Alan Draper
Coming up with good blog posts on a daily basis can be a challenging task indeed. Here in the Kuno labs we try and stay ahead by always having three or more posts in the queue. However, for various reasons, now and then we burn through our queued posts and find ourselves scratching our heads wondering if someone around the office has a post to publish in the morning. Today is one of those days and the answer is no – no one has a post for this morning. This is the perfect opportunity to share the secret to whipping up a quick valuable blog post for those queue-is-empty days. Readers – meet the tried and true Top 10 List.
- Identify a problem your readers have and focus on solutions throughout the post.
- Make sure to identify in the Top 10 List in the title of the post. Many readers are attracted to the convenience of skimming a list.
- In the opening paragraph clearly state what is in it for the reader.
- Try and give real-world examples.
- Put the problem in the appropriate business context – Tell a story around it.
- It’s OK to give the post a personal twist.
- Where prudent, try and provide real data with sources to back up conclusions (Admittedly, this post has no prudent data to share).
- Don’t labor over the list. If you can’t come up with 10 then settle for eight or nine.
- The last paragraph should “tell ‘em what you told ‘em.” Revisit the original value proposition of the post.
- Include a call-to-action in the closing paragraph.
That’s it. The above post took about 20 minutes to write and the Kuno blog is once again saved from the dreaded queue-is-empty syndrome. Content marketing is too valuable for online brands to let a business day go by without publishing. It’s critical for SEO, social media marketing and referral traffic. If you find yourself faced with the dreaded queue-is-empty syndrome, don’t worry. The tried and true Top 10 List and 30 minutes of time is the cure. For more help with blogging download our Blog Post Optimization Playbook.
Image: Pop Culture Geek
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This article was written for Business 2 Community by Alan Draper.
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Nice post! One additional tip (which I supposed you could call a bonus #11): try to identify a topical issue that you can use as a launching pad for your post. Holidays, sporting events, awards ceremonies or even what was just reported on the news can all make for good starting points.
Thanks. . . Nice addition to the list BTW. Very relevant indeed :)
@CPollittIU