I know you’ve heard the typical advice for writing an article, right? It goes a little something like this…

Write an introduction that tells readers what they’re going to learn. Use the main article to deliver on the promises you made in the introduction. Create a conclusion that reminds people of what they just learned.

Sure, that works, but it’s pretty basic. And when you’re writing an article for a blog, you need to do a little more to keep people reading. So here’s my system for writing a great B.L.O.G. article:

• Begin With Benefits
• Lock Readers In
• Offer Examples
• Generate a Response

How does each step work? Let’s take a deeper look.

Step 1: Always Begin With the Benefits

You need to start off on the right foot with a “blow their socks off” title. This is a title that presents a big benefit and/or arouses curiosity.

Here’s an example of beginning with benefits: “Here Are the Seven Secrets of Winning Your Next Marathon.”

Here’s another example that arouses curiosity: “Are You Making These Marathon Training Mistakes?”

The beginning of your article should continue promising benefits for those who keep reading. Obviously, there needs to be a payoff, so make sure the body of your article delivers on the promises you made in the title and introduction.

Step 2: Engage Your Audience, Lock Readers In

If you just write your article like a boring lecture, you’re going to have people clicking away faster than you can say, “But this is good information!”

So yes, obviously you need to provide good information for readers. But you also need to provide it in a way that keeps them hanging on your every word. In other words, “edutain” them – entertain them while you educate them.

Here are two tips for achieving this end:

• Connect emotionally with your readers. A good way to do this is to tell a personal story. Because once you hook your readers emotionally, they’ll feel more compelled to keep reading.

• Write in a conversational manner. Throw out any ideas of trying to write formally and in a stuffy manner. We’ll leave that to the college textbook authors. Instead, imagine you’re writing to a good friend. Write in a light, conversational manner. Don’t be afraid to toss in a little humor here and there.

Step 3: Examples are Good!

Perhaps you’re offering step-by-step instructions for completing some process. To make your article even more useful, you should also toss in tips and examples. If you look back on this article, you’ll see I gave you two examples in the first step and two tips in the second. You should do the same sort of thing so that your readers walk away from your article with a good understanding of the material.

Step 4: What’s the Next Step? Call to Action…

Once you hit your conclusion, you’ll probably do a quick recap of what the reader just learned in the article. That’s great. But you don’t want your reader to walk away without taking some specific action. So that’s why you should seek to generate a response such as:

• Taking action on what they just learned.
• Joining your mailing list.
• Clicking on a link at the end of the article.
• Learning more by reading related articles.

Do you want to see how I do it? Read on to see an example…

So there you have it: a simple step-by-step process for writing a really great B.L.O.G. article. The four steps include:

Step 1: Begin With Benefits

Step 2: Lock Your Readers In

Step 3: Offer Examples

Step 4: Call to Action

Oh, and I almost forgot Step 5: Take Action.

Now is a great time to put these steps to work, so go ahead and set aside time to write a really great blog article today. You’ll be glad you did!