Imagine what will happen to your blog when you intentionally learn how to write a blog post. Doing right by your blog with content can have a lasting positive ripple effect.
That said, there are rules and styles to follow if your post must be informative, engaging, and well-structured. So, regardless of your niche, once you get it right, you have set your blog up for a good jolly ride.
Suppose you own a new blog, learned to write just recently, or were hired to write a blog post, but you need clarification. Come along and get the clarification you deserve.
Learn how to write a blog post with these steps
Do an extensive keyword research
Keyword research does not concern a writer who has received a topic to write on. Instead, a blog owner or manager is tasked with researching and writing content from scratch.
Suppose you wish to write a good blog post that attracts the right audience; you must put in the work to understand keyword research and usage. A well-researched keyword gives your blog the attraction and traffic it needs to compete with other blogs on search engines.
Isn’t it obvious that you can not pull people from the respective destinations and activities to read what you wrote? However, your keywords are capable of that and would do a better job.
Some platforms and tools can help you verify these keywords. They may be paid or free, but they will help you understand your preferred keyword’s Keyword Volume, Search Difficulty, Cost Per Click, and general value. One way to guide your keyword selection is to know the intent of internet users.
There are informational, transactional, commercial, and navigational keywords. Choosing any among them must be in relation to what you plan to achieve with your blog post.
Diversify your keywords by using long and short-tail keywords while writing your content. However, you must be wary of keyword stuffing. So, this is the foundational step of an excellent post for your blog.
Go for a good topic
In the grand scheme of things, your topic matters the most. Your topic must be a combination of what you want to address and also your keywords.
First, you must find a compelling issue that your audience needs help with and has your brand’s identity. For example, this is a writing niche blog where I discuss everything related to writing and writer’s health. Notice that the current blog post you are reading is about how to write a blog post that sets yours apart.
Why am I treating this topic? Because thousands of people are searching for the right way to write their blog posts, you can tell that you are already learning something.
Therefore, ensure you have vast knowledge of the topic before writing about it. You can not be trained to write only about the beauty niche, yet you expect to do well within an investment niche. Go for topics in which you are well-grounded.
How can you choose the right topic? You can do that by:
- Asking your audience what bothers them and what they need help with
- Create a poll and have them select the best topic that resonates with them
- Following industry trends to see what’s new and being among the first to talk about it.
Do not worry if you are yet to have a large following on your blog. You can use your social media platforms to get people talking. Then, take a keyword and turn it into a full topic for discussion.
Use an outline
An outline will help you stay organized and make your writing easier. It will help you know what to do and write at each step of the way.
Here are the things to check while creating your outline:
- Type of content
- Topic
- Resources
- Links
- Subtopics
- Length of post
- Relatable examples
- Keywords
- Images/videos
- Thoughts
- Structure
- Audience details
Come along as I break them down for easier understanding.
Type of content
Your type of content must resonate with your audience. Whatever tone and voice you use to attract your audience, keep using it. Speak in the language that they understand. You also determine if you are doing a listicle, how-tos, infographics, or any other type.
Topic
Your topic must be attention-grabbing. When you understand the intent of your targeted audience, crafting your topic to catch their attention becomes easier.
Resources
There are reliable sources to get more information to back up your content. Find them and ensure that your content is current and authentic.
Links
Go through your already posted content, look for similar or related topics to which you must link your current article, and note them down. You can link more than one if you wish; it helps the Google bots see that your blog has valuable information.
Linking articles within your blog helps keep readers longer and increases traffic. You must also link to reliable resources that support your information.
Subtopics
How you structure your blog post can give you some clarity. Your outline must contain your subheadings and the number of paragraphs you may wish to have.
Length of post
Another important outline is determining the length of your blog post. You must decide if you are writing long or short-form content.
Relatable examples
Many people love to read about examples, especially when they are relatable. Using examples in your blog posts helps to bolster your points so well.
Keywords
So long as it is a blog post, you must understand and use keywords. Write out your keywords and how you plan to distribute them as you write.
Images/Videos
Create or download the images you need for your post. Rename and resize them if need be. If you need to embed videos into your blog post, set them up and ready.
Thoughts
Suppose you have extra information, such as quotes or statistics, that you need to include in your blog post; include them in your outline so you won’t forget.
Structure
Remember markers for your videos and images if you are including them.
Audience details
Finally, remember your audience and readers. Who they are and why they visit your blog. Whatever you must include to make your audience happy, include them in your outline for easy access.
Write your content
You have done your research, you have your topic, and your outline is all marked. Now, you are set to create your blog post.
Start with an introduction. This is the time to use a hook that will grab your readers’ attention. It takes the first two lines to do that; therefore, write an excellent introduction to set off your blog post.
While at it, let your readers know what they are about to learn. Let your intro guide your readers and smoothly transition them into the body of your post without confusion.
Your introduction can start with:
- A thought-provoking statement
- A controversial point
- Question
- Stating a fact (personal or general)
For example, imagine that you are writing a blog post about women’s reproduction and diets. You could start your introduction with a thought-provoking sentence such as:
‘Imagine a world where women only need to eat certain food to conceive a child. What would that food be?’
You could also decide to go the controversial way and use an intro like:
‘Are sperms really all you need to conceive a child?’
Use subheadings to break down your points for better understanding. Thoroughly explain your points so that your readers will not be more confused than before visiting your blog.
Correctly follow your outline and write till you exhaust your points. Then, write your conclusion.
Edit your draft
Your blog post is only ready for public consumption if it has passed through editing. Leave and return to reread your content with fresh eyes and deal with the errors and unnecessary sentences.
Invest in editing tools that can help you find and pick out errors. Tools like Grammarly can do your article a lot of good because they help with sentence reconstruction. Grammarly can help you with the plagiarism score.
In conclusion, if you must learn how to write a blog post in any niche, seek out blogs that post good content and drink in all they do. A well-structured and detailed blog post can easily take your blog farther than you can imagine.