How to write compelling content for your new blog

When you start a blog, creating your articles and blog posts are the central component.

But there’s more to a high quality blog than just blog posts.

So we’re going to talk about what kinds of blog posts you need to create in a minute, but first we have to answer the question, “What content should be on a website?”

Let’s talk about the pages that you need on your website first.

Your new blog’s home page

When you’re learning how to start a blog there are two main questions you need to answer on your home page that your visitor is asking:

1. What do you do?
2. Can you answer my question or solve my problem?

On your homepage you want to establish why your site visitors should trust you and encourage them to dig deeper.

Your homepage is the jumping-off point for exploration in to what your site has to offer so make your content enticing and give them the opportunity to dig in deeper with an opt-in opportunity and deliver a great resource you’ve created to establish the connection.

Include a display of some of your most popular and/or latest posts so visitors can get a quick glimpse in to what your site is about.

Your new blog’s about me page

The best about me pages are part bio, part personal story, part what you’re up to and a whole lot of ‘how I can help’.

Stuffy, third-person, corporate-speak “about” pages are bounce inducing, sleep-promoting, naps waiting to happen.

These pages are not so much about “you”, but about your visitors.

They need answer these questions:

• How can you help?
• Who are you?
• What do you do?
• What are you doing/working on?
• What can they expect if they work with me?

Include testimonials and photographs while telling your own story and make sure you provide an opt-in opportunity from those ready to get on your list.

Your blog page

For bloggers, it’s important to have a way for visitors to dive deeper in to your content so I encourage you to have a blog page where your categories are listed with a short description of each category along with a collection of your latest or most popular posts on your blog page.

Your contact page

Don’t dismiss the potential of this page. Make this page personal and inviting by using some intro copy on how visitors can get in touch with you.

Use a form instead of an email address here. If you simply use a linked mailto email address, you’re asking for trouble. Since this is a contact page, include ways people can connect with you on social media by linking up Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.

If your blog accepts guest posts, then this would be a good place to include information about what the guidelines and requirements are for submitting theirs.

The Resources Page

This is the page that you use to collect all the links to the resources and tools you use and recommend.

Highlight your best posts and content on your site. Break it up in to categories that cover tips, tools, techniques, assets, and all the things that you use that help you and that you use.

This can be not only the tools you use in your business but also the tools you used to build your website and do your marketing. It can be the browser plugins you use and the things you use to be productive.

It’s the tech stuff you use to do webinars. It can be books you’ve read that have influenced and inspired you.

People want to see the behind-the-scenes stuff when it comes to how you do what you do so make sure to collect all these tools in to a page to provide your audience with the info they need to help get the most out of your content.

The Start Here Page

A “start here” page is a great way to introduce your visitors to what your site contains so they can have a great experience on your site and catch a glimpse of great stuff on your site that they may not have otherwise known about.

It tells them about the purpose of your site and greets your guests letting them know how to get the most out of their visit.

This page can be similar to a resources page, but this page serves more as an introduction to who you are and what you do, and how a visitor can make the most out of their visit.

It’s like getting a guide at Disney World when you walk through the gate that shows you where everything is, and where you can find all the different things your site has to offer.

Those pages are enough to get you started.

That doesn’t mean they’re the only pages you’re going to need though.

Once you’re ready to monetize your blog you will need to develop lead generation pages, sales pages for tripwire products, lead magnet pages, and entire sets of pages for your online sales funnels.

But for now, let’s get these foundational pages up and in place.

But what about blog posts?

How do you create compelling blog content that leaves your readers wanting more?

First – you have to enter into the conversations your dream reader is already having in their own mind.

What I mean by that is this:

When you created your dream reader profile with the info I talked about previously you learned what their struggles and pain points were.

Those struggles and pain points are full of questions that they’re asking in an attempt to find a way to solve the problem and get relief from their pain.

So here’s what you do:

Start by creating a list of every question that you can think of that your dream reader is asking to find solutions.

Next, research how other blogs are answering those questions and solving those pain points by searching the question in Google.

That will give you an idea of the type of answers that are out there.

Here’s the secret sauce that you can add to make your content awesome that I learned from Russell Brunson:

Create your own “prolific” answer to the question.

What does “prolific” mean?

It’s not just a matter of creating voluminous content, Brunson defines prolific as someone with “abundant inventiveness”.

Here’s how he describes what he calls the “prolific index” in Expert Secrets:

“In the middle of the Prolific Index is the mainstream. This includes the ideas currently being taught to the masses via traditional mediums. For example, if you’re a weight-loss expert, the mainstream advice hovers around the government recommendations like the four food groups or the food pyramid for nutrition. While some of these principles may be good, I’d argue others are flat-out lies. Even if you believe those things are true, you aren’t going to get anywhere teaching mainstream advice that people are currently getting elsewhere for free.

