What makes a good blog post?
Colleen Trolove | August 1, 2016
A few years ago, I fell in love with this blog: View along the way. The writer is a mum called Kelly — similar age and life stage to me. I found her when I saw her laundry ‘before and after’ photos on Pinterest.
Laundry makeover. Image by Kelly
Her blog is the only one that’s ever made it to my bookmarks tab (high praise!). I occasionally wander back there when I want a nostalgic hit. She reminds me of a cuddly, safe place inside me.
And I’m not alone. Her blog got insane amounts of traffic — in March 2014, she recorded 1.3 million page views. She made a decent bit of money from the blog through sponsored advertising. Results like that are most bloggers’ dream come true.
Kelly connects with me
I hear her voice. I hear her enthusiasm, her humanity, her personality, her innocence. I like her.
Kelly and family. Image by Kelly
She feels like a friend. Some of her posts sound like what we’d chat about if I popped in to visit — random did-you-knows:
Some of them are like a helpful brainstorm we’re having together:
Some feel like a proud friend celebrating her latest success with me:
She’s brave. She shares the occasional bit of private information that allows you to feel her vulnerability — and this makes her endearing.
Kelly demonstrates good blogging practice
Her key blogging strengths are:
- Her content is related to her theme of DIY home, but she’s not strict with herself. Some content is light, some’s more in-depth. The combo is nice.
- She takes lovely pictures. They’re a good size, well placed on the page, and they directly illustrate her content.
- She links to things she comments about (on her own blog and on other websites).
- When she’s writing a sponsored post, she says so at the beginning. She explains her experience of the product or service and why she trusts the provider.
What can a business blog learn from this?
I’m assuming that the purpose of a business blog is to prompt potential clients to connect with you. Readers are prompted to connect when they like the human they perceive behind the writing.
So business blogs work best when you are yourself, when you take risks, when you don’t over-think.
Of course, you’ll need to make sure the ‘yourself’ you project complements your organisation’s brand, and your posts will need to be industry-related. But they don’t all have to be weighty or serious. Blog posts that are light and visually appealing can convey your organisation’s culture and humanity in a powerful way.