Blogging is a great way to market your classes in a way that is cost-effective and informative while building your brand. Starting a blog for your business is a great way to connect with your customers. And it helps potential customers get to know you too.
But admittedly, it’s intimidating to start. If you can’t think of the words to say, you can watch the the text cursor blink at you for what feels like an eternity on a blank word doc. The scariest part is not knowing where to begin!
If you’re looking to write a blog for the first time, here’s our beginner’s guide to writing a brilliant blog post for your baby business.
1. Take A Moment To Decide Your Keyphrase
What is a Keyphrase?
A Keyphrase is a term we use to describe what term you want users to be searching on Google to find your article. For example, if you want to write a blog article about starting babies on solid foods, you might want to use a Keyphrase, ‘Baby-led weaning’.
There are some great tools out there to help you figure out what keyphrases are being searched for most online. Websites like Answer The Public (where you get 3 free searches a day) are a great way to figure out what an ideal phrase is to base your article on.
The reason why we advise you to think of your Keyphrase first and foremost is so that you know what term you want to appear in your blog article. The more frequently you can put this keyphrase in (without littering it in too much), the more likely your blog will appear in people’s searches.
2. Craft A Catchy Headline That Fills The G.A.P.
You could write the most beautiful, informative, and amazing article the world has ever seen. But without a gripping Headline that will catch readers’ attention, the likelihood is that no one will see it. When crafting your headline, make sure that it fills in the G.A.P:
G – Grabs your reader’s attention – Make sure that the headline is something that they’re looking for or that catches your eye.
A – Articulates an issue that your reader will likely be experiencing – Phrase it in a way that highlights something you know people will be curious about, or have asked questions about in the past.
P – Promises to guide, inform or provide a solution to tackle a pain point your reader has – If your title suggests that you will help them to offer insight, then they are far more likely to open it.
Like with a lot of marketing tasks, there are a variety of tools out there to help you figure out whether the headline you’ve created can be improved. This one by Coschedule is great, giving your title a ranking out of 100 and suggesting ways where you could improve. It has a free version that is very good too.
Here’s a few examples of titles we’ve used in the past for our blogs:
- 5 Necessary Features To Think About When Buying Your First Highchair
- 9 Top Remedies For Leg Cramps During Pregnancy (From Experienced Mums!)
- Christmas Grottos – The Happity Guide To Making The Best Choice
3. Plan A Structure For The Blog You’ll Write
Everyone writes differently, and if the article you are writing is more like a journal (offering your readers an update about you or your life) then you may choose to just put fingertips- to-keyboard-keys and write away.
However, if you’re planning to write an article that’s promising to guide, inform or answer, then you’re more likely to want to add a structure to your article (separating your article into different sections with sub-headings). This will make it much easier for your audience to read your article – especially if they are skimming it because they are in a rush!
There are a few ways you can divide your article up, depending on the sort of article you want to make:
- If you are trying to write a ‘List-icle’ (or a List-Article), then you can make your subheading for each section the different points you want to make. (Happity example)
- When you’re looking to inform your audience (e.g. with news happening in the baby sector or a business update) then your subheadings could offer a quick overview of what the section is about. (Happity example)
- When you’re looking to create a guide, then you can do the same as above. Offering a subheading that provides a quick overview of what the section is about. (Happity example)
4. What We’ve Been Building Up To – Write Your Blog!
Even though this is what we’ve set out to do, It can sometimes be a bit intimidating to actually write your blog. Depending on experience (with writing or within the industry), you can sometimes wonder if what you’re writing is going to be informative enough for your audience.
But, rest assured, those thoughts are all in your head! Our biggest advice for this is to just push yourself through your self-doubt and get started. It doesn’t matter if the first few bits you write aren’t amazing, or even good. Just write, and then don’t stop!
Remember, you can always go back and edit it after you’re done. The biggest hurdle to overcome however is to get the words in your head onto the page. Plus, with your structure in place, you can start wherever you like! If you want to start writing under the last sub-heading you’ve crafted for your article then you can totally do that.
