If you want to write an awesome blog, then you need to start by creating great content. This means coming up with interesting and original ideas, and putting a lot of thought into your writing.
You also must ensure that your grammar and spelling are perfect, and that your posts are well-organized and easy to read. Finally, be sure to promote your blog on social media, and connect with other bloggers in your niche.
For you to expand your company, you need to start blogging. In this article, I’ll outline five easy steps you can follow to write a fantastic blog post that readers will want to read. Ready? Let’s get going.
Simple Steps for Writing a Blog Post
- Choose a topic for your blog article, draft an outline, do some research, and double-check your facts.
- Create an attention-grabbing headline that is both informed and engaging.
- Write your post in one sitting or by adding words to it piecemeal.
- Use visuals to improve your post’s flow, add humor, clarify difficult concepts, and make it more appealing.
- Edit the blog post you just wrote. Avoid repetition; read your article aloud to check for flow; have a reader provide input; keep sentences and paragraphs brief; don’t be a perfectionist, and don’t be afraid to omit content or make last-minute changes to your writing.
Let’s now go through each stage in further detail.
Planning
First, a disclaimer: even if you can type 80 words per minute and have strong writing talents, it can often take more than two hours to complete a blog article. You might spend several days or even a week “writing” a blog post, from the moment the idea first occurs to the moment you hit “Publish,” but it’s crucial to spend those crucial hours planning your post and even thinking about your post (yes, thinking counts as working if you’re a blogger) before you write it. Do you have enough crisscrosses and circles in your blog post?
Make sure you have everything you need to sit down and write before you even think of picking up a digital pen and paper. While you might be able to get away with skipping the planning stage, doing your research will save you time later on and help you form good writing habits. Planning is something that many new bloggers ignore.
Select a subject that interests YOU.
“No fun for the writer, no fun for the reader,” goes an ancient saying. As a blogger, you should abide by this maxim no matter what business you operate in.
Make sure to choose a topic that genuinely interests you before carrying out any of the following stages. A lack of enthusiasm from the author will destroy a blog post more efficiently than anything else, and by nothing, I mean NOTHING. You can tell when a writer is uninterested in their subject, and it’s so embarrassingly cringe-inducing.
If you’re struggling to come up with blog topic ideas, have a look at our list of eight blog topic generators or these eight tips.
Outline your article
Writing excellent blog entries is a skill. Even the most successful bloggers require a general plan to keep them on course. Here’s where outlines are useful.
The purpose of an outline is to prevent you from rambling on and on about unrelated topics. It doesn’t have to be extensive or even detailed.
As an illustration, here is the post’s outline that I provided to my editor before starting to write:
Introduction
[Short synopsis of the topics this blog post will address]
Planning a Blog Post, Section 1
Before starting a post, bloggers should do things like outline and research.
Writing a Blog Post, Section 2
Writing techniques and productivity advice for bloggers
Rewriting/Editing a Blog Post in Section 3
Self-editing strategies, cautionary tales, and typical blogging blunders
Chapter 4: Improving a Blog Post
How to optimise a blog post for on-page SEO, social media interaction, etc.
Conclusion in Section 5
Conclude
This outline will remind me what I intend to cover, the order in which the various sections will appear, and some basic information about what each section will contain.
You should stay honest using outlines. They prevent you from using ill-considered driving metaphors and help you stay focused on the general organization of your post. Most of the time, an outline similar to the one above is completely acceptable. However, occasionally I’ll write a more detailed outline (and occasionally I won’t bother with one at all).
Do whatever helps you stay focused, whether it’s writing your plan in a word processor, on paper, or even scribbling it on a bar napkin.
Conduct research
The fact that we don’t actually know everything is one of the biggest secrets that bloggers in the business, including myself, don’t want you to know. In all honesty, there are occasions when we begin writing about a subject with little prior knowledge of it.
You don’t actually need a passport to create a post about trip marketing, or expert advice.
