What is your blog post?
I will give you two options:
An essay or a novel.
Which one do you want your blog post to be compared to?
To make things easier for you, I will describe it a little more:
An Informative Essay and an Interesting Novel.
Key: Take a close look at the words: Informative and Interesting.
Would you want your blog post to be informative like an essay or interesting like a novel?
You know, I have written many blog posts. Some of them got more success than I expected. Some of them didn't. Some of them – I spent a little time writing it – but still brought me lots of traffic. Some of them, I spent a lot of time writing, didn't get me any traffic at all.
In this blog post, I will share you what I have found about writing interesting or informative post and help you decide whether you should write an informative or interesting blog post.
Your Blog Post – An Essay?
How do you describe an informative essay?
Think about what an essay is supposed to do.
An Informative Essay is supposed to:
- Teach you,
- Teach you, so that you can teach others,
- Try to change your perspective on an issue or help you to look from another perspective,
- Get you thinking about the issue, and,
- Provide More Information than you already know
Well, that's basically how I would describe an informative essay. Now, let's talk about the pros of writing a blog post like an Essay:
- Teach Your Readers,
- Get You More Readers,
- Help You Readers to Do Better at Blogging – If you blogging about blogging, and,
- Get Your readers think about it.
The cons of writing an informative post is that if you don't have traffic already (or if you don't do effective marketing), the chances of your blog post going viral is very very small.
For Bloggers who blog about blogging:
Information is rather small nowadays (especially in blogging). We can't really give any new information (unless you talk about a new strategy, method or whatever). Otherwise, it is all the same content. What we have to do is to write it in a different perspective, a perspective that is interesting (this is where the Interesting part comes in).
 Your Blog Post – A Novel?
What does a Novel do to you? An Interesting novel?
As far as I understand, an interesting novel is one that gives me fresh experience (what is a novel anyways? A “big” short story right? kind of, right?).
Well, here is how I would describe a Interesting Novel: An Interesting Novel is supposed to
- Entertain you :D,
- Entertain you once again,
- Have a plot (a story),
- Be Interesting to read (of course)
- and blah blah…
Let's see how that relates back to a blog post:
An Interesting Blog post is supposed to have
- A story,
- Be interesting and entertaining,
- Get your readers to continue reading,
- Get your readers to be loyal,
- Get your readers to comment (better chance here – than at informative side),
- Get your readers to share (again better chance here), and,
- so on…
So, What Does That Mean To You?
Well, nothing.
And, possibly everything.
About writing a blog post 😀
 Your Blog Post – Be Interesting and Informative
Your Blog post must be interesting and informative at the same time – if you want it to go beyond your expectations.
It should be informative because:
Your Blog is supposed to teach your readers –  to blog better. And your blog is supposed to reflect your blog's  goal to teach others. So, it has to be informative.
Well, information is good. But, don't you want your readers to read your blog post?
That's why we should let our blog posts be interesting.
I don't have any tips for making your blog post informative. You just have to work on that on your own. But, I can tell you how you could make it interesting 😀
Make your Blog Post Interesting
- Include a story in your blog post – How about your experience? Did you know that your experience is the best blogging tip that you can provide? Blend your experience into your blog post.
- Write in an interesting format – Don't be like other bloggers. Write in a different format. Write as you like 😀
- Be Creative – Change things up a while. Do things in different ways. For instance: Instead of starting with a whole new paragraph, start your blog post with a question 😀
- Write from your heart – You have read a lot of stories (I bet, you have!). What were your favorites? Why? What did those authors include in their stories? Incorporate that into your blog post.
From my 2+ years of blogging experience, I can surely tell you that I got the most traffic for blog posts that were interesting and informative at the same time.
Try to make your blog posts informative and interesting.
Inform.
Entertain.
And do the writing.
Just write 😉
Hi Jeevanjacobjohn,
This is an interesting post, thanks. I have thought out a lot while reading your post and these are my thought, by the way, I love to write interesting post:
I realized that’s when some thing is on my side, I turn out pretty’s happy. For example: people’s recently complaining that’s content is not king and I disagreed (not only me). Thus, I wrote a post about it. But after reading this’s post, I looked back, there are only a few comments on posts even though I already write 10 articles which it’s making really want to beliveved that’s content is not King.
That’s it, I’m saying too much.
Thanks again, but 3 questions in a post are alright.
Ferb
Hey Ferb,
I am glad that you liked the post 😀
Yes, Content is really important. It is the base of a “blog”. I mean, it is the base of many things like educational institutions. The problem is that many people exaggerate the importance of unique content and underestimate the power of marketing, networking and build trust with others. Each of these steps are equally important. To build a successful blog, you need write entertaining and informative posts, promote them using various technique and network with others to build your influence.
