As content creation has become a well-known staple of most financial marketing initiatives, blogging has in turn transitioned from a “nice-to-have” to an essential. It’s easy to see why: blogs need not be particularly long and detailed, but they can still drive traffic and leads to your website. But it can still be a challenge to produce blogs on a regular basis, which is why we’ve produced this “how to write a blog” blog.

What to write about?

If you don’t have a topic, you don’t have a blog article, which is why it’s absolutely essential to nail this down first. It can often be useful to brainstorm a whole list of topics that you can draw from when it comes time to sit down and write the article. Useful starter questions that can help get the ball rolling include: what unique insights do we have on our industry or specialization? How can we best demonstrate our expertise to would-be customers? What little-known information would our target audience find interesting or useful?

You might also want to learn more about What Makes a Great White Paper

Write a snappy, attention-grabbing headline

You may not write your headline until you’ve finished writing the entire piece, but it’s important to get this part right. Pieces of content often live or die by their titles—it’s how would-be readers decide whether to “click it or skip it” when they navigate past it.

Write an introduction that lets the reader know what the rest of the article will be about

Okay, your reader has clicked through to read your article—now it’s time to hook them with your brilliant prose! You’ll want to give the reader a better sense of what the article has in store for them with a few introductory sentences that provide a bit of context while also priming the reader for the sections ahead.

Use clear organization with easy-to-read section headings

We live in the age of online reading, which means the next web page or article is only ever a click away. Although we’d love it if our readers lingered over every single word that we wrote, the reality is that readers are often looking for key nuggets of information. This is why it’s very important to make your blog articles “scannable” by including bold, easy-to-read heading that draw attention to different sections of your article.

Short, punchy paragraphs (avoid walls of text)

Likewise, although very long paragraphs may have their place in an in-depth report, white paper, or some print media, encountering “walls of text” can be very intimidating for web surfers, particularly on mobile devices. Be sure to break your paragraphs up into short, web-friendly paragraphs that don’t overwhelm readers to ensure maximum impact of your articles.

Utilize a conversational, informal tone, but maintain good grammar

Blogs are your chance to show a bit of personality in your writing, so don’t be afraid to use contractions, informal language, or address the reader directly—this isn’t an SEC filing; it’s a blog, so treat it that way! That doesn’t mean you should let the rules of grammar slip by the wayside, but it does mean that you should feel free to “let your hair down” when it comes to writing your blogs. Your readers want to get to know you, so don’t be afraid to let your individuality shine through!