BLOG POSTS THAT SELL

Revealed: How to craft blog posts that convert like crazy and get people clicking
to your sales pages and lead pages.

1. Decide What To Sell

GOAL SETTING

The first thing you need to do is figure out what you're going to sell, and then you
need to determine what type of post will best help you accomplish your goal. This
is something you're going to want to spend a lot of time considering, because it is
a big key to your success.

Generally, think of how to create content that's useful yet incomplete. This is a
blog post that solves part of your prospects' problems, but then directs them to a
paid offer to solve the rest of their problem.

So let me give you five examples of choosing a post format to sell a specific
offer:

 You're selling a software service, such as an autoresponder. You can create

a step-by-step guide for setting up a mailing list, and then embed a
recommendation for the autoresponder within this guide.
 You're selling an app like meal-planning software. You can offer a blog post
with 10 nutrition tips for losing weight. The final tip can be centered on
using meal-planning software.
 You're selling a social media marketing course. You can post an article
about how to get more followers on Facebook, and then point to the
course as a way to monetize and leverage this traffic.
 You're selling a physical product, such as golf clubs. You can write an article
about how to select the right clubs, and include your recommendation
within the content.
 You're selling a comprehensive course in how to write a sales letter. You
can post a "cheat sheet" that tells people what to do for each step, but it
doesn't provide the in-depth instruction they need to write a good letter.
See how that works? You can post tips, you can post an overview of a process, or
you can even post in-depth instructions for part of a process. But in all cases, they
format of the entire article should be a good fit for the product and naturally lead
to the offer.

2. Know Your Audience

YOUR AUDIENCE

Don't even think about writing a single word until you know your audience and
you know what they want. This allows you to not only pick an offer that you
know they'll want to buy, but it also gives you the ability to "get inside their head."
The more you know and understand your audience, the easier it is for you to
create content that connects with them on an emotional level.

So how do you get to know your audience?  Try out these three tips:

 Eavesdrop on their conversations. This means visiting niche forums, social

media groups and blog discussions. This simple step will give you a great
insight into what your audience thinks about certain topics and products in
your niche.
 Interact with them on social media. Here you take it a step further by
actually talking to your audience. Ask them questions, find out their pains,
figure out what kind of solutions they're looking for.
 Hang out with them offline. For example, if you're selling products to
bodybuilders, then go hang out at the nearest bodybuilding gym in your
area and spend some time getting to know your target market.

3. Outline & Research

YOUR RESEARCH

At this point you have a pretty good idea of your article topic and format-
basically, something that naturally leads to you promoting the paid product. So for
this step you need to outline and research.

Even if you know the tips or procedures you want to share in your post, it's still a
good idea to do some research. Your research can help with things such as:
  Finding a good quote or inspirational story to share at the beginning of the
article. This is a great way to engage someone emotionally.
 Statistics and other data to back up your claims in the article. For example,
you might share a sobering statistic about how much money an average
online marketer makes. And then you can launch into an article about how
the reader can avoid becoming another marketer who can barely cover the
hosting bills.
 Ideas about how to structure your content. For example, if you notice that
a lot of articles in your niche are big lists, then you might want to create
something popular since it's an in-demand format.

Once your research is complete, then outline and organize your topics and
subtopics in the way you want them to appear in your article. Then move onto the
next step...

4. Compelling Titles
Get Attention
A lot of bloggers just slap any ol' title on the post and then focus all their attention
on crafting the article itself.

Guess what? Your readers are going to focus most of their attention on your title.
And if your title doesn't absolutely stop them in their tracks and grab their
attention, then they're not even going to bother reading your post.
Point is, you need to spend time crafting a good title that will get attention and
draw readers into your content.

Here are tips...

 Share Benefits: The idea here is to answer the "what's in it for me?"
question that's floating in the back of your prospect's mind.

For example: "The #1 Best Way to Double Your Conversion Rate"

 Arouse Curiosity: Sometimes this is as easy as using a word like "secrets" in

your title, which will make your prospects want to find out what you know
that they don't.

For example: "The 7 Best-Kept Secrets of Looking 10 Years Younger"

  Use Social Proof: This is a headline that says, "Everyone else is doing it, you
should too."

For example: "Here's What The World's Best Copywriters Do To Create Million-Dollar
Sales Letters..."

 Ask a Question: This question can arouse curiosity, help qualify the reader,
or even just engage them by making them think. 

For example: "Are You Making These Expensive Home-Buying Mistakes?"

5. Strong Openers
Keep Attention
Your title grabbed attention - now you need to hold your reader's attention with
a strong, engaging opener.

Here are five ways to do it:

 Tell a story. For example, share a story about how someone very similar to
the reader overcame the same problem your reader is now facing.
 Share a shocking fact or statistic. The idea here is to get someone to sit up
and pay attention. For example, share a shocking fact about how many
people die of heart disease each year.
 Say something unbelievable or controversial. Is there something in your
niche that almost everyone believes is  true? You can shock people right
out of their seats by opening an article that goes against this mainstream
thought. You might even ask a question to at least get people considering
the idea that something might not be true.

For example, "What if the moon landing never happened?"

 Bust a myth. Do some people in your niche believe something that is

hurting their results? Then you might open by busting this myth.

