Quality over quantity. So why is it that so many companies are pushing out mediocre content at lightning speed, compromising quality? Some may think the more you put out there, the higher the chance of getting views that lead to a following. I beg to differ. Why would a reader click and follow posts that do not separate themselves from all the others? There needs to be a cause for some sort of emotional reaction — whether it’s intrigue, joy, sadness, or excitement. Who wants to eat ten plain saltines when you can have one Asiago cheddar cracker? Again, it’s about quality over quantity.

Let’s go back in time and think about our elementary school writing classes. This is when we learned about five paragraph essays—a task that seemed so daunting before we knew what college papers and thesis statements consisted of. That said, these five paragraph essay lessons taught us the foundations of writing. The first thing we learned was that we needed to catch the attention of the readers—to hook them and reel them in. This is the same concept most marketing strategies use today–the point is to catch the attention of the targeted demographic and to also keep them engaged. The question then posed is, ‘how is this done?’

Relate

First, you need to relate your title to your writing—and to the readers. Some will say to start with the title. Contrary to that belief, sometimes it makes more sense to curate your content and use that to create a catchy title. Whether you base your title off of your writing or your writing off of your title, one common theme applies—create a target specific title with high Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Having a flowery title seemed like a good idea in high school, but when it comes to the real world, having a title that can be found on the infinite cloud of the internet is much more important. With the amount of blog posts about marketing strategies and PR tactics, standing out in the crowd is similar to finding a needle in a haystack. Don’t bury the needle with a lousy title.

React

Secondly, it is important to have a voice and evoke a reaction from the reader. A blog allows for more freedom of expression than a press release or article but there is a fine line between informal and inappropriate. It is important to keep in mind that your blog post is a representation of your agency—you want to present it in a professional light. But while keeping it professional, you still need to find a way to portray a voice—a personality if you will—through your writing. Monotonous language leads to a high exit rate and users that are unlikely and unwilling to come back to the site.

Resonate

Thirdly, write something that will resonate with the reader. Think about what people want. But first, think about what you want to read about, because chances are others are thinking the same thing. Once you have a topic, refine it (do I sense a fourth ‘R’?) Although a blog is less formal than an article, it is by no means a text (which should also be proofread in some cases). Edit. Edit. Edit. Your initial idea for a blog may be great, but narrowing it down to a more concise topic will keep the reader informed, but not bored. What is the point of grabbing a readers’ attention if you can’t keep it? Close in on the reader’s attention—keep them until the very end. The motto to constantly consider when writing (or selling, according to Glengarry Glen Ross) is ABC; always be closing.

As you begin or continue to blog, don’t forget about three R’s you learned in grammar school (Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic), but leave room to add the three R’s of PR blogging; Relate, React, Resonate.