Up Your Blog Game: How to Wrap It Up

August 22, 2016 by Lindsey Perron

Ah, you’ve come to the end. All of your thoughts and research have been organized into an engaging quick read that your audience is sure to love. But there is one last step, the closing paragraph. “The conclusion of things is the good. The good is, in other words, the conclusion at which all things arrive. Let’s leave doubt for tomorrow,” Komatsu said. “That is the point.” – Haruki Murakami. In the end, you want to exit on a good note and leave no sense of want or confusion as to what the article was really about.

This article is about how to finish while keeping the reader at ease. Let's talk about how to wrap it up!

Affirm Your Thoughts

In the conclusion, you should always recap the important objectives of the article. Do not add any new thoughts. New information does not belong in the conclusion. If you want to say more, than add a new paragraph in the body. You do not want to leave your reader pondering what the article was actually about. Remember to stay on track. “If you start out with a solid topic, a good knowledge of your audience, and a reasonable degree of writing ability, you’ll usually end up with a pretty good piece of writing.” ~ D. Bnonn Tennant at CopyBlogger

Don’t Make it Wordy

Your closing paragraph should always be brief. You want a short but sweet close that will leave the reader satisfied with knowledge. “You are a one-of-a-kind person, with your own emotions, passions, and desires. So speak out. Seek to right a wrong. Take your joy and spread it around. Great things can happen.” ~ Carol Tice

Jump Start Your Reader

Often our blog posts are about accomplishing important goals. Whether it’s nailing an interview, asking for a raise, or even learning a new trade/craft. Whatever it is, command your audience to get out there and do it. Sometimes they need a swift kick in the pants. Don’t we all?

Links

The conclusion is a great time to throw in some links if you haven’t already. Think of it as giving them a next step or a sort of chance for extra credit. With the links, they can learn more if they decide to take their interest further. Plus, you should link to other experts and their blog articles – like a form of social proof. Take for example what Neil Patel says over at Moz; “You draw others into the conversation – By linking to others opens yourself up to discussing the topic at hand. This allows you to listen and trade ideas with others, learning things you didn’t know before you started…and creating relationships. You get the authority juice – Inbound links no doubt have high impact on your search rankings. But so do outbound links…especially if you are linking to authority sites.”

Ask a Question

“Say what?” Yes, ask a question. Questions give your readers a chance to post comments when they are done. This could start some good conversations that would move the subject forward. I remember a line from Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid Two, “Someone always knows more.” This is true, someone reading your post might have some beneficial information to add that can help your readers learn more on the subject matter.

In conclusion, restate your main thoughts, make it brief, tell them to get moving, add in some relative links, and ask a question. Now that you know all the ins and outs of the close, get going on writing some amazing posts. Blogging is one of those jobs that seems easy until you have to do it. Fortunately, it does get easier, and with time and practice, you’ll be blogging like a pro in no time.

Here's a bonus thought.

Now that you have learned how to improve your copy and produce consistent effective content, how can you use the content you already have to maximize your leads?

Queen of the Machine for Viral Solutions LLC

“If a brand genuinely wants to make a social contribution, it should start with who they are, not what they do. For only when a brand has defined itself and its core values can it identify causes or social responsibility initiatives that are in alignment with its authentic brand story.” ~ Simon Mainwaring

Filed Under: Content Creation Tagged With: blog, content, content marketing, copywriting, marketing strategy

About Lindsey Perron

As Thomas’ daughter, Lindsey was introduced to the world of sales and marketing at an early age. Curious about what her dad did, Lindsey would jump at every opportunity to help and ride along on sales calls. Always quick to take charge and lead the group—a trait that has only grown with time—Lindsey was frequently told by her parents that she was destined to be a manager or CEO of some sort. While working toward earning her bachelor’s degree in human services from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Lindsey interned with the UW Office of Equality and Affirmative Action and served on several councils, which gave her the opportunity to develop her persuasive writing skills, researching skills, problem-solving skills, project management skills, and more. After working as the lead teacher of the 4-year-old room at the local daycare center, Lindsey decided to switch gears and join the Viral Solutions team. In her position, Lindsey is able to help clients think through an end goal and reverse engineer it into the steps needed to achieve it.

When she’s not working, Lindsey loves spending time with family, be it traveling somewhere together or just hanging out at home.