Thanks for the comment 😀
OMG, I though If I write interesting post is still become successful. ): However, I can do it. 😀
Interesting post is just not enough 😀
I know a lot of bloggers who write great articles but don’t get that much results due to ineffective marketing and networking.
Yes, keep the confidence and work hard 😀 Thanks for the reply!
Hey, Jeevan!
Another great post from you! It was interesting as well as informative.
One idea which was already in my mind, but I haven’t worked on it very well, is to include a short interesting story. My experience, or someone else, I don’t think it matters if there is something to learn. Right?
In this article, when I started reading I was so curious to read what’s at the end, the climax of this post. 🙂
Hey Abhi,
Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you 😀
Yes, including stories in your blog posts makes it easier both for the readers and for the blog owners to interact better and understand the topic better. Including stories will only help you to make your readers “loyal” to your blog. We like stories 😀 Especially when they help us to understand something. From my experience, including your own experience (Aka your story) in the post helps you to get more results from your post.
I am glad to know that I was able to increase your anticipation and curiosity 😀
Your most welcome, Jeevan!
I guess, you haven’t read my very first blogging contest entry (linking it below). I’d be grateful if you leave your comments there, if you enjoyed. Share it for sure, if you like it.
And you are most welcome to have a look at my blog. 🙂
I did 😀 It is a great post. Didn’t have the time due to my schedule. Yeah, I will get back on that article 😀
Yes of course.
Thank you, Jeevan!
Satisfy? Is it a JOB? like satisfying your boss with your work… lol
Totally agreed , I have got More traffic and comments in posts which are entertaining and informative at the same time rather than only informative post…. but as a tech Blogger I can not incorporate entertaining stuff all the time …..
great post Jeeven but how anyone can incorporate an interesting story in a post which only include some information about websites???
Hey Vimal,
Yes, I agree. It also depends upon the niche.
If you are writing a review, you could include your experience using the gadget (if you have used it).
Information about websites? Do you mean reviews? Yeah, you could include your experience with using the website/product.
Thanks for the comment!
I’d have to say that my blog post is like a letter to a friend. I try to keep them short and sweet while still being informative.
I really love this post – very well thought out.
Hey Kimberly,
That’s great 😀 Yes, consider your blog readers as best friends 😀
I used to support both writing short and long posts at one point of time. Not any more, my advice would be to write until you feel that your message has been conveyed.
Thanks for dropping by!
I agree with Vimal’s post above – it’s hard to incorporate an interesting story when you’re writing a technical post. My blog posts are informative and short. I tend to put longer content into articles that are posted in the resource area of my website. Both are rather dry – they don’t make for scintillating reading. I’m going to try to bring more of my personality into my writing and see if that helps.
Yeah, I can understand that. It is hard to incorporate an interesting story in a technical story. But, you could still try 😀
That’s great. Incorporating your personality into your blog post is what that makes it unique.
Thanks for the comment, Denise 😀
This is great. i agree that your content needs to be entertaining (which is hard) as well as informative. I also urge people to think outside the paramaters of Articles when creating content. content can be any form of communication with your customers. video and audio sometimes work better and can be easier to create.
Hey James,
Thank you!
Yes, that is a great way to think about it. Don’t just consider your posts as posts. Write them as if you are communicating with the reader. Speak if your readers in an entertaining and informative way 😀
Yeah, I understand. It is a lot harder to communicate in interesting and informative way when writing.
Thanks for the comment, James!
Thanks for the informative article, all things I’m not, so THANKS A LOT Jeevan! haha
I’m no professional writer, but even I know you have to write like the reader is sitting literally right next to you. These days people actually expect & appreciate it, since so many people are ahead of their time and just maybe don’t know it. What I mean is, people have been mediatized or technologied (I don’t even know if those are words), does that make any sense?
I love the very last part of your article (not that I didn’t love the WHOLE thing) “Just Write”.
No problem Bryan 🙂
Yes of course. We should write our articles carefully – consider our articles as art – you want people to learn from and appreciate it.
I am glad that you like them. Thanks for stopping by, Bryan 😀
Would it be accurate to say that an essay can also teach, be punchy, like a short story – and an essay could be likened to a white paper? A report released to inform and educate? A blog post of that kind could perhaps then be slightly edited and it would be a very valuable post.
Yes, of course, it can be 😀 With little tweaks and edits 😀
Thanks for the comment, Brian!
I believe just putting something on your site is not really blogging it more like managing a website, blogging means interaction establishing a relation with the readers.
