if your guest post is informative, genuine, and helpful, including a relevant link back to your website is a great way to improve your exposure and relevance. Is guest blogging a worthy investment? It no longer results in the skyrocketing SEO as it did before Google started evaluating placed links more thoroughly. However, guest blogging still affords some pretty sweet rewards: Exposure to the blog and brand’s audience (hopefully including promotion on their social media and email list). Increased authority and reputation. Opportunity to expand or blog just outside your niche. Possibility of capturing secondary or tertiary audiences where they live. 10 Keys to Writing Great Guest Blogs If you’ve determined the blog presents a good opportunity for you, it’s time to create your guest blog. Let’s cover the basics of how to get it done. Guest Blog Writing Key #1: Read the Guidelines Quite simply, your guest post has the best chance of being accepted if it conforms to all the guidelines set forth by the editor(s). Ideally, you should read the guidelines before you even pitch. Guidelines usually include rules about: Images (including acceptable sources). Author biography and headshot. How many links you are permitted to include in the post. Word count. Tone, style, and level of formality. The editor should also be able to provide you with stellar examples of content published on the blog. Surprisingly, guidelines are often vague – even when editors are picky. In this case, don’t hesitate to ask questions. Guest Blog Writing Key #2: Let Your Expertise Shine Expertise isn’t just about what you know – it’s about what you do with it. Through successes (and failures) in webinar presentations, I’ve learned that audiences respond most sincerely to application and innovation. Anyone can look up how to do something, but knowing how to apply it to a particular problem is especially important. The best content connects the dots and enlightens processes for readers. You don’t have to give away every detail behind your process or way of thinking, but provide a window into your world. I speak often about merging the personal and professional brand – something you can do carefully and successfully if you decide it’s the right fit for your business and your life. When I decided to merge my personal and professional Twitter accounts in a “Twitter wedding,” I documented the process and received positive feedback about the transparency of the post. Depending on your audience, you’ll need to display expertise through a combination of: Story (how you did it). Data (proof that you did it). Example (the final product). Each guest posting opportunity presents a challenge to find the right balance of story, data, and example, so make sure to communicate with your editor or point of contact to ensure clear expectations. Guest Blog Writing Key #3: Let It Flow When it comes to keeping the reader engaged, flow is what makes your post stick. Your entire post should read as though it was written by one person in one sitting (even if took you days to put it together). Each tip or idea should connect to the next, and if it’s a how-to post (like this one), the order of steps should make sense. [clickToTweet tweet=”Learn the 10 key steps to writing an awesome guest blog post over on @ExpWriters!” quote=”Learn the 10 key steps to writing an awesome guest blog post over on @ExpWriters!”] Guest Blog Writing Key #4: Apply Search Engine Friendly Structure Google prefers a certain structure for blog posts. Best practices are as follows: Do not use H1 header tags except for the post title – use H2, H3s, and so on to neatly organize your post. Use short, clear paragraphs. Bullet point for clarity when applicable. Number your how-to instructions or recipe steps when appropriate. This also saves your editor time. If they can copy and paste your formatting, it makes their job much easier. Guest Blog Writing Key #5: Focus! While many copywriters are accustomed to writing for “keyword density,” you’ll find a more natural inclusion of a desired keyword occurs if you strive to use a focus keyword. Use your focus keyword in your: Post title. First paragraph. Body copy (a couple of times). Meta description. (Note: As a guest blogger, you may not be required to submit a meta description, but it’s a kind gesture and only takes a few minutes.) If you’re writing for a general keyword, consider using a more specific long-tail keyword as well. For example, this post focuses on “guest blogging” (a very general, high-competition keyword) and “how to write a guest blog” (a specific question or search phrase). Guest Blog Writing Key #6: Add Appropriate Backlinks While you want to put a link back to your own site in the piece, don’t forget to link to other authoritative sites, especially those with a high domain authority or Alexa ranking. Chances are you know some reliable resources on your choice topic, and including credited statistics and other citations with links back to those sites will help. It’s also best practice (and kind) to include an internal link – that is, a link to another blog post or page on the website for which you’re creating the post. Guest Blog Writing Key #7: Include Images Editors are used to receiving walls of text. Even properly formatted copy can start to blur together when it’s the tenth piece an editor has seen in a day. When guest bloggers provide visuals, however, it helps their copy stand out and shows they put some extra time into the presentation. Furthermore, it creates less work for the editor (as long as the images work in their approved format or layout, and come with all necessary permissions). Ideally, you should have some sort of visual break every 300 words or less. That can mean a custom image, a stock … Read more

