Guest post by Jason Verhoosky, creative director/owner of Old Beauty Design & Media.
As the father of a two-year-old, I am constantly reminded that it is not always necessary to tell the long story to get your point across. In fact, my loving wife reminds me on a daily basis that my daughter tunes me out after the first four to six words.
I share this little look into my life because it runs parallel to the way I think about writing blog posts and online communication in general.
We all know that time is a scarce commodity and that more and more demands are placed on our time every day. With the desire to stay in the loop, receive information in direct, digestible sound bites, and to maintain your readers’ attention, I submit the following five tips to a better blog post.
Use Headlines to Break Up Your Post
This is a great way to organize your post, sum up key concepts, and allow your readers to skim for what they need. It also offers a nice visual break for the eyes/mind.
Keep it Short
The occasional long post is acceptable, especially when you have something important to say or a story to share. That said, try to keep your posts targeted, on point, and under 500 words.
A Photo is Worth a Thousand Words (A Video is Worth More)
Use photos to create intrigue and sum up the overall theme of your post. So much can be said through a wisely chosen photo. In addition, don’t be afraid of video! It is a great way to communicate with your audience, more accessible to some, and a fun way to mix things up!
Ask Questions
Open up the opportunity for you and your readers to continue the conversation through comments. This adds so much to the depth and quality of the conversation and gives you the opportunity to elaborate on the topic.
Break up Larger Topics into Series
If you have a large topic that you want to cover, break it up. This allows you to focus on key points, go into depth, and deliver everything you want to say while still staying directed and on topic.
So there you have it. My thoughts on blog post construction in 376 words!
What did I miss? What would you add?
Jason Verhoosky is creative director/owner of Old Beauty Design & Media, author of StreamingCreative, father of Molly and Will, keeper of “Bubba,” and a huge fan of anything with two wheels. His current life goal is to find a way to mount a camera to the back of a moped to film video blogs for Gini Dietrich!