(That Will Multiply The Value of Your Blog)
How do you know whether the content you offer your current and potential customers holds value for them?
Whether you are buying or selling a blog or building a website from scratch, your efforts are only as good as the content you put on there. There is no doubt that creating actionable content is the key to a successful online presence, one that attracts audiences and search engines alike.
What Is Actionable Content?
Simply put, it’s content that’s easy to implement and easy for readers to act upon. Actionable content takes the form of articles, blogs, infographics—anything that’s niche-relevant, informative, and valuable for the reader.
The most common characteristics of actionable content are:
- Offers readers value
- Establishes you as a trustworthy source of information
- Presents a solution to the reader’s problem
- Created with a specific audience in mind
- Offers solutions in an easily-enacted step-by-step process
- Follows the “show, don’t tell” principle. Instead of telling the readers about a solution or an answer, it shows them how to achieve a particular goal
Why Do You Need Actionable Content On Your Blog?
48% of people use search engines to look for a product or service.
Consider a person looking for a how-to guide for a topic relevant to your niche. The search engine results page (SERP) shows many blogs and articles about the subject. However, their tones differ—some are vague “filler” pieces, while others display the content creator’s keen understanding of the topic.
Which pieces is the searcher likely to read?
It’s imperative when creating a blog to offer readers engaging, relevant content so you can stand out from your competitors. Well-written content with snappy headlines will make your audience trust your blog—and, by extension, your business.
7 Elements Of Actionable Content You Should Use
Many marketers focus on strong storytelling and providing readers with valuable content but don’t consider how actionable it is. Actionable content encourages your audience to engage with it and persuades them to perform conversions.
So what makes content actionable? Here’s everything your blog should feature.
1 Statistics And Quotes
Statistics make your content more authoritative and data-driven. The numbers don’t lie, so you’re presenting your audience with proof that confirms the argument you’re driving or the solution you’re offering.
You can present statistics in the form of a graph that users can immediately understand or pepper your writing with numbers to make your blog more persuasive. If you offer businesses mobile-friendly application development, for instance, which of the sentences will be more compelling to your reader?
- Many people use mobile devices to access the Internet, so you should consider investing in a mobile-first application.
- In 2020, mobile devices were responsible for 50.8% of all global internet traffic. It is therefore crucial for businesses to invest in mobile-first applications.
You can use data visualizations to make your statistics more interactive, such as:
Source: HighSpeedInternet.net
Another way to make your content more effective is to offer readers quotes from authorities in the field. They break up the blog’s text, thereby making your post easily readable.
Did you know? If you want to reach out to experts for niche-relevant quotes to supplement your content, you can use UpLead’s email finder to find the right email addresses in seconds. Quotes make for a powerful beginning or ending for your post due to their impact on the reader.
2 Interactive Elements
Interactive elements such as infographics and bar graphs are powerful visualization tools that enable your audience to grasp concepts more quickly. Since multimedia elements make your blog easier to read, your current and prospective clients are more likely to finish the post.
In fact, you can even make the sign-up process interactive for your visitors by using a service like Signaturely. Visitors to your website can directly draw a signature on their screens instead of having to input their details in a sign-up form. This interactive aspect engages them in the sign-up process.
Infographics, bar graphs, and interactive text are other great ways to increase your audience’s engagement with the content. In today’s age of constant informational overload, offering your customers visually appealing content instead of monotonous walls of text will help you expand your audience.
Source: Raconteur
You can create relevant infographics in three steps by using Venngage’s professionally designed templates and customizing them for your business.
3 Examples, Examples, & Examples
By providing your readers with examples, you make your writing more precise and informative. Examples enable your readers to envision the idea or fact you’re presenting and apply it correctly to real-life situations.
You can provide examples in the form of a screenshot, quote, or text integration. Backlinko’s blog post uses the term “paleo diet” as an example to show you how to use Google Image tags to find content ideas:
Source: Backlinko
It’s often more practical to leave your audience with an example instead of explaining each aspect of a concept to them.
4 Visuals
Visuals such as images and videos break the text, thereby making your content easier to read. Today’s audiences have grown accustomed to content that’s simple to understand and tailored to fit their needs.