This does not imply that all bloggers are fakers or dishonest people. Instead, many bloggers excel at what they do because of their inherent curiosity. If you want to make a living blogging, you must feel at ease switching from one subject to another, even if you are completely ignorant about it. Knowing how to thoroughly research a blog post enables us to achieve this and to write authoritatively about subjects unfamiliar to us.
It nearly goes without saying, but it is virtually never a good idea to rely only on Wikipedia as the main source. Yes, Wikipedia has thousands of well-researched articles, but it is not infallible, and inaccurate information occasionally finds its way into pages without being caught by site editors. Why credit the middleman when every verified fact on the website is cited from links to other websites?
Pick reliable sources if you’re going to use third-party data in your blog article. Examples include official associations, governmental websites, highly cited research publications, and eminent subject matter experts. Everyone makes mistakes, so approach each source with the trained skepticism of a journalist and ask questions until you are confident that the information you are receiving is reliable.
Verify your facts. Your credibility can be destroyed with only one obvious mistake. Everyone makes errors, but it’s important to stay away from errors. Publishing false information will seriously damage your credibility and authority if you’re just getting started. Even if you have a blog with millions of devoted readers, your regular readers will be eager to point out your error.
Step 2 of How to Write a Blog Post: Creating a Catchy Headline
About headlines, everyone and their granny has an opinion. To avoid misleading your readers and control their expectations, some advise being as explicit as you can, while others suggest adopting a more abstract approach. Vague headlines might work just fine, but for most of us, being detailed is preferable.
Some headlines almost compose themselves. When composing blog post headlines, there are primarily two methods you can use. You have two options: either choose your final headline before writing the remainder of your piece (and use it to organize your plan) or start writing with a working title and see what suits you when you’re done.
According to your audience, you should adopt different headline strategies.
How-to articles are very popular. Posing a question in your title is another typical tactic. When done effectively, this can be incredibly powerful. Make sure your readers will be truly interested in the question you want to ask in your headlines if you choose to do so.
Both an art and a science, creating blog post headers definitely merits its own essay, but for now, all I can suggest is testing to see what appeals to your audience. By all means, provide your audience with incredibly detailed case studies on how to carry out tasks. However, avoid acting simply because someone else is, especially if your audience is not responding favourably to it.
Step 3 of How to Write a Blog Post: The Writing Section
Now that you’ve done your homework chosen a headline (or at least a working title), and prepared to compose a blog post, move on. So, start doing it.
Before you begin writing, be sure your computer is actually turned on. There are two main ways to write a blog post, similar to headlines. Either sit down and compose the full first draft in one session or work on it incrementally over time. There is only one appropriate response in this situation that works for you.
But I’d advise doing as much as you can in a single sitting. This makes staying focused on the subject simpler, lowers the likelihood that you’ll forget important details, and speeds up the process of getting the darn thing out of your hair.
Try to get as much writing done in those periods as you can, even if you are more productive in short bursts. It becomes more tempting to add a little here and a little there the more you have to go back and edit a draft, and before you know it, you’ve veered off-topic. Even if you like to compose a blog post over three or four writing sessions, try to finish as much as possible in a single sitting.
The more you write, the easier and more natural it gets, much like with most other talents. If you’re just starting out, it can take you a week (or longer) to produce an article, but with experience, you’ll be churning out excellent posts in no time. Unfortunately, writing requires a lot of time at the keyboard; there are no “hacks” or fast cuts.
Take note that writing introductions can be challenging for many individuals. Writing the opening last is a wise writing method. Don’t worry about the introduction just yet; focus on the blog post’s content. Here are five simple guidelines for creating a strong introduction.
Step 4 of How to Write a Blog Post: Effective Image Use
Writing on the web differs significantly from writing for print. People frequently lack the time, motivation, or capacity to concentrate on lengthy blog entries without visual cues. Adding graphics to your postings is crucial because even a well-formatted blog post with only text will probably cause your reader to shout back to Reddit or Twitter within minutes.