Yes, blogging means communicating with your reading through writing, marketing and networking 😀
Thanks for the comment, Deep!
I totally agree that writing is not important what is more important is the way you write do you have the capability to grip your readers or not.
Hey Devesh,
Thanks for the comment!
In blogging, every small step is important 😀 You need to take care of care everything before you can build a successful blog.
Hi there Jeeven. Nice to read your post. To be honest I’d rather read a blog that is an essay than a novel, I don’t want to be here there all day!
Hey Harriet,
I don’t mean the length, I was only talking about the informative and interesting part of both novel and essay. Thanks for the comment!
What do you really mean satisfy, Punnet?
It is impossible to keep all your readers happy. If you mean providing great content, yes that is important.
But, I wouldn’t recommend considering your post just as a post – that would be liking writing just for the sake of it. If you are doing that, it would be better to quit blogging.
Anyways, thanks for joining the discussion 😀
Thanks for the great post Jeevan.
While reading your post I realized how a story could attract people to read your post regularly. However, if you consider on writing a blog like a novel no one would take time to read an extra long content. I think a balance between an essay and a novel would make the best format to attracting viewers. What do you think?
No problem.
Oh, I never meant to say that your post should be really long 😀
But, you could still write a long post. My opinion is that length doesn’t matter. Write until you are fully convinced that you have conveyed your message.
Thanks for the comment!
One thing that a blogger can do to make posts more informative and interesting is to edit them well. The editing clears out the chaff, and if the core of the post does not contain something informative or interesting, so much will be cut in the editing process that it will become apparent that the draft was not a viable article in the first place. Thanks for the insights!
Hey Doug,
Yes, editing can help you a lot with making your posts to make it more informative, interesting and correcting all your mistakes in the article all at once 😀
Thanks for the comment, Doug!
This is a subject that I have been wrestling with lately. So far I have tended to stick to long blog articles – 1000 words+. These take a bit of time to write, but are what I need to get my point across. What I am trying to figure out is if I should break these up into smaller, more digestable chunks spread across multiple posts. I am going to have to experiment.
Hey Micheal,
My opinion about the length of posts has changed consistently. But, now I am sticking with one principle: Write until I have conveyed the full message through the post.
It doesn’t matter whether your post is long or short. What matters whether the post is informative and interesting (And whether it helps your readers!).
Thanks for the comment!
I use wordpress as a vlog site. I have a very nice theme that works well with this. That’s how I blog. Don’t really write any long posts or anything.
Hey Dylan,
Thanks for the comment!
That’s great. I hope you have great results with that 😀
Hey Jeevan,
Seems like you are everywhere these days! 🙂
Writing a blog post needs a lot of effort especially if you have nothing new to offer but are trying to say the same thing in an innovative day. Using humor always helps. If you are good at it, then use it to the maximum. Nothing works like having a good laugh to convey the message.
Hey Hajra,
😀
That is also a great idea (but it won’t work with me as I am not that funny 😉 ). But, that is sure a great way to get people to read and talk about your post.
Thanks for the comment, Hajra!
Absolutely correct. Well said. Your posts have to be informative as well as interesting to not become boring and at the same time to contain useful information to attract visitors.
Hey Ashok,
I am glad that you agree with me. Thanks for the comment!
Posts that teach in an entertaining way usually stick out and just makes the reader feel good inside and who doesn’t like feeling good 🙂
Besides that, those good feelings just so happen to be the perfect state they need to be in for you to make a few commissions 😉
Hey Caleb,
Yes, of course. Entertaining posts are also the ones you tend to remember the most – I mean, remember as in “somewhat” 😀
Lol, yup. Make your reviews interesting and you have got yourself some extra commissions.
Thanks for the comment, Caleb!
The ideas you’ve shared here are fantastic and no doubt so great and it may really improve our blogging post. Especially I am not really good on writing articles..thanks
much!
Hey Becca,
Thank you and No problem 🙂 I hope I’ve helped.
Thank you for the comment!
I agree Jeevan. Post must be an interesting one to make readers follow and read your articles. If it is boring, expect a few visitors.
Hey Hanna,
Yes, of course.
Thanks for the comment!
I’m growing so tired of seeing new bloggers blog about blogging because it doesn’t work for most people, especially new bloggers. Most bloggers who blog about blogging just rehash information that’s already out there in their over saturated niche. Also, I hate reading extremely long posts as if everyone is going to read every single word. Most Web surfers like to read a blog post no more than four paragraphs long, unless it’s about something that’s extremely interesting.