The Ultimate Guide to Creating Your Best Blog Images: Sizes, Optimization & More

September 5, 2022June 5, 2017 by Adam Oakley

We’ve all heard the saying: a picture is worth a thousand words. But how does this impact blogging? Today, it’s virtually impossible to create a great blog without also creating strong visual content. In other words, your words matter less when they stand on their own. Modern readers want to be engaged on all fronts, and they look to visual materials to facilitate this. It’s proven: blogs with high-quality, original images rank better, get more attention, and earn more shares than those without. And with over 70 million blogs going out on WordPress each month, you can’t afford to stop and invest in real methods to stand out. One great method to use to stand out in your blogging is to invest in custom, high-quality graphics created to match your brand and blog topic. An eye-tracking statistic by Springer International Publishing has said that people following a set of directions (which is common to long-form blogs) respond 323% better with illustrations included along the way! This leaves one big question, though… How, exactly, do you go about creating “high-quality, shareable, original images?” What does that even mean? Here’s your complete guide. [bctt tweet=”Learn all about how to create themed, share-worthy, on-point blog images in our guide ?#blogging” username=”ExpWriters”] The Ultimate Guide on How to Create Your Best Blog Images Ever: First, The Importance of Visuals in Your Blogs 37% of marketers report that visual marketing is the single most important form of content for their business, second only to blogging. With this in mind, consider what happens when you combine the two! Visuals have always been a critical form of marketing. In addition to the fact that people are more likely to remember what they see than they are what they read or hear, content with images has a long history of performing better in search results and with shares on social media platforms. And, BuzzSumo once reported that blog posts with images every 75-100 words earned twice as many shares on social media as posts with few or no images! Adding images to your blogs is more important today than ever before. But, here’s where our guide comes in. It is not enough, folks, to simply slap a stock photo into your WordPress blog and call it a day. Stop right there. You’ve got to go the extra mile and create high-quality, custom images that provide relevance for your users, and context for your content. And if you use stock photos in the process, use them well. That’s what we’re here to talk about. How to Create Your Best Blog Images (7 Steps to Follow) Learning how to create or delegate the creation of blog images that are highly effective is a process. We’ve got a few key tips to help you get off to a great start. 1. Focus on Themed Images Here at Express Writers, we believe deeply in creating authentic, beautiful, and themed images for our blog. We invest hundreds of dollars monthly with an in-house designer that’s been on staff for years to create these custom graphic assets. We create custom themed blog images in our posts on The Write Blog that follow this set of criteria: We have 5 image assets created per blog: a feature header, an ‘inset’ that is easy to share on social media, a matching CTA that references our services, and then specific sized images for Pinterest and Instagram) We follow three bucket areas of approved styles for our designer to create, and specify which one when sending her the request: Custom designs are always preferred, like the one of the artist painting a photo on this blog you’re reading. Our designer hand-draws these and then creates them in Adobe Illustrator. If a stock photo is used, it’s created with an ‘overlay’ of colors in our brand palette. See this blog for an example. If we’re referencing events or talks that I gave, we provide images that our designer uses in blog headers. See this example. Here’s another one from CMWorld. I use my iPhone to take these photos. A cutout of me for my YouTube video recap blog header sets Clear Express Writers’ palette colors (sometimes we go off-grid from the main colors, but it’s always complementary) Check out some of our examples from the blog roll: See how engaging this is, vs. a typical stock photo structure? We won’t name names, but this is from a leading content marketer’s blog. Another good brand that follows a ‘themed’ blog image look has twelveskip.com. While most people imagine some hokey holiday thing when they think of “themed images,” the reality is much different. Themed images are actually a series of images that fall into a specific design structure. Of course, this design structure varies from company to company, but it’s always predictable, reliable, and recognizable. This serves a critical purpose. By making your blog content more recognizable to your consumers, themed images help promote brand recognition and develop a consistent branding presence. If you’re going to create themed images, keep things like your company’s color scheme, typeface, and voice in mind as you work through the process. 2. Hire a Designer While platforms like Canva have made it easy to create your own graphic content, it remains a difficult and time-consuming task for people who don’t do it frequently. If you, like so many marketers, have your hands full with other responsibilities, consider hiring a professional designer to create your images for you. Not only will you get a large batch of high-quality images all at once, but you’ll save the time you would have otherwise spent struggling to create them. This time can then be applied to more productive business pursuits that help grow your company and your social presence. Not sure where to find a designer? You can go through a content agency (Express Writers offers custom image design for social media and blogs!) or work on finding a freelancer on your own. 3. Develop a Format Regardless of whether you choose to design the images on your … Read more