Some Other Tips That Might Help:
- 1) Write your blog as you, not as your business. Keep your articles fairly light and accessible in terms of copy, using a mixture of simple and complex sentences. You are your brand, and this is an opportunity for readers to get to know your tone of voice. Try not to write it like an anonymous business-y amorphous blob, but as you! Even if you’re not using your name with your writing, it will still make your writing more approachable to your reader.
- 2) Don’t write your article like you’re addressing a crowd. At Happity, the tone for our blogs tends to be very personal and approachable, as if you’re sitting in a one-on-one conversation with your reader. Imagine that the article you are writing is for just one parent. Or like you’re writing it for a friend.
- 3) If you want to write it from entirely your perspective, you can! There are no written rules on how to write your blog. And there is absolutely no reason why you can’t write these articles from your perspective as a parent, especially if it’s for the sake of sliding in examples of your own experiences. Write in a way that feels comfortable for you.
- 4) Write a minimum of 500-700 words, and a maximum of 2500. There’s no strict guidance as to how many words you should be writing. But if you’re looking for a general idea of what to aim for, then that should help
- 5) Link to your classes / website / booking system – One of the main reasons you’ll want to start a blog is to get more traffic to your main site, so don’t forget to get those *backlinks in there!
- 6) Remember: you have more knowledge than you think. Use it! As a class provider, you’re going to have a speciality that you excel at. And with that comes knowledge that’s second nature to you now. Keep that in mind as you write, and be sure to offer your expertise where you can.
*A backlink is a link that takes a user from one site back to your main page or call-to-action. For example…
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5. Proof-Read, Edit, And Check Your SEO
Once your initial draft is done, and you’re happy that you have written everything you need to in your blog, it’s time to go back and read it again. And a second time. Maybe even a third.
Proofing your work is important, and sometimes it helps to read it out loud. Or change the formatting. Make the font size bigger, change which style you’re using, and then read it again. You never know where an obvious mistake might slip through the cracks.
It’s also good practice to check your SEO when you write your blog. Don’t worry if you don’t understand what that fully means yet though. If you’re just starting, then Search Engine Optimisation as a phrase means very little! Our best suggestion is to find a plugin/online tool that can help to analyse your work and feedback on how to improve your article.
At Team Happity, we use the plugin Yoast on WordPress. It provides you with a checklist of what to improve upon (with a traffic light system to tell you how good your article is), and also offers you feedback on readability too! It’s really easy to use, and makes SEO accessible for everyone (especially for small businesses!)
NOTE: Don’t forget to add some images to your blog too! Whether they’re photos from you and your classes, or stock images (from somewhere like Canva or Unsplash). They will help to break up the sections and add extra visual appeal to your article.
6. Walk Away, Have A Cup Of Tea, Then Proof It Again.
It might look perfect on the first edit, but even the most experienced writers can experience ‘Author’s Blindness’. If you’ve been staring at a block of writing for hours, then even the most obvious typo can blend in with the rest.
Do yourself a favour and take that well-deserved break. Walk away, have a cup of tea, watch an episode of your favourite programme, do a few household chores, or anything that will help to distract your brain and switch off from writing mode. Then, a few hours later (maybe even a day later), read through your blog again for one last check.
7. Find A Platform To Publish Your Blog, And Then Share With Your Audience!
You’ve proofed, you’ve checked, and everything is looking good now. You’re finished up. So the last thing to do is to get it live!
If you already have a website built, you may have a blog built in. In which case, share away there. If you don’t have a website however, not a problem. There’s plenty of free blogging spaces available for you to use. As mentioned above, we use WordPress to power our blogs, and find them to be incredibly useful. (The ability to use plugins comes in handy!)
Once it’s published on your blog, it’s likely that it still won’t be receiving a ton of views or clicks. Make sure that once it’s live that you start sharing it around. Link it in an email / newsletter and send it out to your audience. Or share it on your Facebook page and tag people who you think might be interested. Make sure that you get more views by sharing and resharing as often as you like. Then, in no time, you’ll be seeing more and more interested people booking onto your classes. Once you’ve written your first blog, you’ll find that you will write again and again and again!
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