As an aspiring blogger, you need to have a solid understanding of how to write blog posts that keep your readers coming back.
If you’ve spent time reading through the blogosphere, you’ve probably seen the difference between good and bad blog posts. Poorly-written blog posts give a poor experience to readers and this is something you don’t want to happen on your blog!
Just like anything else, blogging can be broken down into a simple set of guidelines. There isn’t a “best” way to get your blog post written properly, but there are a few rules of thumb that can help you along the way.
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How to start a blog post
As with most creative writing, getting started is the hardest part. Fortunately, the process can be broken down into bite-sized pieces:
Research a blog post topic
Your goal is to write blog posts that people will actually care enough to read, so it’s your job to find out what topics people are interested in!
List out a few topics you’d like to write about and then do a quick search on BuzzSumo to see it’s a popular topic. We also have a comprehensive guide on keyword research that will help you identify keywords your audience regularly searches for.
Decide what “type” of post you want to write
Blog posts generally fall into a few key categories, such as “how-to-x”, lists, “what-is-x”, and many other examples. These are the most popular types of posts out there today and the titles tend to get more clicks.
In fact, this article is a how-to post and it sure got your attention 😉
Make the introduction clear and captivating
The first part your audience will read after the title is the introduction. It is essential to present the topic and content of the article as clearly as possible so that your readers know that they will want to read the rest. Avoid overly wordy intros, and try to write it in a way that makes your reader want to keep reading!
How to structure a blog post
One of the most important things to consider is the actual structure of your post. The way your post flows and presents information will determine the way your reader feels when they read it, so it’s important to give it some thought.
Again, there are a few simple guidelines you can follow:
Make an outline of the body
Many people never bother making detailed outlines of how they want their post to play out. Planning everything out you as you write is invaluable to crafting a readable blog post.
You should create a list of headings and sub-headings that you want to include in your post. Once you’ve got all that sorted out, you will have a much better idea in your mind of how to move forward.
Make any necessary changes to your outline as you go; keeping your vision in line with your target audience.
Include a call-to-action (CTA) at the end
Finishing your post with some kind of call-to-action makes your readers act on whatever information you just gave them. Here are examples of what kind of CTAs you can include:
- Links to your related articles
- Links to your products or services
How to improve your blog post writing
As you write blog posts, there are many things that can detriment the quality of your writing during the process, so let’s go over a few things you’ll need to consider:
Keep your audience in mind
Again, this may seem obvious, but once you actually start writing, it’s easy to become distracted and lose focus. Making sure your content stays true to your niche and target audience is key.
Keep your language simple and catchy
As a blogger, the readability of what you write is extremely important. Things like passive language, confusing clauses, and digressions from the topic can make it very difficult for potential readers to understand what you write.
Break up paragraphs
Keeping your paragraphs short (like three sentences maximum) helps your reader easily wade through the information in your post. If your blog looks like a wall of text, it becomes intimidating to read. Quite frankly, they look boring and I tend to stay away from reading posts like that!
Breaking up the content with headers, bullet lists, and images is a great way to control the pace.
Look at blog post examples from other bloggers
Looking at some of the most successful blogs in your niche and comparing them to less prominent ones can give you an idea of how to craft an effective blog post.
Your job here is to visit some of your favorite blogs in your niche and figure out what you like about them.
Proofread for grammatical errors!
A simple grammar mistake can be the difference between someone understanding a sentence in your blog post and not. Be sure to proofread your articles at least a couple of times before you hit the publish button.
I personally use Grammarly to check for grammar mistakes. It’s one of the best writing tools for bloggers.
Once you’ve gotten a handle on these guidelines, you’ll be well on your way to writing quality blog posts that your audience will love!