One of my favorite examples of the crazy zone in the weight-loss world comes from a documentary I watched called Eat The Sun. In this movie they talked about how people can stop eating and just gaze at the sun. Yes, stop eating completely and just look at the sun. Kinda crazy? Well, the documentary did get me spend a few minutes gazing at the sun, but I’m not crazy enough to give up food 100 percent. And I don’t think anyone is going to make millions teaching that concept…

The sweet spot, the place where you will impact the most lives and make the most money is right in the middle. Somewhere between the mainstream advice adn the crazy zone is right where you want to set yourself up. I call this place the Prolific Zone….

One of my favorite teachers in the weight-loss niche is Dave Asprey from bulletproof.com. His origin story falls perfectly in the prolific zone. One day he was climbing Mount Kailash in Tibet and stopped at a guest house to shelter from minus-10-degree weather. He was given a creamy cup of yak butter tea that made him feel amazing. He tried to figure out why he felt so good. He soon discovered it was from the high fats in this tea, so he started adding butter and other fats to his coffee and teas. This experience eventually helped him create a national phenomenon called Bulletproof Coffee…”

If you don’t know anything about Bulletproof Coffee, it’s a very polarizing idea – some people love it, some people hate it.

But there are millions who love it and it’s been wildly successful.

So what does this have to do with your content?

The idea is this:

Answer the questions that your dream reader is having with answers that fall into the prolific zone.

This means not only do you answer their questions, but you bring your unique approach to the question.

This comes from your personal experience.

Do your homework and develop your unique approach to each and every question and seek to give the best possible answer to the questions your readers are search for answers to.

The next thing you need to do to be able to create compelling content for your blog is simple:

Practice.

A lot.

Like, every single day.

Publish something.

Commit to writing and publishing every single day.

Think about it this way.

Say you wanted to learn how to play guitar.

Do you pick up a guitar and then think that you’re going to start belting out these amazing tunes thinking that you’re going to sound like Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin or you are like Andre Segovia and are able to play these amazing flamenco pieces that are just beautiful pieces of music?

No, of course you don’t.

You’re more like to hear something like that and think, “that’s absurd.”

When you’re getting started you don’t even really know how to hold the guitar!

Or say you wanted to become a gymnast.

You have to learn how to do all the fundamental things in order to perform those magnificent and graceful moves that professional gymnast are able to perform.

What we see like when we watch the Olympics we see what they’ve been working on for years.

We see the product of their diet.

We see the product of their practice regimen.

We see the result of the thousands and thousands of times that they’ve fallen down and fallen off or the injuries they’ve sustained from those kinds of things.

Same thing goes for guitar. When you hear a competent guitarist, you hear the finished result that is the result of years of practice in learning scales, in learning chord changes, in learning modes and learning different picking styles and all those kinds of things.

So when you’re starting a blog the most important thing to do is to practice a lot and publish as much as you can so you can get your reps in.

This is the fastest route to being successful with your new blog.

There are two types of posts that are best for getting started, then two more that will help you when your audience has grown and you’re ready to level up.

First up is the response post.

The Response Blog Post

Three of the four blog post types we’re going to look at here I learned from Jim & Ricky at Income School.

First up is the response blog post.

The response blog post is an answer to a specific question for which your readers are searching.

This is a direct and concise answer roughly 1000 to 1500 words in length.

The Staple Blog Post

Next is the staple blog post.

These posts are longer somewhere around 1500 – 2500 words in length that cover a topic in a little more depth.

These posts are what you typically see as “how to” blog posts, or list posts with collections of information.

Third is the pillar blog post.

The Pillar Blog Post

This post itself is an example of a pillar blog post.

A pillar blog post is a deep dive on a topic that covers every aspect in depth.

Pillar blog posts are 2500+ words in length or more.

Pillar blog posts are just what they sound like, pillars of your blog.

They’re full of “prolific” information that will help your readers get the answers and results they’re looking to get.

They’re actionable, and detailed, full of rich details leaving no stone unturned, and they’ll serve as pillars of flagship content on your blog for years to come.

The last blog post type I’m going to talk about here is what’s come to be known as the “triple V” post.

The Triple V Blog Post

The three V’s stand for value, vulnerability, and visibility.

These blog posts are a little less instructional and “how-to” focused and more opinion and brand focused.

These blog posts can be any length, and they work best when you’ve started to build a little momentum building your audience.

With a triple V blog post it’s all about elevating your visibility by being vulnerable and delivering value. You’re telling a story and that will connect you to your readers and help them understand how you can help them.