How to Make Your Blog Post Stand Out (Plus a Taco Analogy)
I keep seeing posts and ads about #TacoTuesday and it got me thinking. A great blog is a lot like a delicious taco. Here’s how thinking about tacos can help you write a better blog post.
People appreciate high quality content.
Sure, you can make tacos from leftovers from the fridge, but fresh, carefully sourced ingredients make the best tacos. Grass-fed steak will taste better than overcooked chicken, fresh avocado is better than the green goo you find in a supermarket package.
Content you take time to create with care, drawn from reliable, expert sources will read far superior to a rehashing of old material. Don’t just accept anything for your blog, be picky and seek out quality contents. And make sure you allow extra time, as finding the best sources usually takes longer.
Share your point of view — your “secret sauce.”
You can elevate your tacos with homemade salsa verde, chipotle, or the slightly strange delicacy huitlacoche. Eat a taco at a high-end eatery and you will be surprised at some of the elements. Just one special ingredient can make a taco memorable.
With content, you’ll need to do some work to figure out how to make your content unique. Finding a catchy title and having something original to say as a thought leader is a good place to start. Your goal is to make your post unlike any others, and that’s not easy. You have a lot of competition out there.
James Scherer wrote a helpful piece on this for Content Marketing Institute, “3 Strategies to Stand Out from the Content Creation Crowd.”
What length should your blog post be? Don’t overfill.
My husband’s parents grew up in Mexico City, and tacos are his comfort food. He knows how to make them and how to eat them. I always overstuff my taco because I want “just a little” of everything. So, I end up with half of my taco on my lap!
It’s not so different with content. Adding a few helpful links and images, great. Trying to cram so much in that your reader can’t find your point? Not so great. Streamline your posts to look smart and not make a mess.
Make your posts more interesting with variety and an occasional element of surprise.
While you need to have consistency in form and style on your blog, it can get dull if every posts reads too much the same. Invite a guest blogger to post, write some shorter, some longer posts, mix up the type of extras you include, offer pointed opinion pieces as well as balanced informative pieces.
Check out these 101 blog post ideas from HubSpot to find some different types of posts to add to your mix.
The taco equivalent is the person who goes for the standard taco recipe they grew up with, never varying the recipe. Too much repetition gets monotonous. You could make tacos once a week for the rest of your life and not run out of types to try. Tuna? Bone marrow? Suckling pig?
I hope these ideas are helpful. And if this post has made you hungry, here is a recipe for one of my favorites, Tacos Al Pastor.