So you spend a good few hours planning, writing and editing your blog about your specialist legal subject.
In your eyes it’s bloomin’ marvellous. Revolutionary in fact.
So you take a deep breath and hit publish.
Then you wait…
And wait…
Nothing.
It’s pretty soul crushing. We get it.
But what if there was something you could actively do to change that? Wouldn’t that be the cherry on top of the blog post cake?
The Mighty Blog Post Cake.
It’s all about that clickable headline.
Find out how to perfect that click-worthy headline…
1. Make your headline unique.
Your generic headline is likely to get lost amongst the sea of other very similar ones. That’s why you have to push your personality and brand to get noticed. What do you offer that the law firm down the road doesn’t?
Brethertons add a pinch of personality to their title.
2. Be specific.
Yes, it’s important to be unique, but you still have to make it clear what you’re on about. People will read your headline, consider whether it’s relevant to them, then either click or move on. Don’t let them move on because they have no idea what your blog post is about.
3. Have a sense of urgency.
Make it clear that they’re missing out if they don’t read your blog post. Seriously. A title like: 10 Things You Should Really Know About Divorce is a really punchy title and urges someone to read on; they want to learn something new.
4. It must be useful.
Ultimately, your blog needs to add value. If you provide quality content to your readers, they will remember you as someone they can rely on. This will strengthen your relationship and lead them to click on future blog posts –hurrah!
5. Powerful and Emotional Wording.
Blog titles that incite an emotional response within the reader motivate them to pursue the post further. Using words that make the reader really anticipate what you have to say is the goal. This is where powerful and emotional words come into play; ‘immediately’, ‘outstanding’ and ‘reliable’ are all really good examples of power words that urge people to want to keep reading. Use some from this list we found.
Stay strong bloggers!
Share, share, share!
You won’t get anywhere if you don’t share your blog post on social media. Twitter is probably the best way to attract a new audience, and you can push it even more by adding an image to your tweet. By adding an eye-catching image, people are 80% more willing to read your blog. For further information on the type of content you should be sharing on each social networking site, check out our previous blog.
Get involved in conversations.
It’s a good idea to get recognised by your community as a force to be reckoned with. If you see other people sharing blogs on similar topics, you should strike up a conversation so that you eventually become recognised for your expertise in that subject. Also, if people are asking questions on websites like Quora, you should offer your insight and copy and paste a link to your blog; a useful bit of information with a dash of cheeky promo never hurt anyone!
Make your blog post look pretty.
Ensuring that your blog post is visually appealing is a must. For example, avoid small fonts; 80% of Internet users own a smartphone, so it must be legible on a smaller screen. It’s also a good idea to create larger subheadings and bullet points so it’s easier for people to skim-read (we’re all busy!). Oh, and of course, adding images helps.
Nope. Still can't read it.
Make SEO your best friend.
If your blog can be found easily on Google, that solves half your problem! With this in mind, it’s imperative to prioritise your audience when you’re writing content. To get a better idea of what your desired audience is searching for, check out answerthepublic.com which shows you what words people are using to search with on Google.
You can then take those words and phrases and utilize them in your blog post. Ensure that your title and header tag are optimised around the most popular searches. This should help you to speak in the right language to attract your ideal buyer persona, rather than falling down the legal jargon rabbit hole and getting no SEO attention whatsoever.
"Oh bother. I'll be stuck here ad infinitum!"
For some expert SEO advice, check out our SEO blog posts.
The key is to not give up! Writing blogs can feel like a chore in the early stages, but with time comes improvement, and hopefully these tips will help you along the way!