Copywriting blog posts makes the world of difference between being read and understood or ignored and unread. It is your choice.
Is writing a blog copywriting?
In the true sense of the word, the answer is no. OK, you are confused but let's dig a bit deeper.
Traditionally, copywriting was a sales-based product. The writers would prepare a script and take it to the typesetters to get ready for the printing press.
Currently, it is for all direct marketing pieces that include many forms, advertising, brochures, handouts etc. Virtually based on advertising.
Where blogging is informational marketing, it takes the copy a step further and informs the reader about the subject.
Therefore my whole heading is wrong and you don't copywrite for blog posts.
However, it has become an accepted form of naming that will forever be confused. I am attempting to turn copywriters into marketers as we construct a great blog.
Get your posts and pages correct at the start
A great copy is necessary for blogging
I am not “Gilding the Lilly” here, you still need to write a great copy in a world that is very competitive.
“The secret of all effective advertising is not the creation of new and tricky words and pictures, but one of putting familiar words and pictures into new relationships.” – Leo Burnett
I have just been reading a script from a top-level organisation that completely confuses the two words.
Copywriting is selling and that is often included as part of the blogging structure. A funnel for instance is a direct selling operation that takes you in and spits you out a few bucks poorer. Your blog will sometimes link to a funnel to finish the operation, e.g. get a sale.
Affiliate marketing and copywriting
Here I go again, getting all confused between the media because I am a long term affiliate marketer.
Affiliate marketing is the art of taking a reader on a journey to purchase a product from a third party. This requires gentle persuasion and not, in your face, hard sell. copywriting.
I bring Affiliates into the equation because a large proportion of blogging will include an affiliate link. A way to be reimbursed for your time and effort expended.
The headline is a common bond
Your headline must grab immediate attention so that the reader will move into the document where all the subheaders and pictures take over.
We are searching for reasons so consider answering one of the following:
- Builds curiosity
- Hints at a problem being solved
- Offers something compelling
- Entices and excites
My heading “is writing a blog copywriting” hints at curiosity and solving a problem and yours should be similar.
I call it the Nanosecond rule because you must grab attention immediately or lose the reader.
Neil Patel has a construction that goes like this:
How to get….in just …. days even if you don't have….
How to get your post read in one day even if you don't have the best writing skills.
Maybe I should have used it instead of my effort
Irresistible Keywords are the deal-breaker
There is no doubt that the correct use of Keywords determines your level of success. To be read or not.
You must have an understanding of the subject and apply the rules, and the current rules not the old ones. Rules change because Google says so. It was only a few years past that using lots of keywords (stuffing) was the order of the day. It is now a no-no.
Then came the longtail keywords that enhanced the search terms followed by using synonyms throughout your writing.
The post length went from 300 words to 3000 words to get the first-page viewing
You will understand that you must be on page one to be read, in fact in the first couple of lines of the free ads.
Superior keyword use for success
If my keyword was blogging I would start on page 23 of a search term and gradually move up from there. Even with a lot of traffic, about 8500 searches a month, I would never get read.
Fortunately, there are now tools that you can use that provide the information you need. This must be your first job when starting to write.
Your elite SEO commitment
One last chore before we take pen to paper.
Writing a great blog has a form that should be considered.
Your SEO experts like Yoast insist on no more than 300 words in a subheading.
Add to this no sentence longer than 75 words and written in a positive style.
Furthermore, all your subheading less size than your main heading and going down in size. Let me explain.
My heading is a #2, my subheadings all #3 and the final re-use of my keyword a #4.
Your post length can vary as long as it answers a question or provides a solution. However, most agree the magic number is 1500 words. This blog is 800 to here.
Now to write the best blog
Having set up your structure it is almost time to pick up your pen however I have found one final job for you. This will save you time and writers bloc.
My advice is to do your heading first. With a dozen or so headings and 200 words per paragraph, you will have no trouble meeting the word count.
