No More Filler Blog Content. Write Killer Blog Content Instead.

Buckle up, sunshine. I'm about to make you feel a bit down in the dumps. Sorry. But since you're probably here to figure out how to improve your content engagement, you're going to want to hear it.

No matter how many blog posts you churn out (or pay a content writing agency to churn out for you) people probably aren't even reading them.

That sucks, doesn't it? But, that's the harsh reality of online publishing, and it's not going to change anytime soon.

So, stop creating so much content then.

I just heard you gasp from all the way over here - in the past.

But just hear me out: I know Neil Patel told you that regular 2,000-word posts are the only thing that will rank you on page one of the SERPS. What if I told you that's nonsense? What if, instead of constantly producing content for content's sake, you actually focused on creating less but more meaningful content that people actually want to read?

And then what if they read it?

All of it?

And as a result, they wanted to read more of your content...

And then Google saw that they interacted with your content in a meaningful way...

What impression do you think Google would get about your value? And how do you think that would impact your rankings?

SEO content isn't about spewing out thousands of words to chuck in the HTML ether with the other gazillion words published that day, so they can wrestle in slippery, digital word soup for keyword glory. The point of SEO content is to appear to be a useful, interesting source of information. Which you can achieve by actually being a useful, interesting source of information. Who knew?!

So, this is why filler content needs to die a death. It's time to get it off your website, wash your hands (thoroughly), and start getting real. Here are some words of advice about how:

Start creating killer blog content by acknowledging your readers

Acknowledgement. We all deserve it. It's your first method of building a connection. "Hey, you," you say. "I know you're not here because you want to see me talking about me. I know you're here because you want to read about something that matters to you - probably to get an answer to this question."

Acknowledge your reader by sharing a story that shows you understand them. Show them you get their challenges and problems, and that you want to help. Then help.

Answer burning questions

The first thing to do when you want to start writing killer blog content is to ask yourself: “What questions do my readers have?” Blogs that answer really pressing questions naturally rock in the SEO department, because SEO is ALL about answering queries.

Also, remember to content doesn't have to be safe. I wouldn't go off on a major rant, mind, but don't be afraid of a touch of controversy. Also, don't be afraid to share your opinions and thoughts. That's thought leadership. People want to hear them. (If they're interesting.)

One way to find out what questions are burning in your audience's minds is by asking them directly. Hold polls on your socials, start an email campaign asking for people's time, create a survey on industry topics and roll up your data-analysis sleeves.

If you're not up for that, check out professional forums, lurk on Quora and Reddit, and scour Twitter (everyone loves a Twitter rant). The hashtags hold the answer to which questions and topics your audience wants to be addressed the most.

Give them free stuff

Who doesn't love free stuff? So give away something for free! I don’t mean literally ‘give them free stuff’, but instead, give them something valuable. Like a piece of your mind. In a good way.

Give your audience information that will help them. Make their lives easier, show them that you know what you're talking about and that you have their best interests at heart. This builds trust. And trust makes people more likely to give you their money. There, that's a bit of gold for you, pro bono.

Put it in context

Context is also important. It helps you write better, faster and more efficiently because it means that you're not just writing from your head; you're using real-life examples, scenarios and context to reference in your content.

A prime example of this was when my client started publishing a regular "things we learned this month at Random HQ" blog once a month and engagement skyrocketed. So many views, and so many comments.

The format was simple: they'd pick a theme (eg: productivity, customer experience, leadership) share some lessons learned over the past 30 days around that theme and then share any tools, resources or theories they used to try to make improvements (even shared the ones that bombed, big time).

It might seem counterintuitive to share your mistakes and your tough moments with your clients, but because there are powerful takeaways they LAP IT UP. Because it's authentic; it's real life.

This is embarrassing, but what does 'blog filler content' look like?

Filler content is anything that doesn't add value to your readers. It could be a list of the top 10 things you can do with a banana peel. It could be a keyword-stuffed, AI-generated pile of steaming word compost. Or it could be a fluffy, tenuous ramble pretending to say something new about a subject your audience knows inside out. Either way, filler content is essentially useless and will only waste the time you spent creating it, or the money you spent paying for it.

Most content farms produce nothing but filler content. When you outsource your content to them, their underpaid writers are given a title, your website and a word count. Then they're told to bash the keyboard until that word count is reached whilst shoe-horning some keywords in there. Plonk a cliched CTA at the end and a tenuous free-use image and it's good to go.

Sounds like I know a bit too much about writing for content farms... There isn't a freelancer out there who hasn't done it when they're starting out. Don't judge me.

I'm glad to be out of that stage of my life. And, as for you, if you're creating your own filler content or using an AI content creator or a slave-labour real-person content farm then you need a different kind of blog writing service - one that goes the extra mile to think carefully about what content your audience will actually enjoy looking at and that will make them stick around on your website for a bit.

(Plug: If you're still here over a thousand words later, then I hope that shows you I can do that! 🤞)

The blog is your opportunity to give readers something they can use

It's a lot of pressure, this SEO malarkey and being a "media owner" when you just wanted to have a company website and show off your business. I get it. But, your blog is an opportunity to build a relationship with your users, and build that all-important magic wallet-opening trust thing.

Blogging is the best way to build trust and make yourself look instantly credible. But only when your content is high quality, useful and properly impressive.

Stop posting filler blog content

So, stop posting filler content. Seriously. Stop. Your business is worth more than that.

It's website muzak. Worse, it isn't just neutral background noise that says nothing; it says you don't care!

It might be better to have no blog at all than one filled with filler paragraphs. So, if you need a UK-based blog writing service that will give you actual powerful content, not some keyword-stuffed fluff, then you've found it. Slide into my inbox kirsty@the-blog-writer.co.uk.