It’s not just what you write in your blog that counts. It’s also what your blog looks like.

NOTE: This is Part 5 of the “mouth-watering blog posts” series. You have come up with a superb idea and a headline to match. Your writing is superb and you’ve added some attractive images. There’s one last piece of business to attend to.

Have you ever noticed how effective a plate of food is on a menu? Studies show that people tend to order the items pictured much more than those that are included just as text.

In fact, they tend to order things that look appealing. Never mind that looks have no bearing on taste; looks have every bearing on whether people expect the dish to taste good. [Read more…]

Stock photography makes your blog look uninteresting. And it fails to deliver the most important marketing results. Here’s what to do instead.

NOTE: This is Part 4 of the “mouth-watering blog posts” series. You have a great idea and the ideal headline, and ooh-oooooh is your writing ever magnificent. Let me paint you a picture of what you’re still missing. [Read more…]

The way you write your blog posts, in plain language and easy to read, will determine whether anybody reads what you write. Here is how to keep people reading.

NOTE: This is Part 3 of the “mouth-watering blog posts” series. You have a great idea and the ideal headline, but you’ll need a bit more than that.

How you write is not as important as what you write. For instance, the quality of your writing is not as important as the what your headline says.

But if you come up with the best idea for a blog post and give it the most deliciously seductive headline, all that work will be wasted if people leave your page after a few seconds. [Read more…]

Your blog post headline says only one of two things: “Read me” or “Don’t bother”. Here are six ways to make sure that your headline says, “Read me.”

NOTE: This is Part 2 of the “mouth-watering blog posts” series. You’ve found the perfect idea for a blog post. Now , that idea needs a headline.

The headline or title of your blog post fulfills several functions, all of which lead to the same thing. The goal of the headline is to draw the reader in.

The actual functions are: [Read more…]

There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of blog posts on every topic. The only thing that makes yours worth reading is a truly original idea. Here’s how to create those ideas.

NOTE: This is Part 1 of the “mouth-watering blog posts” series.

Nothing is more important than a truly original and interesting idea for your blog post.

You can wax eloquent.

You can use perfect English.

You can optimize for length and keywords and whatever other metric.

At the end of the day, it’s the idea that counts. But with thousands of other blog posts on the subject, how do you create an original idea? [Read more…]

Everybody should blog. Blogging is now a basic tool to succeed in almost every field. Here are 10 reasons why.

You should be blogging, whether you run a business, freelance part time or hope someday to land that dream job. Hairdresser? Plumber? Home inspector? Nuclear safety monitor? Whoever you are, other than a criminal or a spy, blogging gets you ahead. Most of these 10 reasons apply to you.

1. It’s fulfilling
2. Instant credibility
3. Build a loyal fan base
4. The ultimate networking tool
5. Help the search engines find you
6. Feed your social media following
7. Much more complete than a resume
8. Business card? What business card?
9. Tangible proof of what you know, can do and have done
10. Clients and employers can find you even when they are not yet looking to hire

[Read more…]

Blogging is a piece of cake when you have the recipe. Here are 31 tips to make your blog a mouthwatering treat that will keep readers coming back for more.

I love to blog. In fact, I just love to write. And writing is a huge part of blogging. It’s the meat of the meal. But it’s not the only thing that makes or breaks your blog posts.

There are five main aspects to your blog posts that are all equally important. Let’s take a quick look at each one: [Read more…]

Expert roundup posts have become more than just trendy. Let’s clear up some of the biggest myths about them.

It was not that long ago that a “roundup” blog post meant a collection of the most interesting posts on a topic that had appeared in the past week, month or year. Sometimes these were posts from around the Web. Sometimes, especially for annual roundups, it would be the best or most popular posts that had appeared on that blog: “My top posts of 2015!”

These days, you rarely hear the word “roundup” without the word “expert” in front of it. These expert roundups typically feature a large number of people responding to one or two questions, and all their responses are published verbatim. [Read more…]

The world is talking. Is your content talking about the same things? Here are four ways to make sure it is.

In the world of online content, the topics people write about are often quite random. The goal of producing interesting and valuable content should be to establish credibility and drive visits to our websites. That can more effectively be accomplished by strategically choosing topics.

Aside from obvious topics in our chosen fields, how can we tap into and capitalize on the ever-changing flow of topical web traffic? I mean, how was I supposed to know that Kanye West was a telemarketer? [Read more…]