They say that on average, 8 out of 10 people read a headline and only 2 out of the 10 will proceed to read the rest of your blog post.

So what do you do to get the other 8 people to read the entirety of your content? Enough to get interested and subscribe or register?

Well today, I thought we’d talk about just that… Here’s a couple of tips for improving your blog posts and make them “sticky” so more and more people read them and stick around long enough to subscribe.

10 Ways To Improve Your Blog Posts

1. Practice writing better headlines. Pick up a copy of Cosmopolitan and look at the way they write their headlines – they’re attention-grabbing aren’t they? How can you spin it and make them applicable to real estate?

Further Reading: How To Write Magnetic Headlines

2. Get visual. Every single post should have at least one image. This helps keep the readers’ attention long enough to read your entire post. Try sources like iStockPhoto and Shutterstock for good, quality photos. And heck, if you’re writing about a listing or a neighborhood, why not shoot your own photos?

3. Mix it up… With video for example. Walter Burns and Tyler Wood are two real estate agents who do an excellent job of mixing it up with video.

4. Write something helpful (think “How To’s” and educational type posts like this one from Jay Thompson on understanding earnest money deposits).

5. Answer reader/client questions frequently in the form of a blog post. To see what I mean, read: How To Use Your Blog For Stock Answers.

6. Poll your readers to ask them what they want to read about next. Currently, we’re using KISSinsights – the survey form at the bottom right of this site – to ask our readers to submit content ideas/suggestions (so far it’s proven to be a great feedback tool). How could you do the same to discover what readers might want to learn about your local community and market?

7. Use lists, bold text and headings to break up your content and make it more readable. Here’s a great list post example from Miamism.com: 6 Pricing Mistakes & How To Avoid Them. Remember, people like to skim through content. Using lists, bold text and headings makes it easier for people to skim and read.

8. Create a post series. Here’s the thing about long posts, they take a long time to read. Unless the content is compelling enough, most people aren’t going to read it. That’s not to say that they don’t work, I’m simply stating that there’s a ton of people who’d rather skim through your content. So why not break that long 1,000+ word post into a 2-3 part series? This way, it’s shorter and easier to read and it gives people a reason to come back!

9. Ask yourself: Why will my readers care? Do this before you hit the publish button. Here’s the thing, you’re writing for your readers, not so much yourself. So you need to ask yourself, “will my readers care about this post?” In other words, what need are you addressing? If you can’t find one, then that post probably isn’t all that relevant to your readership. So think about it. Edit. Then publish.

10. Close with a Call To Action. Every post should have a Call To Action. And that Call To Action can be anything – subscribe, comment, click here to search for homes. What is it that you want people to take away from reading your content and what do you want them to do next?

Anything else?

What else is missing from this list? Could you implement (at least) one thing above to make your content more engaging?

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