Rick Burnes (from HubSpot), had a great presentation at the eMarketing Techniques Conference last week on advanced blogging techniques for businesses.  It was so good, that I wanted to share part of it here, the part that causes so many people to stop blogging altogether: writing posts. Most frustrated blog writers fall into one of two camps:

1. You want to change the world, ultimately trying to boil the ocean on each and every post. A week of writing like this and you’re too exhausted to do this any more. Project abandoned.
   
2. You have too many ideas that are scattered and don’t seem to be picked up by search engines or attract readers. With such paltry results and little motivation to continue, the blog is “let go” due to attention deficit layoffs.
   

How to Write Great Blog Posts

Each blog post, regardless of the “flavor” of the post, should be on only one topic. Keep it short and sweet, no more than 600 words (there are exceptions). Don’t try to boil the ocean, but do try to provide useful, relevant information that would fit your readers. If you know who your readers are, or have given them a persona, think of them each time you write. Also, keep in mind the following “flavors” of posts, which will help you prioritize (and organize) your efforts.

Raisin Bran

Let’s keep things in perspective. The reason you are writing a blog for your business is to drive traffic to your site. Most of your traffic is likely to come from search engines. Therefore the foundation of your blog content should be built with keyword-rich posts, or as Rick calls them, “raisin bran” posts. With a little practice, you’ll eventually get very good at cranking these out. But don’t go on auto-pilot, you still want to make sure these posts are useful.

Spinach

While the bulk of your blog will be built on raisin bran, your audience won’t be sustainable if you only write one type of post. So you need to occasionally throw in some “spinach,” posts that will help establish your organization as a thought leader. These may require some research and almost always have some links to other sources, but are solid, thoughtful posts. But moderation is the key here. Think of doing these once a month or so.

Roasts

I’m from the Northeast originally, so I get the concept of roasts (although I’m vegetarian). But down here in Texas, we could also call this the brisket post. Regardless of what you call it, the idea is that this requires a lot of thought, effort, and time to put together correctly. This is your research paper, so choose your topic carefully. If you do it right, you will engage your audience in discussion, and lots of people will tell lots of other people about your blog.

Tobasco

Every now and again, it’s a good idea to stir the pot. Do something controversial and be different. You will likely get a lot of comments and links with this type of post, but don’t do this for the sake of getting attention. Be prepared to defend yourself and make a claim for your position. Be aware that too many of these types of posts could undermine your credibility, so use sparingly.

Chocolate Cake

Who doesn’t like a little desert now and then? These posts show the world that you have personality, humanity, and can take a joke. Write these posts to change things up, make your blog fun, and maybe poke some fun at yourself. Use video, images, cartoons, or anything else you can think of.