How to Use Numbers Effectively in Blog Posts The first post appeared on ProBlogger.
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You're a blogger, so I hope you feel confident working with words.
But words alone are not enough.
Even if you haven't been writing for a long time (or haven't started yet), you've probably noticed that numbers appear frequently in other people's writing.
You'll often find numbers in post titles, such as:
- How I Made Over $500,000 With Amazon Affiliate Program (ProBlogger)
- Marketing Shouldn't Be Tricky: 5 Real-Life Examples (Copyblogger)
- $453,000 in 33 Days: The Kickstarter Startup Guide - Guest Post by John Lee Dumas (Smart Passive Income)
Even if they don't appear in the title of the post, numbers can be used to organize a sequence of steps, a list of suggestions, or to refer to statistics.
Why are numbers so important?
Using numbers in your post makes you a more reliable source of information.
Numbers also fascinate readers. If you say "ten ways," they'll want to know what it is. When you tell them you made $2,671 after pitching your first product, they want to know how.
Here are four ways to use numbers in blog posts.
- When you share your (or someone else's) achievements, traffic, fans, earnings, or anything you can track.
- when posting statistics. It can be familiar or more obscure.
- A few steps to follow are listed. These steps can be all or part of your message.
- When exchanging various suggestions or ideas, usually in writing with a list.
So they can work for you.
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#1: Share your (or someone else's) results.
Blog posts that share real results are often popular because they show someone else has been successful and give the reader hope for themselves. Numbers like “3,241 Facebook fans” and “$453,000” in the headlines I shared earlier can help readers trust your information. It seems like it should be useful, given how detailed it is.
Give advice. Sometimes it's useful to round numbers (for example, "I have over 20,000 subscribers on my mailing list"). But when you share your results in a post, the exact numbers clearly show that the results are correct.
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#2: Present the statistics
It's easy to give advice on your blog without necessarily backing it up. You know your niche very well, so you know your advice is spot on. But readers won't necessarily believe you without proof. Here's an example from a classic Copyblogger post about writing headlines that get results :
On average, 8 out of 10 people read the headline, and only 2 out of 10 read the rest. This is the secret of the title and why it determines the effectiveness of the entire article so much.
The statistics clearly show that this information is authoritative and reliable, and not someone's opinion on whether or not the names have meaning.
Tip: Of course, your statistics must be accurate and correct. Try to find the original source or a reputable source such as a government or university website. It is often helpful to provide a link to the source as well.
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#3: List of steps to follow
If your writing teaches the reader how to do something or contains steps that need to be followed in sequence, it makes sense to number those steps. Your reader may jump back and forth between your message and the task they're trying to complete, so you need to make it easy for them to remember which step they took.
For this type of post, numbers often work well, including in the title. For example, instead of "How to register a domain name," it might be "How to register a domain name in six easy steps."
Tip: Try not to take too many steps. Having 20 or 30 steps can overwhelm the reader, although each step can be completed relatively quickly. Instead, try breaking each action down into five or ten steps.
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#4: Share some tips or ideas
This is different from a step-by-step approach where each suggestion or idea in your post will follow on its own. The reader can approach them in any order and try just one or two.
However, it is a good idea to put numbers on each one. This will help the reader navigate your message, and show that you've kept your promise (if you've used numbers in your headline).
Tip: In this type of writing, it is useful to work with high numbers. While “100 Steps to Creating the Perfect Website” may seem overwhelming, “100 Different Ways to Make Your Website Stand Out” sounds like a comprehensive resource that readers can use.
Using numbers in your post (and especially your headline) takes a few minutes of extra work. But it could have been a more popular and effective post.
Do you already use numbers in your posts? Or would you like to give it a little more attention? If you have any good tips for using numbers, let us know in the comments.
This article was originally published on December 12, 2017 and was updated on July 28, 2022.
The post How to Use Numbers Effectively in Your Blog Posts appeared first on ProBlogger.