For example, "Doing sit ups isn't going to give you six pack abs. That's because abs
are made in the kitchen, not the gym."

 Ask a question. This is a great way to engage your readers and get them to
start qualifying themselves.

For example, "Do you ever get embarrassed by your dog's bad behavior with guests?"
6. Plant Seeds
The Problems
At this point your prospect is hooked and reading. So now you need to start
planting seeds about a problem. Basically, this is where you set up your post for
the call to action that's coming at the end.

For example: If this is an instructional "how to" post, you might make a reference
to an easier way to accomplish one particularly difficult step.

If you're sharing tips, you'll want to share something novel, such as a new twist on
an old method. This will keep the reader hooked, and they'll be interested in any
offer that shares even more novel information.

Engage your reader on an emotional level and talk about their problem. Offer part
of the solution, with a hint that they'll discover a full solution in just moments.

7. Proof & Credibility

Be The Authority
You need to give people a reason to believe what you're saying. That's because
people want to follow an authority on the topic. If they start to view you as an
authority, it will be much easier to get them to click on your links.

Here are three ways to prove your case and establish your credibility and
expertise:

 Be confident. When you impart information, share it with confidence. Use

phrases like, "Do this..." rather than weak lines such as, "You can probably..."
 Drop in your credentials. For example, you might say something like,
"When I won my fiction award for best thriller novel last year..."
 Show proof. You might actually insert photos or other graphics that prove
what you're saying. Or you might provide a case study of how someone
else got really good results using the methods you're teaching in the article.

8. Introduce Solutions
Talking Benefits

At this point you've given your reader something useful, such as an overview of a
process, tips or something else to help them solve their problem. Now you need
to introduce the rest of the solution, along with the benefits of this solution.
For example, let's suppose you're selling a low-fat cookbook. You might talk about
the problem and then introduce the solution: 

"I don't know about you, but one of the things I've always hated about dieting is that
the food was never very good. Who wants to choke on rice cakes and eat plain chicken
breast for every meal? Good news - now you don't have to. Because now you can lose
weight even while you're eating all your favorite foods - including chocolate cake!

Introducing..." [here you'd insert the title along with the benefits such as easy to
prepare, affordable, and guaranteed to taste great]...

9. Call To Action
Get The Click

If you've followed the previous steps, then you've lead your reader right down to
the end of the article. And best of all, the reader is very interested in this solution
you've been talking about.

Now it's time to drop a call to action in front of them along with a link. This is
where you tell them what to do next, and why they should do it.

For example, "Click here to download your copy of this cookbook - and do it now so
you can have a delicious dish for dinner tonight!"

10. Proof and Polish

BEST IMPRESSION

You want to make your best impression, so set your post aside for a few days so
that you can look at it with fresh eyes.

Then follow these tips:

 Read it out loud. This will help you catch portions of your content that are
bumpy or otherwise don't read well.
 Get someone else to proofread. They'll catch the errors, as you're probably
too close to the work to see them.
 Look for ways to make the content more engaging. Sometimes this is as
simple as using different words. For example, instead of saying something is
"fast," you might describe it as "lightning quick." This paints a picture in the
reader's mind and draws them into the content.
C.T.A. Swipes
Call To Action Ideas

 You deserve [good thing]. So take out your credit card, click the buy button
below, and say “Yes!” to [getting a good result]…
 You won’t find a better way to [get some good result], so fill out the form
below now and I’ll rush you your free report!
 If you do nothing, then tomorrow you’ll wake up [describe how things will
still be the same]. Or you can order now and [describe a better result]. If
you’re smart, you’ll click the order button below now…
 Your next step is easy: click here to order this exciting [type of
product] today. Your [describe] depends on it!
 Take the next step to [some good result] now by clicking here…
 There’s no better time than right now to [start getting some results], and
you won’t find a better way to do it. So click here to get started…
 Now you too can [get some great benefit]. Click here to get started—you’ll
be glad you did!
 You need to move fast if you want in on this incredible deal. Click here to
get started!
 Are you ready to get started? Then click here to get a free quote—you’ll be
glad you did!
 In just a few months from now you’ll look back on this day as the turning
point when things finally started to get better. Take that first step now by
clicking the buy button below to get started.

Post Title Swipes

Post Title Ideas

 X Ways to [Desired Result] in X Days Or Less

 Don't Even Think of Trying [Idea or Product] Until You Read This…
 My X Step System for [Getting Desired Result]
 Here's What Smart [Niche/Group/People] Do When They Want to [Get
Benefit]
 Do You Want [Benefit]? Here's a Shortcut…
 How to Get Rid of [Bad Thing], For Good
 How to Quickly and Easily Improve Your [Niche Skill]
 Save Time and Money With These [Niche Topic] Tips
 Are You Making These [Niche] Mistakes?
 The "Can't Lose" Way to [Get Good Thing]
 X [Resources/Products/Books/Tools] Every [Niche Person] Ought to Use
 How to [Get Result], Even If [You Don't Have a Prerequisite Skill or
Knowledge]
 Swipe My [Topic] Blueprint
 X Ways to [Get Benefit], Fast
 Here's a Weird Way to [Get Result]