by Kiesha Easley | Featured Contributor
It’s easy to keep a blog flowing with content if you understand the purpose that each post should serve for its readers. There are three goals that a blog should aim for to ensure its readers are getting what they came for. Regardless of niche, a blog should inform, inspire and/or entertain its audience (you guessed it – these are the three Ns).
Every blog may not be suitable to do all three, but whenever possible, it’s important to produce articles that serve each purpose. I’m not saying that you need to do all of that in one article, but to simply make sure that the various articles you do publish actually accomplishes one of those goals.
As you’re developing your editorial calendar for what you will publish, insure that you have at least one article that:
Informs
People are always looking for information. The types of articles that could serve this purpose are those that provide valuable information or that share knowledge with readers. It could be relevant news that your readers should know about, but it doesn’t always have to be news.
It could be a tutorial or a How-To article; an infographic or a video – anything that presents information that might affect your audience, that answers questions or helps readers solve their problems.
Inspires
People are NOT always directly looking to be inspired or motivated, but if you can write an article that not only informs them, but inspires them to do something about what they found, then your blog will have a greater impact on its readers. This is the kind of blog that can give readers the boost they need to reach their goals and achieve success.
Content that inspires does not need to be full of inspirational quotes or pictures, but simply communicates in such a way that it motivates people to action. The types of articles that could serve this purpose would be those that empower its readers with the information they need and action steps that show them what to do with the information they’ve just received.
Entertains
Let’s face it, sometimes people just want to be entertained. They want to take a break from reality and just have a laugh or experience something different. Don’t be afraid to use storytelling as a strategy to present valuable information. Case studies can be entertaining as well as informational. But you could just share a funny story, video or photographs with your audience to entertain them – it doesn’t have to be that complicated.
A blog serves all of the 3Ns is one that its readers will eagerly visit often and share across social networks. Strive to find a way to inform, inspire and entertain your readers no matter which niche you’ve chosen and you’ll find that your blog will stand out from the crowd.
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Kiesha Easley, Online strategy and Blogging expert from WeBlogBetter.com, South Carolina.
Kiesha Easley is a writer, instructor and blog consultant. Her blog, WeBlogBetter.com provides blogging, writing, social media and other great tips for improving a blog. Kiesha’s articles have been published on Problogger, DIYThemes, Social Mouths, and in Midlands Live Magazine. Her most recent blogging guide, 10 Week Gameplan for a Top 100k Blog, has helped many bloggers build successful blogs from scratch.
In addition to teaching others how to blog, Kiesha is also a college instructor who teaches students how to write for mass media.
When she is not writing, teaching or working on freelance projects, she loves ballroom dancing, watching movies (her favorite: The Pursuit of Happyness), spending time at the beach with family and playing The Sims 3 when she can steal some very rare free time.
Feel free to send her your questions about blogging and content marketing. Kiesha loves helping and connecting with others, so connect with her:
Twitter: @weblogbetter
Email: kiesha@weblogbetter.com
