You can’t be good at blog writing without being a great researcher. This is not a secret but few people actually talk about why research is important for bloggers. Sure, there are many articles that mention research is important for developing a cohesive content strategy since it can help you find topics to write about and, as a result, help you build your audience. However, that’s just scratching the surface. Truth be told, good writing is not possible without research so, in this article, we will be discussing how research can improve your writing, your abilities to engage with your audience, and your reputation.
Why Research Is So Important For Bloggers
Research is a tedious task but the hard work you put into research will pay off. Whether you’re a blogger who blogs about your passion or a business owner who blogs for your business, if you do your research, you’ll be able to express your ideas in a better way and you will build an audience that will see you as an expert in your field, which is what many bloggers want but few are able to achieve this status.
Related: 6 Ideas To Find Great Topics For Your Blog
Research involves a lot of work but proper blogging without research is not really possible. And, if you do a little bit of research on a daily basis, this task won’t feel like a burden anymore. If you get into the habit of reading blog articles every day, half of your work is done.
The Importance Of Research In Blog Writing
When you do research, you are able to understand your audience and to write relevant articles that are actually useful for your readers. This deeper level of understanding will polish your expert status and will help you grow your business or blog faster and easier. Let’s face it, no one knows everything. Not even a professional so research is also a great learning opportunity. So here’s what you have to do:
Research Other Bloggers
We already mentioned that it is important to read other blogs but what we didn’t mention is that you have to go beyond reading the articles. You should pay attention to the format of the articles, the keywords used by other bloggers, the opinions they share on their blogs but also the comment section of the blog post or the comments posted by readers on social media. As a result, you’ll know how to write better articles because you already know how others did it and you’ll know how to do it better. You will be able to format your article in a better way to make it easier to read, you’ll be able to answer all those questions readers asked in the comments directly in the article, and you will be able to come up with new topics for your blog. By judging other articles, you will also be able to add different viewpoints into your own articles, offering readers a wider perspective and maybe different solutions or answers for their problems or questions.
Research Your Audience
Knowing your audience is key to running a successful blog. You have to know your audience’s interests, likes, dislikes, fears, insecurities, age, career level, and, in some cases, even their relationship status and income. Why is that? Because this will help you build a loyal audience. Moreover, it will help you understand what people need or want from you.
For example, if you are a fashion blogger, you have to know if your audience is following you for style tips or for inspiration. What do they want to see? Do they want to see how you dress on a daily basis or do they expect fashion tips? It can also be both and, in that case, you can create better articles by offering them inspiration and tips at the same time. Or maybe your audience finds you relatable and they follow you because they see a little bit of themselves in you. In that case, you have to open up more in your articles and share your personal opinion about fashion topics instead of simply listing the clothes you’re wearing.
If you blog for your business, people probably read your articles because they want to read an expert’s opinion about a topic. So make sure you always write detailed and well-research articles that are always useful. You have to make people trust you and your opinion so you have to be able to deliver top-notch articles every time.
Lastly, research will help you to reach the right audience. If you want to use your blog to get new clients for your business but your readers are junior professionals who want to learn from you, you’ll have to come up with a content strategy that will help you bring the right people to your blog. Without researching your audience, you won’t be able to know what type of readers you have on the blog.
Research Your Topic
Knowing how to research a topic is the main characteristic of full-time bloggers. For most, this ability comes naturally in the form of curiosity, however, everything can be learned and turned into a skill. Firstly, you have to make sure you’re always on top of your game when it comes to your industry. You have to be up to date with the news, new technologies, new trends, and everything in between.
Then, even if you write about a topic you know about, make sure you do some research to confirm your theories or to add sources that can back you up in your posts. Doing this gives you more credibility. Don’t rely on Wikipedia or similar sources for information. Make sure, you’re looking into reputable industry sources. This can differ from industry to industry. If you’re blogging for a medical practice, you’ll probably use medical journals as your primary sources of information. On the other hand, if you blog about SEO, you can use industry blogs for research and for supporting your theories. Neil Patel always has great SEO tips, by the way.
Research Your Facts
It seems that we live in an era of fake news and drama lovers. The internet is filled with fake claims, fake news, fake facts, and fake solutions. As a writer, you want to make sure you do your job and always check your facts. Don’t rely on one source for info; check at least from two reputable sources. Or, if there aren’t two reputable sources available, make sure you let the readers know that the subject is not well researched or the things you’re sharing are more on the “allegedly” side than on the 100% “true facts” side.
How To Write Well Researched Articles
After all the effort you put into research, your articles will almost write themselves. Well, not really. But they will be of high quality for sure. After selecting a topic and doing your research, follow the steps below:
- Create an outline for the article – make sure the format of the article is easy to go through and it makes the article easy to read. Read about it here.
- Write the title of the article – make sure it’s interesting and it can easily capture the readers’ attention.
- Write the main sections of your post.
- Write a catchy intro that will make the readers want to read the entire article.
- Use images to improve the flow of the post, to exemplify the topic or to enhance the post.
- Edit the post – always read your posts to make sure there are no grammar mistakes, factual errors, and repetitions.