The Ultimate Guide: How to Create Headlines that Will Go Viral

June 19, 2024April 24, 2017 by Adam Oakley

We’ve all heard it: while 80% of people read headlines, only 20% read body copy. What does that mean in practice, though? In other words, how do you create headlines that entice that elusive 20% to keep reading? Or to share, comment, and convert? The truth is that viral headlines are rare, and they take time, effort, and skill to master. Fortunately, the content marketers who develop solid headline skills have a better chance of standing out from the crowd. Modern customers are attracted to quality and effort, and a great headline reflects both. The good news is that headlines like these aren’t out of reach. Here’s your complete guide to creating them. What Makes a Headline Viral? If you want to create viral headlines, you must first understand what, exactly, makes them go viral. What are the components they include, and what’s their foundational structure look like? Here are a few critical elements of every good headline, as laid out by Steve Rayson in a BuzzSumo article: Viral headlines have an emotional element Viral headlines use content elements to their advantage Viral content covers trending topics Viral headlines follow a format Viral headlines promise the reader something Here’s Rayson’s table, to illustrate: According to him, most viral headlines employ not one, not two, but three or four of these elements. This combination allows them to perform in a unique way, and to grab your readers’ attention. Which Headlines Get Shared? The good things about learning to write viral headlines is that there’s a lot of information about which headlines get shared and which don’t, and this can help guide your efforts. For example, in 2014, OkDork published a post that showcased the results of a survey that analyzed more than 1 million headlines. Here’s what they found: The Most Popular Phrases in Viral Headlines The OkDork survey found that the most popular words and phrases in headlines were: As you can see, list posts top the charts time and time again. And this makes sense – they’re easy to skim, valuable for readers, and ideal for virtually all industries. Beyond that, the survey also made it clear that people love personalization, and that content that addresses the reader personally (by using the words “you” and “your”) sat at the top of the list, as well. Readers also loved any post that promised a better situation or hinted it would teach them to do something. As you can see, using the right words in your headline is essential, and can make all the difference in your readership. Emotional Headlines As the web has become more personalized and targeted, there’s been a push toward emotional headlines. These headlines take all forms. They can be shocking, infuriating, laugh-inducing, or curiosity-inspiring. Readers just want to feel something when they read your headline. This requires the use of power words. Some power words, like free, easy, and DIY are already included in the list above. There are many others besides these, though. Terms like approved, competitive, unsurpassed, and confidential all inspire strong emotional reactions in readers, and help drive shares for your content. There’s science to back this up, too. According to CoSchedule, posts with a higher emotional value earn more shares than posts with little emotional value. Headlines That Utilize Trigrams A trigram is a three-word phrase used in a headline. While the number 3 has significance throughout nature and mythology, it’s also a powerhouse in the world of writing and, specifically, headlines. The rule of three states that things that come in packs of three are funnier, more impactful, and more satisfying than things that don’t and this holds true for a viral title. BuzzSumo reports that certain trigrams within headlines earn more shares and likes than others. Here are a few to get you started: X Pictures That X Signs You’re How Well Do Can We Guess You Should Never X Things Only The Science Of History Of The The Art Of The Future Of As you can see, these trigrams are just a skeletal structure that you can apply to any headline in any industry. Superlative-Rich Headlines If you’re like most writers, you’ve been taught not to use superlatives in your writing. It’s time to turn that on its head, though. According to BuzzSumo, superlatives can increase the share volume of your headline when used correctly. Because they boost the emotional value of a headline and make it easier for readers to get excited about them, superlatives are ideal for creating viral posts that spread widely across the web. Here are a few superlatives to get started with: Amazing Inspiring Surprising Successful Particularly useful for content designed to be shared on social, superlatives can make your headlines more impactful, promising, and exiting for your readers. Content Formats There are a few content formats that get shared more often than others, and using them is a great way to make your content more viral. These include lists of ten things, how-to guides, and quizzes. Quizzes are especially exciting since they represent a form of interactive content many marketers aren’t creating. In addition to going viral, interactive content like this also allows you to expand your reach and help you stand out as a leader in your industry. How to Write Viral Headlines: 5 Tips Now that you know which types of headlines go viral let’s talk about how to write them for yourself. 1. Evaluate The Headline’s Emotional Impact Remember: headlines with a high emotional impact get shared more frequently than minimally emotional headlines. With this in mind, use a tool like the Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer from AMI. Designed to evaluate the way your headline’s word groups come together to elicit emotional responses from readers, this tool is free and easy to use. Here’s an example of what it looks like in action: 2. Follow a Formula If you’re just getting started with headlines, and you want to ensure yours perform well, look for ways to include tried-and-true methods in your headline approach. Trigrams like those mentioned by BuzzSumo are always a fantastic jumping-off point. In addition to making your … Read more

