So you’ve written an epic blog post and you’re about to slap on a sparkly bow and call it done. But did you know it’s the very end of the blog post where many writers miss a trick?
The end of your post is untapped space to tell your reader what you want them to do next. You shouldn’t be giving your readers your best tips and sending them on their merry way. Give them an opportunity to take further action, read more of your stuff, or learn about what you offer.
You’ve taken the time to create all that great content, you want it to work hard for you and help you build your audience. Because finishing on an underwhelming ‘the end’ doesn’t give your readers a reason to explore your business further or visit you a second time.
So let’s make those blog posts earn the space on your website with these 9 powerful closers.
A question – Ask your readers an open-ended question to get them thinking more about the post they’ve just read. You want them to feel compelled to leave a comment so you can interact and nurture that relationship further.
Further reading – Leave a closing remark: ‘If you liked this post, you may also like’ and follow with a couple of related blog posts you’ve written so they can explore the topic further. This is also a great way to bring your bounce rates down if they’re overly high. Google likes to see your visitors are exploring different pages of your site, because it shows you provide value. And if you’re pleasing their users they’ll send more traffic your way. Win, win people!
Products and services – If your topic closely relates to a product or service you offer, invite the reader to check out your sales page. If they’re already interested in solving the problem you’ve just written about, they may want to take it a step further and work with you.
Share a lead magnet – Give the reader an opportunity to gain more of your useful advice by adding a lead magnet to the end of your post. It can help if the lead magnet connects to the topic of your blog post, but it doesn’t have to. Experiment and find out what works best for you. For lead magnet inspiration, check out my post ‘7 lead magnet ideas to grow a five-figure email list.’
Ask for a share – A great way to get your post out there without much effort is to ask your reader to share your post. But make sure you have an easy way for people to share your posts first. Social Warfare or Sassy Social Share are great social plugins for WordPress sites.
Tell them what’s next – This works particularly well if you’re writing a series of posts. Which is essentially a few blog posts with a common theme that ties them all together. So you could finish your post by saying what you’ll be talking about next week. Then ask them to come back for more.
Sign up for your newsletter – A simple way to get people onto your email list. Ask people if they’d like to hear more of your tips and tricks. Include a form saying: ‘Why not subscribe to be the first to see our latest posts.’ Easy peasy!
Action checklist – Sum up the main tips from your blog post in a checklist so your readers can take action right away. Then invite your reader to come back and share how they got on in the comments, or tag you with their results on social media.
Gather intel – Use the end of your blog post to ask your readers how you can better serve them. Ask them if there’s a particular topic they’d like to know about, or if you can help them with something they’re really struggling with.
So the next time you think you’ve finished your blog post, think again! Always circle back and consider how you can encourage more engagement, get your reader to take action, or even convert them into a customer.
And if you already understand the value of blogging but you’re overwhelmed by all the marketing stuff, I may have just the ticket.
Hit the chat button and let’s talk about how we can make blogging work for your pet business.
See what I did there!
Great tips! Thank you for sharing them, there’s a couple that I don’t do and would never have thought of.
Thanks Michelle, so glad you found them useful!