We all know that writing a blog post is one of the most important things you can do for your blog.
It can drive traffic and build up an audience. But if you're not writing amazing blog posts, then all your hard work could be going to waste.
Writing an awesome blog post is a lot like making a cake: there are all kinds of ingredients, each with its function.
These tips will help you optimize your blog so that readers can find and engage with it easily—and keep coming back for more!
We'll go over everything from deciding on a topic to getting the word out about your blog post once it's published—plus everything in between.
The first step to crafting a great blog post is to choose a topic. You can't expect to write a good article if you don't have something interesting to say.
So before you start writing, you must get your ideas organized. Think about the kind of topics your readers would like to see on your blog and brainstorm some ideas for posts.
Choose a topic that you're interested in, but also consider which topics your audience might be interested in as well.
It's easy to assume that the two are the same, but I've found that they often aren't!
A good rule of thumb is not so broad that it leaves no room for in-depth discussion or so narrow that only one person will find it relevant and valuable.
For example: "how do I get more traffic?" would likely be too broad because there are too many potential ways for people to answer this question on the other hand: "how do I use hashtags effectively?" could end up being too narrow—there's only one way for someone with basic knowledge about hashtags to answer this question!
Also, remember that your topic should align with your niche.
You’re only human, and you can only be knowledgeable about so many things. So it makes sense to choose a niche topic and stick with it.
A blog that covers one specific area will have an easier time providing value for its audience than one that tries to be all things to all people (and ends up doing none well).
When you write about something you know well, your content will feel stronger than if you were writing about something outside of your expertise.
Your readers will also be able to tell when they see it—they will feel more connected with the material because they trust that it comes from someone who knows what they're talking about.
If you don't know what you're talking about, how can you expect anyone else to?
Here are some key areas to research before writing your next blog post:
The topic - make sure that whatever topic you choose has enough newsworthy material and information available online. Also, make sure there is a need from readers in that area of interest.
The competition - find out who else has written about this issue so you can see what they've published, how well those articles have done, and get ideas on how to improve upon them or create something completely new and unique!
Your audience - what's the average age range of your audience? How many men vs women? Does it vary based on where they live (country) or what industry they're in? Is it mainly millennial ages, gen Xers or baby boomers...etc.?
You should also spend some time researching the topic—this will help ensure that you're able to write an informative and engaging article rather than simply copying and pasting material from other sources.
The headline is the first thing readers see and it's a good idea to make it as enticing as possible. Here are some tips:
Make it short, snappy, and catchy: a headline should be no more than 30 characters long.
Use a question. This is the most direct way to get readers to click on your post, as they’re curious about the answer or solution that you provide in the body of your post.
Ask yourself what would make them want to read more, and then create your headline around that central idea or thought.
Or use a number, people love stats, especially when they can be used in tandem with an interesting factoid.
If you have data that backs up your claims or assertions, this makes it even easier to build an interesting headline around those numbers.
But remember, there should be a correlation between what your headline says and how many people will find it valuable enough to read all the way through.
Use a benefit statement, readers are looking for something that will help them solve an issue they have or make their life easier, so tell them what they will get from reading your article.
For example, "how to write epic headlines to double your traffic" would be better than "writing headlines."
The headline is the first thing that people come across when they are reading your blog post, so it’s important to give them a reason to keep on reading.
It should be clear and concise, but also interesting enough that someone would want to click on it and read more.
Make it relevant!
The headline should always relate to the topic of your post in some way, even if it’s not directly stated.
For example, if you are writing about how to use coupons at the target then “5 tips for saving money at target” would be a good heading because it tells readers why they should care about this topic right away - saving money
Next start creating an outline for the entire post in a list format, with each major section numbered and sub-sections indented.
Once you have the outline, fill in the details of each section and sub-section.
This should be easy to do because you’ve already done research on your topic and written down notes about it.
When you're writing a blog post, it's essential to make sure that you've got a strong first impression.
The first sentence of your blog post is the most important one—it should be compelling enough to grab your reader's attention, but not so complicated that they can't follow along with what you're saying.
If they can't understand what exactly you are trying to say or your first few sentences are boring, then they will probably click away and go somewhere else.
Your second paragraph should be just as clear and easy to follow as the first one was!
The key here is keeping it short and sweet; don't try to pack too much information into this paragraph unless there needs to be more context than just what was covered in the previous paragraphs.
Meta descriptions are a snippet of text that describes your blog post to search engines like google.
They help searchers decide if they want to click on the link, which means you must write engaging ones.
One thing that makes meta descriptions stand out is their length: they're short—around 160 characters or less—to fit within the white space provided by most social media platforms and search results pages.
This makes them more difficult to write than traditional web copy because you have fewer words at your disposal, but there are still ways to make them impressive while staying within this character limit.
Start writing! Don’t wait for inspiration. Just sit down and start writing.