Why Content Marketing? 10 Proven Statistics & 5 Ways to Win (Infographic)

December 31, 2020January 10, 2017 by Adam Oakley

As we start the New Year, here’s a great question to ask yourself (and your clients, too): Why should you commit to investing in content marketing as an integral part of your marketing strategy? This powerful form of marketing fuels 99% of our own lead and revenue generation, so we know well what content marketing can do for a brand. This week, we put together an infographic with a few of our favorite reasons to invest in content marketing, featuring (killer) statistics with undoubtable proof that this form of modern marketing is worth every penny you put into it. Plus, we’ve included 5 principles to help you do your best content marketing this year! Read on for the full story. Infographic written and designed by the team at Express Writers. Why Content Marketing? 10 Proven Statistics & 5 Ways to Win (Infographic) 6 Stats: You’ll Get More Site Traffic Companies that blog receive 97% more backlinks 55% more visitors to your page 67% more leads for your company Companies that blog more than 16 times each month earn 5x as many leads as companies that only blog 4 times! 60% of customers say they feel better about a business after reading their original blog posts Since 23% of social media message contain content, creating more of it means more shares around the web 4 Stats: You’ll Give Your SEO a Boost 72% of marketers worldwide report that content creation is the biggest factor in successful SEO The majority of web links go to the top 10% of content on the web 50% of marketers say that content has increased the strength of their company’s SEO Content with a strong headline can boost page views by 500%. This enhances SEO and helps you rank better. Bonus: You’ll Stand Out as a Thought Leader Content helps you become a thought leader in the following ways: It showcases your expertise Helps you build your voice Allows you to dominate your niche Give you a platform for sharing and promotion 5 Fast Tips to Dominate Content Marketing in 2017 1. Create long-form content Readers love long-form content and it generates more shares and links. For best results, publish posts with more than 1,500 words. 2. Produce visual content Content with images earns 70% more views than content without images. Boost your engagement by adding visuals to your blog posts and producing infographics, memes, videos, and other visual marketing material. 3. Do your research Relevant, fact-dense, original content performs best. Instead of just scratching the surface, dig deeper to give your readers something they can’t find anywhere else. 4. Share your content on social In May of 2015, smartphone social media use jumped 51% in users between the ages of 25-34. Share your content on social to get the most possible traction from each piece. 5. Develop a content marketing program 79% of the most successful content marketers have a clear idea of what effective content marketing looks like and how to achieve it. Follow in their footsteps! Why Content Marketing? 10 Proven Statistics & 5 Ways to Win (Infographic) Sources Dilate.com: http://bit.ly/2gONO6I CrazyEgg: http://bit.ly/28RKbsa Contently: http://bit.ly/29OBBa2 Curata: http://bit.ly/1GjxoWz Content Marketing Institute: http://bit.ly/1FFxBYf

How-to’s, Listicles, and More: Which Are the Most Readable Content Types?