Furthermore, your page should follow a format that is fairly standard. The words change sometimes but basically the process is the same.
The introduction | What it is about |
A story | Why it is important |
Content | The issue it answers |
Transition | The details of what you want from the reader |
Pitch | Confirm the sale or provide a link |
Then use power words to influence the reader.
Hard-hitting attention grabbers
Attention-grabbers:
- Exclusive
- Breakthrough
- Bestselling
- Elite
Appealing:
- Irresistible
- Exceptional
- Unforgettable
- Picturesque
Competitive:
- Superior
- Cutting-edge
- Hard-hitting
- Introducing
- Welcome
Convincing
- Versatile
- Simplifies
- Ready to Go
- Done-for-you
Irresistible blog writing
I have stolen another quote that suits the purpose.
“People will do anything for those who encourage their dreams, justify their failures, allay their fears, confirm their suspicions, and help them throw rocks at their enemies.” – Blair Warren
Therefore knowing who your customer is and what they do is important. Your style of writing will change to the chosen demographic.
Consider age, education, interests, sex and write to your ideal reader.
The young want it fast and loud, on the other hand, the old want it soft and slow.
Check out the TV advertising, load and fast and a huge amount of movement is targeted at the young. They blow my mind with intensity and action.
Likewise, retirement home advertising is slow and gentle and the kids will never see them. Your writing must be the same.
Marketing with blog posts and the answers.
Persuasive writing for results
Persuasive writing consists of using power words, logical arguments, and emotional connections to move your readers to action. In affiliate marketing, the words you choose should help your audience decide that the product, service, or software you're promoting is precisely what they need.
You want readers on the edge, building desire and ready to make a commitment.
For example, training at Wealthy Affiliate builds this process so that you will become an unforgettable writer and readers will wait for the next episode. When you build a following, you develop an income stream that will last the years.
Above all else, writing for the long term will provide the results you desire. For instance, this is one of two hundred posts on similar subjects that provide a link to total online marketing.
In other words, I want you to read more than one short blog.
Above all else learn your craft and apply the skills so you are in front of the pack. For example, I have used several references in building this post with the most important being Wealthy Affiliate.
Wealthy Affiliate is a high spec web host with elite page speed and as a result, supports your readers.
In conclusion,
We have covered a lot on this short journey.
Firstly, the need to be read is paramount and furthermore it won't happen unless you follow the rules.
Above all else are keyword research and SEO placement before you write a single word. This is well covered in Wealthy Affiliate where you can get the tools to help.
Learn to use a keyword tool and furthermore use it at every opportunity.
Copywriting blog post by Peter Hanley
Remember that blogging is persuasive marketing and copywriting is selling and they are different.
What we are taught at Wealthy Affiliates to do is to figure out and to meet people’s needs. This is a far cry from copywriting which is all about sales. Here at Wealthy Affiliates, we build up trust with our readers and then offer them ways that will meet or exceed their needs. To me, there is quite a large difference. Your advice on how to structure and write an article are excellent and a proven way to get at least 1,500 words.
Thanks for the feedback, what bought this to my attention was a very well known
plugin had a full article on copywriting however what she was writing was blogging.
Oh well back to the wealthy training.
Peter H
ps I cheated and only wrote 1420 words LOL
How lucky we are nowadays that with all the tools on the internet, we’re able to search for keywords to determine our best options to even get the chance of getting seen and ultimately read on the first page of google search. Your comparison between “Copywriting and blogging” cleared out some things for me.
Thanks, Richard, glad I could help. It is a long time argument that people get mixed up.
Peter H
this is a great and amazing article. i sincerely appreciate your effort creating time to write on such an informative article which has taught me a lot more on Copywriting blog posts. i owned a personal blog for two years now and i wonder i haven’t earned nothing from it because i post frequently on my blog. thanks for sharing this amazing article
Thanks for the comment.
Keep up the work posting to your blog but make sure you understand Keywords
really well to have a chance of being read,
Best wishes
Peter H