What makes a blog post worth sharing? That’s likely the question on your mind if you’re thinking of: launching a blog, hiring a blogger, or both! Because you don’t want to face the same consequences as a small business owner I met recently.
This business owner was struggling to come up with a blog post worth sharing
They were already working with a blogger, but they weren’t getting the results they hoped for. Suddenly, they had far less time to tweak their blog and coming up with a blog post worth sharing. Because they found themselves in a position where they had to find a replacement. In other words, they were wasting valuable time and money.
They wouldn’t have to worry about this if they had:
- A promotion strategy in place
- Popular methods such as social listening
Then, they would increase their chances of every blog post being a blog post worth sharing.
That’s exactly why I decided to share with a few ingredients of shareable blog posts.
1) A feeling of belonging
In fact, 68% of people share because they want to give others a sense of who they are and what they care about.
This sense of belonging is about making people think to themselves:
“I can so relate to this person and everything they’re going through! This reminds me of myself, or someone I know!”
Then, they share on social media, because they understand this person’s point of view.
But this doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to make your blog a tell-all diary…
You still need to offer some sort of value to your readers.
A good example of a blogger that does is extremely well is Jordan Makelle especially in her recent post on why people don’t succeed as freelance writers.
Although this post could have so easily taken a judgemental, negative tone it avoided that viewpoint within seconds. This involved sharing a personal story, which proves that she knows what it feels like to struggle to “get by”:
This leads to her audience of professional writers, feeling like truly belong, and are part of something important:
This sense of belonging is established not just via her blog, or on Twitter, but also through her blog’s Facebook group as well:
This person got an overwhelming amount of support because Jordan’s community understands what they’re going through.
On a regular basis, Jordan’s work bringing together people who are facing similar challenges. Not to mention, they’re a global audience of creatives who likely wouldn’t meet in any other context.
And that’s extremely important because 70% of customers spend twice as much on brands they have an emotional attachment to than brands they have no emotional attachment whatsoever.
Which brings me back the passage I showed you earlier from Jordan’s blog…
Where she told the story of what her life was like before she started to make money off freelance writing.
If she had simply told that story without context, you might ha`ve misunderstood her intentions. But she quickly addresses her reader’s inevitable misconceptions as well:
The reason why I wanted to use Jordan’s work as an example is that it creates belonging in a genuine way.
Rather than being like: “see… you guys, I’m just like you,” Jordan frames her personal experiences as something readers can learn from.
When Jordan shares her personal stories, she uses them as a tool to make her readers feel included in everything she’s experiencing and has experienced.
And that’s exactly what it takes to make people emotionally involved in your blog content. It’s all about making your readers feel like they’ve lived next door to her their whole life, even though you’ll likely never meet her in person.
More importantly, it’s about including them in every step of the journey, so that it matters just as much as their favourite TV show.
2) Accessible answers to people’s problems
Often, when I talk to new clients they express concern about giving away too much free information.
However, I think the CEO of Express Writers perfectly sums up what blog content that offers value can accomplish:
“Give your readers value in content, earn their trust, and you’ll get much more than just one conversion or a fast sale. You’ll get a connection, a relationship – and maybe even their loyalty.”
This loyalty is not only one the cheapest, but the most meaningful result you can possibly get out of your blog. Because all it takes is a 5% jump in customer retention to get a 95% increase in profits.
Just to give you an example of why this approach works, I’m going to give you a peek behind the scenes at how I got my most recent client.
It started only a week or two ago after she sent the following message via LinkedIn:
Prior to this interaction, I had never reached out to her before. Instead, I just kept creating content. That content was so beneficial to her that she took time out of her day to ask me if I was accepting new freelance projects.
The reason why I wanted to share this story with you is that I want you to know that blog posts that are:
- Relevant
- And consistent
Leads to an audience that is willing to pay whatever’s necessary for your expert opinions.
What to do if you’re not sure what your customers actually want
When I guest blogged for the Think Creative Collective blog, I emphasized the value of listening to reader feedback. Because not enough business owners are taking the time to do that when producing blog content.
This involves using tools such as:
To learn more about what your audience is unsure about. Proof of this is found in places like social media, where customers whose tweets receive responses spend 3-20% more.
With blogging, you’re striving for the same goal. You want your customers to feel heard and understood.
81% of shoppers conduct online research before buying. If you want to produce a blog post worth sharing, focus on reassuring readers that you have solutions to their problems.
3) Trust and credibility
Producing a blog worth sharing is also about trust. According to a survey on blogging and credibility, the following factors make a blog credible:
- Good content and design
- A strong social media presence
- And the types of content (the most trustworthy content types are how-to posts, stories, news, and case studies)
Often, professional or personal experiences will also get your reader’s attention. Especially if they’re relevant! However, it’s safe to assume that other people in your industry will have bios that sound like yours.
That’s exactly why I think Arjen
“The key to feeling like an expert is having enough of the right knowledge that you feel comfortable in the company of other experts.”
The good news is… you don’t need years of experience, a history of being published on any major websites, etc…
A great example of this is my grandfather.
He had no post-secondary education, never finished high school, and lived a relatively quiet life. But he was still the smartest person I’ve ever met.
And he pulled this off through:
- Reading and experiencing as much as he could
- And not being afraid to ask questions about the things he’s unsure about.
Taking the same approach to blogging will build trust and relationships with your readers.
Because what you learn, as you open your mind to what’s going on now will capture and maintain your reader’s attention. This is an approach to blogging that the folks at CopyBlogger called “helping readers see what you see,” which leads to readers understanding your message.
And if your readers understand your message and actually like what you represent, they’ll feel like your blog post is a blog post worth sharing.
4) Great emotion-based experiences
Sometimes, all it takes to make a blog post worth sharing is how it makes people feel.
A great example of this is Buzzfeed, which gets thousands of share on average by focusing exclusively on emotional appeal. But how do they do that? According to Buzzfeed founder, Jonah Peretti:
“We think differently — what need does a story play in someone’s life? When you’re having a rough day at work and see ’13 Simple Steps To Get You Through A Rough Day’, that’s servicing an emotional need: look at this hedgehog wearing a tiny hat — you feel better, you share it with your friends.”
So what does that entail? Just to give you an idea of what kinds of articles are the most successful, here are the most popular Buzzfeed posts, according to Buzzsumo:
So what exactly are the most popular posts appealing to? It’s all about humour and reassurance.
And there’s a lesson to be learned from this…
What you really need to do is figure out what experiences are the most common among your readers.
The only way you can know:
- What makes them feel better after a rough day at work
- What they consider nostalgic
- And what they find humorous
Is by paying attention to your target audience’s reaction to videos, blog posts, etc. How they react, will help you decide what makes a blog post worth sharing. Fortunately, you likely have direct interactions with your audience, either through:
- Social media
- Phone calls
- Or offline meetings
Use the conversations you have with your target audience every day to tap into what triggers the most powerful emotions.
Since we are all slaves to our emotions, the most essential emotions for a blog post worth sharing are:
- Humour
- Sadness
- And the “wow” factor
But you don’t necessarily need all of these at once. As long as you’re tapping into one of these emotions, you’ll attract people’s’ attention.
One of the most common mistakes businesses make…
Is the lack of consideration for their reader’s needs and interests.
They simply write whatever they feel like, and hope for the best. But you need a lot more than just words on a page to get valuable results.
If you factor in the key ingredients of a blog post worth sharing, you’ll get the return on investment that you’re looking for.
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Please add a comment below if you'd like to discuss this topic. – Rosie
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