March 24, 2022July 5, 2016 by Adam Oakley

If you’ve spent any time on the internet lately, you’ve probably noticed that some pieces of content are, well, hotter than others. Two content types have really stood out as winners. Specifically, the how-to and the list style, also known as listicle: Websites like BuzzFeed and Elite Daily use them as the virtual bread and butter of their marketing strategy. Even high-level industry leaders have started publishing more and more list-focused posts. While this may seem like a mere coincidence, it’s a trend that’s been sweeping the content industry for the last several years. The reason for this trend is that these list/how-to styled content pieces are intensely readable, which makes them perfect for an audience with a rapidly decreasing attention span, and an increasing focus on finding the material they want now. Read on to learn more. [bctt tweet=”What’s the trendiest content styles nowadays and should your posts follow these? @JuliaEMcCoy shares us the top 3 readable content types you should be publishing right now.” username=”ExpWriters”] Content That Cuts It: Lists, How-to’s, & Videos While the consumers of 2000 were looking for simple information, today’s consumers want a more comprehensive experience. Not only are they looking for information, but they’re also in the market for unique, high-quality content that entertains them and makes them feel special. If this sounds like a tall order, you’re not wrong. Creating content that works for consumers is more challenging now than ever before, and brands need to invest time and energy into learning to do it properly. One great way to get started with this, however, is to learn what customers expect from content. In the 2018 Adobe Consumer Content Survey, the 3 most important content characteristics are informative (89%), accurate (89%), and simple (66%). However, among millennials, 41% still prefer entertaining content and 25% ranked “beautiful” as an important characteristic to see in quality content. With these things in mind, it’s easy to see why content has morphed the way it has. [bctt tweet=”‘In the 2018 Adobe Consumer Content Survey, the 3 most important content characteristics are informative (89%), accurate (89%), and simple (66%).’ – @JuliaEMcCoy on the most readable content types today.” username=”ExpWriters”] Which 3 Content Types Are the Most Readable? While the customers of yesteryear may have wanted simple, direct content, today’s customers expect brands to get to know them, figure out what their primary concerns are and then concoct content that addresses those things (“how not to mess up your lentils,” for example). By keeping this in mind, you can craft highly readable content types that your readers will enjoy. 1. How-to Articles Despite the fact that the how-to article has morphed in recent years, it’s still incredibly valuable. People are as hungry for information today as they were 16 years ago, and the only difference is that today’s how-to’s need to be much more specific and targeted than they were way back when. For example, consider these BuzzFeed headlines: 18 Cheap Ways to Make Your Old Clothes New Again 7 Quick Ways to Actually Declutter Your Life 29 Clever Kitchen Cleaning Tips Every Clean Freak Needs to Know While these headlines don’t resemble the straight-up, verbatim “how-to” headlines of yesteryear, the message is still there. If you dig a little deeper, it’s clear the first article is really, “How to get more use out of your wardrobe,” the second is “How to get rid of clutter,” and the third is “How to keep your kitchen clean.” While the headlines may have been made more creative, the message is the same. To make your how-to articles more exciting than they’ve ever been before, it’s important to think differently. Because there is such a wealth of information available online right now, people are the most likely to interact with content that shows them how to do something differently. This is the key to making your how-to articles exciting, readable, and unique. Each of the BuzzFeed articles mentioned above does this, and it’s part of what makes them so popular. While how-to articles are already some of the most readable articles around, making them interesting, unique, and informative is a fantastic way to ensure that they provide as much value for your readers as possible. Tool Tip: If you really want to be sure your “how-to” headline is unique, the Advanced Marketing Institute’s Headline Analyzer is one of my favorite tools. Every time I hit a 40-50% score result with my headlines, I see a ton of juice in shares, links and more come from my article. My blog on 15 tactics for better blogging got over 160 shares, with a headline scoring over 40% on the AMI tool. Need some words to infuse might into your headlines? Check out our resource of 120 power words. 2. Lists How-to’s and listicles can easily cross paths: simply because adding numbers to your headline gives it a higher psychological engagement factor. Unlike the how-to, however, listicles are broader-reaching and not necessarily designed to teach people a skill. Because of this, listicles are a fantastic form of content for any brand that wants to build traffic and promote engagement. Fun fact: numbers in a headline are like “brain candy.” We’re simply attracted to read them more – and some say odd numbers do ever better. For example, consider “14 Mouthwatering Vegan Recipes Even Non-Vegans Will Love.” Featured on the BuzzFeed website, this article is promoted by Sabra, a prominent hummus company). While this article could easily just say “14 Vegan Recipes,” it would never get as much traffic if that was how the headline was structured. Because this article quantifies the recipes as delicious by using the word “mouthwatering” and expands its audience by stating that even non-vegans will love the content within, it succeeds at creating diverse value that appeals to many readers. Lists are beneficial because they appear as simple, straightforward piece of content that says, “Hey, this is brief and to-the-point. Read it now.” [bctt tweet=”‘How-to’s and listicles can easily cross paths: simply because adding numbers to your headline gives … Read more