Hey Kevin,
Yes, I agree with you. There are a lot of new bloggers writing about the same old thing – in the same fashion (and trying to make money blogging). I would suggest that these bloggers work on churning out informative and entertaining posts. Yeah, long posts can be bad, if they are not interesting. But, a really good informative blog post is one that you don’t want to miss 😀
Thanks for the comment, Kevin!
Most of the time when we try to spread information it comes out dull, nice point Jeevan, It has to be interesting and informative at the same time.
I can only hope to someday be able to write interesting content. Most of my articles are so boring and dry, I only blame myself for not having any blog traffic. Unfortunately, real estate isn’t that fun to read about and at least i’m continually generating new content for my site.
Hey Chris,
Don’t worry. Try to incorporate your own experience to the blog post (and write like you talk). Try, experiment and analyze. And you will have traffic and readers soon 🙂
Hey Sanjeev,
Yes, it does. Thank you 🙂
Thanks for the comment!
Great points! Many times I think we get in the habit of writing EITHER interesting or informative. I, for one, tend to write how-to’s, which are informative, but probably not all that interesting in terms of telling a story or sharing my personal experiences. You are right – a great article has both. I appreciate the reminder and look forward to incorporating a little more personality into future posts.
Hey Melissa,
Thank you! Yes, I agree with you. But, I think with a little more effort, we can even make the how to post into an entertaining read. No problem, I am glad that my post helped 🙂
Thanks for the comment!
Jeevan,
Great point about the two types of blog posts. I think you are right in the basics, but hopefully there is some solid room for overlap. I go for the essay type. I want to inform but hopefully I am also able to include a spark of fun in at least some of the essays.
I think the goal of any blogger should be to realize which category they fall into and try to -also- include some of the other type of writing. Blur the lines and make you novel-essays or essay-novels
Hey Steve,
I am not suggesting that we should choose one, but rather we should blend both of these: the essay and novel. Make your blog posts interesting and entertaining at same time (your blog posts are entertaining to read – because you include your personality and experience in your blog posts).
Thanks for the awesome comment, Steve!
Yes, I agree you should only start writing for a niche if you have the passion – to invest time, effort and money into it.
Thanks for the comment!
Don’t worry 🙂
Try it make it more interesting 😀 Blend your own personality and experience into your blog posts and market it – and soon you will have many people reading your blog.
Thanks for the comment 🙂
So true! I also think people these days are very used to watching videos, so maybe always adding a video to a blog post helps them communicate. Video essays are great!
Ted
Hey,
Yes, of course. Videos are great these days – it is kind of like podcasting – helps us a lot with blog marketing and being unique.
Thanks for the comment Ted,
Jeevan
Well this is an example of an informative and interesting post! I think it’s a little difficult to plan a post like that though, in the sense that you’re not always going to get it right. Experience is the best teacher, although it’s good to have guidelines. Have just set out on my own blogging adventure now so this was a pertinent read for me!
Thank you Karen,
Yes, experience is indeed the best teacher (and solution/guide) to blogging success.
Best of luck with your blogging career 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Jeevanjacobjohn
I mostly write reviews but have often had them described as novels – averaging 2000 words! When I’m not writing reviews, I try and be entertaining and conversational – I suppose engaging but I do tend to get a bit wordy.
I agree about the videos – most people seem to like to watch a video, almost as a kind of post summary, like those exam cheat books that summarize a novel into a few pages.
The added good thing about videos is they keep people on your post for longer – as opposed to scan reading your page picking up on your headings and sub headings and maybe a few highlighted words.
Anyway, great article and thanks!
Hey Mack,
Wow, that’s a lot of information 🙂
Yes, of course, people are more willing to watch videos can read an article.
Thanks for the comment!
This is a great post. I never thought about classifying the content this way. In the past, I think my posts were either informative or interesting. never really both. But now that you pointed this out i will try to use this info to become a better blogger . Thanks!!!
Hey Chic,
Thanks!
I am glad that my post helped 🙂
Mine’s a tutorial. Just pieces of knowledge to share to my readers on blogging in a free Blogspot blog.
Hey Kee,
Even tutorials can be interesting, you just have to write it that way.
Thanks for sharing your insights 🙂
Creative Jeevan! Both informative and interesting, LOL. A successful blogger is a good writer, and unfortunately there are far too many ‘I wanna make money bloggers’ who can’t write to save their lives!
Interesting post… I usually write short posts but also add relevant images and videos.. Thanks for sharing… 🙂
I agree post must be an interesting in order to get back your visitor on your blog lol
I’d like to keep my posts as posts! Keeping it short, simple, sweet yet informative is what my motto is when it comes to writing!
I think the informative blog will definitely bring more traffic rather then the entertaining
one.Greatly written by Jeevan.
People usually gather information.