It’s Guest Post Wednesday, and today’s slice of awesome pie comes from the super-spectacular Tara!
When you’re first starting out online, you try to be all professional. You pay for a premium theme. You read the sites on making money online, building your web presence, creating quality content. You write helpful, informative posts on topics that real people have real questions about. You write “thanks-for-the-helpful-post” comments on guru bloggers’ sites.
And you wonder why the links don’t come rolling in. You wonder why people aren’t talking about your site on Twitter. You wonder why traffic isn’t bursting through your webby doors.
I did that. And then I figured out that:
if my useful information wasn’t wrapped up in a burrito of delicious me, people weren’t that interested.
unique thrift store by back_garage via flickr
Catherine knows this too. Her personality shines through each post she writes – and if that’s not really her, she’s got me fooled. You love reading what she writes and you learn something from her posts every day because she not only writes with knowledge but with heart. You take joy responding because you’re talking to her and not a robot.
Posts that are written with heart get people excited & engaged. It’s not just about information then, it’s about being part of a learning experience. When you’re part of an experience, you want to share it with others.
So people start linking to you, the Twitterverse is a buzz about you, and search engine traffic starts to build.
Compelling, engaging content that takes your website from online to awesome represents everything that is unique about you. No matter what niche you’re trying to be a part of, I can assure you it’s over-saturated. The thing that makes you different is your experience, your heart, your soul, your story.
Including your personal insight, short anecdotes of related experiences, or humorous interjections in a blog post gives it extra sticking power. It makes it share-able – ready to go viral.
Want to write a helpful blog post that’s full of heart & soul? Try this brainstorming method:
- Consider the interests, problems, and needs of your readers. Choose a few that you feel comfortable with, that interests you too.
- Also list out a few of your business keywords such as the services you offer or your topic of interest.
- Beside each keyword, interest, problem, or need, list several personal stories/anecdotes/experiences (just a note is fine) that relate back to you.
- Next to each of those, list the lesson or knowledge derived from that experience. This is the key to your story. This little tidbit is what makes your business story more than just another self-serving promotion. You are offering value to your reader.
- Finally, write a “quick” blog post title that includes the interest, keyword, problem or need that the story relates back to.
Once you’ve got your brainstorm on paper – or whatever your techie version of paper is – you’ve got a whole library of awesome blog posts. Go make the most of them.
How do you incorporate your unique personality into your posts? Tell us in the comments!
Tara Gentile writes about creative living at her blog Scoutie Girl and about thinking big on her business blog. She is also the author of an ebook on telling your business story.