How to Add a Blog Feed to Create Meaningful Relationships with Your Readers

January 5, 2021October 7, 2015 by Adam Oakley

This post was updated in December 2019. Do you want to learn how to add a blog feed to your site? Maybe you have the best blog on the web. Your ideas are genius. With your writing, you compel readers to read to the very end of every post. You are relevant and interesting. Unique, even. But it isn’t enough to have the best blog on the web. Because what if visitors read a post, love it, and then never come back to your blog? With social media, instant messaging, and tons of other blogs vying for their attention, it’s even possible they’ll forget your blog. So how do you ensure they read the next thing you post? The answer is by adding a blog feed to your blog. In this post, I’ll show you how to add a blog feed to successfully boost your readership. How to Add a Blog Feed to Create Meaningful Relationships with Your Readers How Adding a Blog Feed Works to Boost Readership 1. Advantages for Blog Readers 2. Advantages for Bloggers How to Add a Blog Feed to Your Site 1. How to Add a Blog Feed to WordPress 2. How to Add a Blog Feed to Blogger [bctt tweet=”If you’ve been publishing for quite some time, you could have already gained fans. ‍♂️How do you keep them close? Add a blog feed to your site to keep them updated with the freshest. @JuliaEMcCoy shows how.” username=”ExpWriters”] How Adding a Blog Feed Works to Boost Readership Before we go into how to add a blog feed, let’s understand how blog feeds work. Blog feeds work using RSS (Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) technology. Therefore, a blog feed can also be called an RSS feed. RSS feeds were invented to give people ease and convenience when browsing the web. For example, imagine yourself browsing the web. You have a list of your favorite sites. These are blogs and news sites which have content relevant to you. But maybe you love more than 20 sites. How do you find enough time in a day to visit all 20 to check for new updates? The answer is RSS. With RSS, you can get the content of your favorite blogs and websites to come to you. All you need is to find the right RSS reader. When you create an account, you can subscribe to blogs and websites you like. Every time these blogs and websites post something new, it will come straight to your reader. RSS is as simple as that. 1. Advantages for Blog Readers For blog readers, RSS feeds save a lot of time. For instance, maybe you make it your habit to keep up with business trends. You also want a guide on investing and finances. If so, all you need to do is go to your RSS reader and subscribe to sites like Entrepreneur and Forbes. If you choose Feedly for your reader, your feed will look something like this. On the left side, you can view the sites you subscribed to. On the right, you can see all Entrepreneur’s and Forbes’ new posts. You can also search for something specific in your RSS reader. For instance, you can type the keyword ‘real estate’ into the search field provided on the left. Your reader will bring up all real estate-related articles from both Entrepreneur and Forbes. With blog feeds, you can stay updated without wasting time. 2. Advantages for Bloggers As the owner of a website or blog, adding a blog feed will keep your readers from forgetting about you. Once they click the subscribe button on your blog, they get your updates each time you post. Also, if they have their own blogs, they can share your content there. This gives you the chance to get exposure and even more subscribers. Finally, you can benefit from RSS as a blogger because it helps you avoid the email spam folder. While successful email content marketing is a good strategy, some of your emails may be filtered as spam. Having an RSS blog ensures that your content reaches the users who are interested in it. As can be seen, adding a blog feed is the answer to how you can make a mark in today’s vast sea of online content. So now you might be wondering “How to create an RSS feed for my blog?” Here’s your comprehensive guide to doing it yourself. How to Add a Blog Feed to Your Site The good news is you don’t need to be a techy person to add a blog feed to your site. Here’s how to add RSS to your blog on WordPress and Blogger. Need to learn how to craft great SEO content? Download our free guide to SEO content writing secrets here. How to Add a Blog Feed to WordPress The advantage of using WordPress for your blog is that it’s easy to add an RSS feed to it. Since WordPress already does contain RSS for both content and comments, all you need to do is to set things up so readers can easily click subscribe. Here’s how to do it. 1. Find the Location of Your RSS Feed First of all, you need to find where your RSS feed is located. To do this, you can use software like Feedburner. Since it’s owned by Google, you can access it with your Google account. Once you log in, this is what you’ll see. Type the URL of your blog into the given field. Feedburner will then locate your RSS feeds. Select one and click Next. This is what you’ll see. You’re now ready to burn your feed! Select Next on the bottom left of the box. What comes up next is this. In the red box marked above, you can find your feed URL. Copy this URL. 2. Add Your Feed to WordPress On the WordPress platform, select Customize from the left-side toolbar. From there, select Widgets. This will allow … Read more