How to Write a Successful Pillar Blog Post

There are millions of blog posts posted every day, and it is tough to stand out from the crowd. This fact is the most formidable challenge facing bloggers today. Readers are exposed and distracted by mediocre writing that fails to impress them. If you do not actively distance yourself from this writing, you know that none of these people will be reading your blog posts either.

There are these facts:

• There are 2.8 million blog posts published every day.
• Anyone who has a computer and the internet can be a blogger.
• Google must sift through 20 years worth of web pages anytime someone types in a search query.

There are many 500-600 word bland posts but not as many meaty 2000 word meaty blog posts that go in-depth on a subject.

So what can you do to distinguish yourself from these types of posts?

You can write a pillar blog post.

So, what is a pillar blog post?  Simply put, it is an amazing, unique, and epic blog post that outshines any other post. You know you have an epic blog post when you Google the topic you want to write about and then outdo the top ten posts on the first page of Google.

You make your blog post a hundred times better than those posts in every area possible.

You prove to people that your posts are distinguished and that they stand out and confirm that you are an authority on the subject. But they must be long-form, and they must be in-depth.  You will gain your reader's trust by showing them you are an authority on a subject.

When you write a pillar blog post, you need to value it since it takes so much time and effort to write it. Once you have written it, you will want to highly publicize it, place it in a visible place on your blog, link to it a lot, share it a lot, and improve it over time. A pillar blog post does not end when you put the final period on the finished post.

There are ten steps to writing a pillar blog post.

1) You Need to Decide What the Ultimate Goal of the Post Is

You need to start the blog post backward. This may sound weird. However, by reversing the process, you will keep the post focused and streamlined.  There are three types of goals you could have. You could want to generate leads. You can wish to acquire new customers or create awareness for an offer you may have.

When you want to generate leads, you should opt for a lead magnet, register for an upcoming webinar, respond for a live event, or request a coupon. Your pillar blog post can generate these leads for you.

When you want to acquire new customers, a pillar blog post can help you get qualified customers. These are customers that are looking for the exact service or product that you are offering.

If you want to increase the awareness of an offer, a pillar blog post can help them learn more about that offer. This is especially helpful for high ticket items that cost a lot of money.

2) Write a Strong Call to Action

Your pillar blog post needs to have a powerful call to action to get them to purchase from you. This CTA comes in many forms. It could be to download, buy, get more info, attend, or learn more. Your reader will not have anywhere to go without the CTA. It needs to be clear, and to the point, so they can easily understand it.

3) Choose a Topic

Remember, we are going about this backward. You need to ask yourself what the prospect needs to believe so that they will buy from you. What were they researching for before buying your product is another thing you need to ask yourself. You also need to ask what questions they may have for you.

Instead of changing people's minds, you should get into the thoughts they already have. It's easier to enter a conversation midstream than try to develop a new topic to talk about.

4) Pick a Post Type

This type could be a "How to" Or a "List" or an "Ultimate Guide." You need to decide which one will work best for what you are trying to convey and what you want your customers to do. Know that List type posts tend to go more viral than any other post.

5) Find the Angle You Wish To Portray

When you write a blog post, you are asking your readers to give you their valuable time. Time is not what many people tend to have a lot of, so they greatly value it. If you do not write a fantastic headline that immediately grabs their attention, then you can kiss that prospect goodbye.

There are five angle types, The "Benefit" angle, The "New" angle, the "Threat" angle, the "Piggy-Back" angle, and the "Curiosity" angle. You must choose one that best works with your end-goal.

6) Choose the Keyword or Keywords

Keywords are the phrases that people use to search for things in search engines. You can use a website like Moz.com and SEMrush to help you choose the best keywords to use. You will want to find ones with medium to low demand, or you can use long-tail keywords, which are phrases that people use to search. Long-tail keywords are best because they are more specific to what people are searching for when they dive into Google search. You are more likely to get qualified leads this way.

7) Write Your Outline

It is always a good idea to write an outline. You want a coherent blog post, and you do not want to leave anything out. If you do a listicle post, then list every item on the outline. For a "How to," you should write down all your talking points that you want to explain to the prospect.

8) Identify Any Available Media Opportunities

When you create a pillar post, you will want to have pictures, graphs, infographics, audio, or video. You need to identify what sources you have to use and where you will get them. It's the little things that make a pillar post great, not just the big things. Everything extra you can add to the post, the more your prospects will want to read it. Posts with media are also more likely to go viral.

9) Include a Strong Introduction

After the headline, the introduction will prove to be very important. You have hooked the reader with your headline, and now you need to keep them reading. Using the P.A.E.S. formula (problem, agitate, emphasize, and solution) works very well for an introduction.

10) Write the Pillar Content

Once you have gotten the nine steps out of the way, you will now write your pillar post. This is the hardest part, but worth the time and effort you put into it. You have done a lot of work so far, and now you are filling in the gaps and rounding out the post. The more information you include, the longer it will be, and the higher you will rank in google.

11) The Editing Process

Finally, you are near the end of your pillar post. Now you need to add the final touches and make sure it is polished and ready to be viewed. Take your time with this step and be diligent. You don't want all your hard work to go to waste with typos, spelling, and grammar mistakes. Nothing says unprofessional than a post with tons of errors in it. Even one or two mistakes can put off some of your discerning readers.

Final Thoughts

Writing a pillar post may take you more time than a regular post, but the results will be far better with the pillar post. Your hard work, time, and energy will get rewarded with more prospects and leads who want your products and services. When you get done, you can be proud of yourself. You have done what 99% of bloggers have failed to do. Your post will stand out as an authority, and you will be seen as an expert in your field, and all the hard work will be worth it.