5 Tips for Making Butt Kicking Blog Content

If you search for blogging tips online, chances are you'll find a website telling you that you need to create killer content in order to drive and maintain traffic to your site. Truth be told, it's easier said than done. Not only does your content have to be to be interesting but it also must be contextual.

So with all the time constraints that come with working in real estate, how do you produce quality content on a regular basis? Below, we've put together five tips for making butt kicking blog content.

1. Create Pillar Content

Pillar content, as first described by blogger Yaro Starak, is content that is (i) timeless, (ii) has search engines in mind and (iii) is well written. The easiest pillar content to write is a list-type of post. They're inherently easier to write and easier to read. Readers are able to quickly see the headings and dive into whichever point intrigues them (hopefully every point!). Write a list about something your potential customers will find interesting. An easy topic to get you started would be, The Top 5 Things to do in [Insert Your Target Market]. This type of post will incorporate your expertise in the area and target your potential customers directly. Pillar content also tends to get many more backlinks and traffic from search engines. This means, as the piece ages it actually increases in productivity.

Here's an example of a blog post I produced in 2012 and the stats since:

As you can see, the post got 18,581 visits in 2012. As the piece aged, it received increased traffic from search engines. In the first two months of 2014, the piece received 18,703 visits – more than all of 2012.

Put effort into making pillar content and reap the awards, even years after the piece has been written and marketed.

2. Use a Working Title

Always use a working title when producing your content.

Why?

Because headlines are important. Brian Clark of Copyblogger says, "according to some of the best copywriters of all time, you should spend half of the entire time it takes to write a piece of persuasive content on the headline...you should downright obsess over your post title." This is because if your content is great, you're going to want to entice clicks with an engaging title. Online publishers like BuzzFeed and Huffington Post are masters of this.

3. Provide an Expert Opinion

Providing your opinion on a topic is a great way to encourage discussion on your blog. Sports writers are great at this. They take a definitive stance one side of a particular issue – and they argue the heck out of it. The less holes in an argument, the better the piece. Use data, life experience and facts to back up what you put on paper. Remember to keep your readers in mind when forming your argument; try not to use too much jargon or uncommon knowledge without thoroughly explaining what you mean.

4. Make It Short and Sweet

Readers have an attention span of 8 seconds. This means you have to get to the point, and fast. Try to keep your paragraphs short and your posts under 1000 words. I would recommend posting between 300-700 words for each post. This forces you to prove a point without becoming redundant.

A great way to "cut the fluff" from your writing is to get someone to edit your writing. Get someone to edit who will give you honest feedback. This feedback will (i) strengthen your current piece and (ii) strengthen any piece you create down the road.

5. Research, Research Then Research Some More

The best performing blog posts are the ones that are not only well written, but also well researched. After you have selected a topic, spend significant time gathering information from reputable sources. This data will help you formulate your argument and help your reader side with your argument.

Conclusion

Creating content is hard. But after doing a couple pieces for your blog, you'll notice a certain method works best for you. For reference, this piece took around six hours to complete. That's from brainstorming a topic with the other editor, researching, writing and then editing. The marketing of this piece will then take at least half that time. When I first started, it was taking closer to 10 hours to produce content like this. Like anything, as you practice, you'll increase in productivity.

To view the original article, visit the RealBiz Media blog.