Blogging should not be boring. By no means should your readers feel unengaged with your material. So how do you keep them engaged? How do I get them to read the FULL post, and not just skim through? You also may ask: How can I get more click-thru's to my website or with my CTA’s?
In this post, I won't just show you how to write blog posts, but help you become a “Visual Blogger”.
“Visual Blogging”, in my opinion, is where your words become a visual experience with the aid of visual cues and stimulants. When you make your blog visual, your audience becomes more engaged and will come back wanting more! It's like a good piece of apple pie - you can’t just have one.
Here are my 5 Favorite Tips On How to Write Visual Blog Posts:
1) The sky is the limit: What I mean by this is that: write what you want! There are so many different markets, niches, and social circles that you can write about almost anything and it will be seen!
I'm not saying to write about trees, if you are writing for a business blog. But I am saying you can write anything business related to your specific buyer persona. If you do not know what a buyer persona is, it's a fictional character you create to represent your "ideal" customer.
You should not have to feel like you are limited to specific topics within your market.
The more you write about what you love, understand, and are passionate about in your market, the more your words will mean and become a stimulant for people.
You can’t engage your followers, if you are not engaged yourself!
2) Videos: What is more visually stimulating than visual content. People these days are more likely to learn through visual aid than text. As well, people are more likely to watch a video on a site than read the actual text/material.
You just have to make sure that the videos you post are relevant and are not too long.
Long videos disengage a reader because they came to your blog for a good quick read not a seminar video on “How to Ride a Bike”.
Long videos can work if your viewer is looking to learn about something in depth. An example is it will work for viewers who lets say want to learn how to cook a meal from start to finish.
3) Pictures: Pictures are also visual cues for the reader. This is also a good way to bring humour into your blog.
These days you can basically find a meme (words over pictures, usually for a funny reference) for any subject imaginable. Nothing satisfies a reader more than some good content and a good laugh here and there.
This also increases the likelihood of people sharing of your blog, going to your website, or incresed CTA click-thru rates. This can also improve your all over SEO. This will work if you optimize on your alt text in your pictures. So when Google crawls your blog post it will know what your images are.
4) Use real words: One of my pet peeves are when blogs sound fake. I do not mean fake as in false information. I am talking about the kind of fake like Mean Girls. Where Regina George will be nice and proper to your face, then stab you behind your back.
People want to hear YOU and your Real Words. Blogs become sooooo much more visual if you use lingo you would use just talking like you normally would in conversation with the ladies or guys.
As well, add personification and similes here and there, it makes your words jump off the page. All in all, just be who you are and not the Regina George of blogging.
5) Sharing is caring: Make your social media follow/share buttons VISIBLE! I mean very visible.
Do not put them small and tucked in the corner where nobody will really see them. If they are small and in an irrelevant place, your readers will think the use for them is small and irrelevant.
Make them stand out and you can even mention in your post: “Follow Us on Social Media for more Material” and them have your links right there. This will make sure your readers will see it and they will feel more apt and engaged to click it.
When you combine all of these 5 Tips you will see a dramatic difference in the way people see your posts, and you as a writer. “Visual Blogging” is a great way to attract loyal followers and more leads, impressions, and conversions for your business.
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