Don’t worry about the quality of what comes out of you in that first draft. Write it all down, no matter how bad it looks or sounds, and then move on to another.
You might be worried that if you don’t sit down immediately and write a perfect first draft, this idea will slip away from your mind forever—don’t worry about this!
You can always delete things later and rewrite them as needed.
But when you write, you need to know who you're writing for. If you don't, your audience will be confused by what they read and won't take any action on the content they've consumed.
Use the inverted pyramid formula
The inverted pyramid is a writing style that puts the most important information at the top of your post.
Start by writing out your first paragraph in full, including any lead-ins to necessary paragraphs. This can be anywhere from one sentence up to three or four sentences long—whatever works best for you!
Next, write one or two sentences summarizing all of your main points and why they matter.
Then move on to each subsequent paragraph until your entire piece has been written out in full—just like you would normally do if only using bullet points instead of this structure!
It's a good idea to break up your content with headings and subheads.
Using subheads breaks up your content into digestible pieces.
This is great for readers because it makes your blog post easier to read and easier to skim through. Headings help readers scan through your blog post, while subheads can provide extra detail without overwhelming them with information.
It's also helpful for you because it lets you organize your thoughts in a logical way that will make sense to the reader.
To help readers scan your post, use bullets and subheadings.
Use lists to communicate important information like a list of steps your reader can take to accomplish something for example, if you're writing a "how-to" guide
Use a numbered list when you want readers to know that the items in your list are equally important.
For example, if writing about how you got started with blogging, putting all of your steps into a numbered list would emphasize that all of them were critical to helping you succeed as a blogger.
You should always make sure your posts have a unique voice. You don't want to sound like you're just reading off of a script, or trying too hard to be funny.
Rather than being forced, try to write like you would talk with friends or family, in an accessible way without too much jargon or technical language.
Make sure that your posts are easy to read and understand, but also not boring!
Some good ways of doing this include adding in some humor, using different styles of writing, or even creating infographics that summarize key points from your post.
Images can help break up text and make it more scannable, which is especially important for blog posts. Images also help illustrate points and add visual interest.
Make sure to include relevant images in your post. This will help with SEO also since search engines favor pages with images over those without them.
But don't overdo it with the images. Incorporate relevant and clear images into your blog posts, but be sure to stay within a reasonable number.
The goal is to help people understand what you're saying, not distract them with needless embellishments.
Plus, readers who have slow internet connections may experience difficulties trying to load your post if there are too many images embedded into the post's text.
Finally, always make sure that any photos or illustrations used in your blog posts are high-quality so they won't look blurry or pixelated when displayed onscreen.
When you write a blog post, add links to other posts that are relevant to the topic of your current content.
This will help readers find related posts on your site or elsewhere on the web by giving them a starting point for their search.
Link to other articles in your blog. This will help readers who want more of what you have to offer, and it will also give you an opportunity for additional backlinks which can help increase traffic.
You can add links within the body of the post itself, e.g., if there's a specific term that needs explaining.
Linking to other blog posts you've written is a great way to expand your audience. It also helps the reader get more context on your thoughts, and it gives them an easy way to jump back into previous posts if they want to learn more.
There are plenty of ways to include links in your blog post so don't be afraid of using them — just make sure that when you do add links, they're helpful for the reader and don't distract from the main point of what you're trying to say.
Your call to action should be clear and direct. It should also be relevant to your topic and placed in the middle or at end of your post, right before you sign off.
If you're writing a blog post about how to make money blogging, for instance, your call-to-action might be "click here to download my free e-book on how to start a successful blog."
Using these links wisely and strategically, it's going to help increase brand awareness.
As you're finalizing your post, proofread it for errors.
We all make mistakes, but the more you read over your blog post the less likely you are to make mistakes.
Use a spellchecker like Grammarly or ginger, both of which are free and have browser plugins. I highly recommend checking with both of these tools before publishing as they'll catch many common errors that even native speakers make.
The last thing you want is for someone with no knowledge of what they're reading to come across grammatical error after error while trying to understand your point.
You might also want to use some sort of plagiarism checker if the topic matter is particularly sensitive or if there's been any controversy surrounding your work before the publication date arrives.
Proofread and edit your post before publishing it.
Make sure there are no grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors in your post.
Review for accuracy. If you have quoted someone or something, make sure that the quote is accurate and appropriate to your blog topic.
Answer all relevant questions from readers in this post so they don’t have to search around on google to find answers themselves!
It's important to add share buttons to your blog posts. Share buttons allow readers to easily share content they like on social media, email, and other sites that the reader visits.
This can help you build an audience that is interested in what you have to say and will follow you wherever you go online.
And there you have it—a thorough list of what to do, and what not to do, for writing an epic blog post ever.
Keep in mind that these tips are just the beginning of a long journey. If you stick with these tips and practice them over time, your readers will thank you for them!
If you follow this checklist, there's no reason why your blog posts can't be as great as they possibly can.