There’s no doubt that blogging has changed significantly over the past couple of years. AI tools can now generate fully formed blog posts in seconds, which means the internet is full of similar content giving much the same information, with everyone vying for that all-important search real estate.
However, this AI-generated content tends to fall just a little, well, flat. Posts can feel repetitive, strange in tone, or disconnected from real human beings. We also know that Language Learning Models (LLMs) can make mistakes, giving out misinformation or sometimes even completely making up facts!
Which is why keeping your content interesting, useful, and written by real people will genuinely make it to stand out from the crowd and help to build trust in your brand.
There was a vicious rumour floating around that, thanks to the changes in Google’s algorithms, blogging is dead. But we’re having none of it. In fact, we believe that blogging makes more sense now than ever before. There’s a demand for trustworthy content that’s written by humans and which answers queries clearly and helpfully.
Read on to discover our top tips to keeping your blog posts engaging and entertaining in the era of AI.
How is AI currently being used in content creation?
There are a multitude of different ways in which AI is being used in content creation. Of course, we’ve all seen the social media trends – the AI photos of people surrounded by cute puppies, the action figure dolls, and making your fave pics into cartoons – but its use is much wider than that.
Some websites are using AI to create reams of content, with tools such as ChatGPT able to generate what appear to be credible blog posts in a matter of seconds. Recent studies suggest that as much as 30% of content on active webpages is written by AI. (source: arXiv)
However, what AI can’t quite replicate is the experience and authority of a real human voice. And it can’t put in those humorous asides or comments which give what you’re reading a personality and topical context beyond the text on the page.
Why we don’t recommend using AI to write your blog posts
Frankly, we’re tired of reading generic content put together by bots. Which means your readers are too.
Here are some of the reasons you should be publishing content written by real people, rather than relying on the machines:
- People want to read personal experiences and stories
- AI pulls its content from a pool of other webpages – this means you could end up with very similar (or even the same!) content as other websites, leaving you open to duplicate content penalties and even copyright claims
- AI-generated content lacks brand personality – the stuff that keeps readers coming back again and again
- AI can’t tell personal stories, anecdotes, or even give opinions
And perhaps the biggest reason of all:
- Google favours original, helpful content that’s written by real people for real people, rather than generated electronically purely for SEO (source: Google)
4 top tips for writing engaging blog posts
Here’s how you can get your content to stand out against the crowd.
Summary – top tips for writing engaging blog posts
- Use a clear tone of voice
- Remember E-E-A-T
- Make use of FAQs
- Include real-world examples
1. Use a clear tone of voice
Getting your brand tone of voice right is not just helpful for your blog posts, but it’s useful for all your content across every one of your marketing channels. You may already have this nailed, but if not, it’s time to go back to basics.
Spend some time writing down what the brand tone of voice is – are you friendly, knowledgeable, informal, do you sound young, mature, or older? Once you have this, you’ll find you can fill your blog posts with personality. For further ideas, check out our post on 5 steps to developing your brand tone of voice.
2. Remember E-E-A-T
We’ve been talking about E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) for a few years now, but it’s still as relevant as ever when it comes to writing blog posts.
While it’s not a direct ranking factor, Google aims to provide results that have a strong E-E-A-T rating for its users. It also makes your content more enjoyable to read, with real experiences and advice from experts.
3. Make use of FAQs
Adding an FAQs section in your blog post meets so many objectives. Not only is it great signalling for Google and LLMs, but it’s also very engaging for your readers. Splitting your content into FAQs helps readers home in on the section they want to read and gives them the answer they want quickly and easily.
4. Include real-world examples
Including topical examples in your content from real-life will help give credibility to your posts and also make them more relatable for your readers. It also helps differentiate your content from AI generated blogs. If you’re trying to help them solve a problem, it helps to build camaraderie when it seems like other people have experienced the same thing.
So, what can AI be used for?
While we definitely don’t recommend using AI to write your blog posts (see the rest of this article above!), it can nevertheless be a useful tool to help you in the early stages of your content creation planning:
- Generating ideas – if you’re feeling at a loss as to what to write next, AI can help to spark some ideas
- Keyword research – although not as good (or accurate) as some subscription-based SEO tools, AI is a good starting point
- Thesaurus – struggling to find a better way to say something? AI can suggest some alternatives
Writing engaging blog posts in the era of AI isn’t about raging against the machines. It’s about using what they can’t replicate to your advantage. Clear opinions, genuine experiences, and expert insight will give your content depth and keep readers coming back again and again.
Get in touch with us today if you need a helping hand with your content strategy.