The digital video advertising and marketing industry amounted to $9.95 billion in 2020. More and more content creators understand the importance of improving their content through videos. As of 2021, 86% of businesses use videos for marketing their products or services.
You can furnish your blogs with explainer videos that detail how your company aims to target customers’ problems and why your solution is ideal. Explainer videos account for 73% of all video marketing content.
For instance, this is Flippa’s piece on buying and selling websites and blogs using the forum. It contains step-by-step explainer videos that comprise a 45-minute course on the subject.
Source: Flippa
84% of respondents said that a brand’s video convinced them to purchase a product or service from them. Including beautifully edited video in your blog content also enables you to rank higher on SERPs, thereby increasing your website’s organic traffic and audience conversions.
5 Show, Don’t Tell
The great 19th-century playwright Anton Chekhov reportedly said, “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” While Chekhov’s words were meant for playwrights and novelists, today’s content creators would do well to listen to his advice.
Remember that the audience reads your blog to solve pain points. If you can show them that your product or service solves their problem, they’re likelier to convert.
“Show, don’t tell” in content marketing is encapsulated best through “how-to” blogs and videos. These pieces of content detail precisely what you’re offering clients in an actionable manner. Avoid long explanations—instead, offer fresh, insightful content grounded in facts that proves you know what you’re talking about.
An example of “show, don’t tell” is this how-to blog by HubSpot that tells readers how to create a successful marketing strategy:
Source: HubSpot
6 Answer The Most Important Questions
You need to create content that answers your audience’s questions, no matter where they are in the sales funnel.
The awareness stage is when prospects are beginning to realize their pain points and are researching solutions. At this point, your content should answer the following questions:
- Does your business have an in-depth understanding of your audience’s challenges?
- Do you offer clients a viable solution to help them meet their goals?
The consideration stage is when prospects become familiar with your business. They’re considering multiple avenues through which they can solve their problems. Your content should answer the following questions:
- What is the solution your business offers customers?
- How is your solution superior to competitors’?
- What proof can you offer prospects to show them that your solution really works?
The decision stage is when prospects make their final choice. At this stage, your content should be promotional instead of just educational, since you want them to choose you over your competitors. Your prospect is likely to ask you for product demos, free trials, and price quotes at this point.
For instance, the following blog by UpLead is likely to be a result for a search on how to find account executives:
It also provides a CTA at the end for readers in the awareness stage to carry out their research. The CTA leads to the home page:
Readers interested in finding out more about UpLead can click on the link provided in the CTA and move to the next stage of the sales funnel.
7 Provide More Value Than Everyone Else
You can judge whether you’re offering your audience valuable content by using Google Analytics. The tool enables you to find your bounce rate and the average time users spend on your website.
A high bounce rate indicates that visitors to your blog abandon the pieces midway since they don’t find the solutions they’re looking for there.
Here’s how you can offer your readers more value than other blogs in your niche:
- Create detailed, authoritative how-to pieces (or “ultimate guides”) that include screenshots and examples
- Produce video content supplemented by summaries. While videos are a great way to add value to your blog, you have to remember that not everyone has the time to watch them.
- Make pinnable graphics that users can share on social networking sites such as Facebook and Pinterest.
- Add references and statistics to your content to build your audience’s trust.
- Use case studies that prove how effective your solution is.
- Create interactive content like webinars and online courses to fill your lead funnel.
- Collaborate with niche-relevant influencers for guest blog posts.
Here’s an example of a guest blog by the founder of StrategyBeam on Moz:
As a final piece of advice, remember to actually write down your blog’s content strategy.
According to London-based blogger Alexander Williams of Hosting Data, it’s very important to actually write out your blog’s content strategy, because companies that do so, “double their chances of succeeding. Data from the content marketing institute says that 60% of companies with a written content strategy get success compared to 32% who only keep it verbal.”
Conclusion
By offering your readers actionable content, you exponentially increase the value of your blog. If you’re considering buying a blog, follow this guide and convert a larger portion of your audience.
In today’s world, you have to stay on top of your game by creating real value for your blog readers. Gain a competitive marketplace advantage by creating fresh, relevant content that your audience will trust.