Images Improve the Flow of Your Blog Post
Breaking up the text is one of the most crucial benefits of including photos in blog posts. Interspersing photos throughout the prose will make your piece seem less daunting and more aesthetically attractive because many readers scan blog posts rather than read every word.
Image Punchlines Are Excellent Visual Jokes
Everyone enjoys a good chuckle, and using the right image can help make your postings more lighthearted and add some much-needed humor to a piece. This can be especially useful if you’re writing about a dry (or just dull) subject.
Images Help People Understand Complicated Subjects
Let’s face it, digital marketing (and countless other specialized subjects) aren’t always the easiest subjects for beginners to understand. Because of this, photographs are a crucial component of your toolkit if you want to grow your readership through blogging. Your viewers will understand abstract or difficult subjects and be able to appreciate the arguments you’re attempting to convey with the use of diagrams, charts, infographics, tables, and any other visual materials.
Step 5 in the process of writing a blog post is editing.
It’s difficult to really write a blog post. It’s more difficult to edit a blog post. Many people erroneously believe that editing consists of either deleting awkward lines or correcting grammatical problems. Editing is about seeing the text as a whole and, occasionally, being ready to sacrifice words (and the hours it took to write them) for continuity, even though sentence structure and syntax are both crucial.
I won’t specifically tell you to proofread your grammar and spelling because you should already be doing that. I will, however, provide some self-editing advice and pointers on how to make your writing more focused so that it has more impact and keeps people scrolling.
Don’t Repeat Yourself
Repetition of certain words or phrases is one of the most disorienting reading elements. Once you’ve finished writing the first draft of your blog article, read it over and look for any words that can be changed to prevent repetition.
Don’t do that again.
A ‘crutch’ word or phrase is something that every writer uses. No matter how carefully a writer would want to avoid doing so, they can’t help but use this word in their writing. Find your go-to word, be watchful, and make sure it doesn’t pop up more frequently than necessary.
To check for flow, read your post aloud.
Many writers attend workshops where they master this technique. If a passage sounds weird when read aloud, it probably sounds awkward to your reader as well. Force yourself to read your post aloud to check for wordy bottlenecks or forced phrases. It might sound strange at first. Do you often have trouble with a sentence’s flow? Work on it until it sounds natural.
Have another person review your work.
This is essential for new or irregular bloggers. Asking a friend or coworker to review your work isn’t a sign of failure or an admission of weakness; rather, it shows a commitment to making your work as strong as it can be.
Keep your paragraphs and sentences brief.
Huge text walls frighten or enrage a reader faster than anything else. It’s a mistake that novice bloggers frequently make, and I see it far too frequently in many online pieces.
It is best to keep sentences as brief as possible. They make the task of your audience easy to read. Shorter sentences also lessen the chance of veering off topic.
Also, keep paragraphs succinct and to the point. Your readers are more inclined to continue reading if the paragraph is concise. Since web-based publishing has become the norm, the “rules” of paragraph form have been slightly broken, but they strive to keep distinct ideas within their own tidy, concise small paragraph.
Never be afraid to improvise changes or to make cuts
You shouldn’t be apprehensive about making decisions like this in terms of editing. Remember that an outline is a guide rather than a set of unchangeable rules. Make the necessary changes if a sentence, paragraph, or even a whole section doesn’t make sense. Be brutally honest in your job.
Conclusion
One of those things that appears simple until you have to perform it is blogging. Fortunately, with time and practice, it does get simpler, and soon you’ll be blogging like a pro. If you’re having trouble writing a blog post, or if your posts could use some improvement, don’t worry – you’re not alone. In this article, we’ve outlined some steps that will help make your writing more focused and engaging for your readers.
Editing is key, so be sure to proofread for grammar and spelling mistakes, and read your work aloud to check for flow. Have someone else review your work before publishing it online. Finally, keep paragraphs and sentences brief to avoid overwhelming your reader. With these tips in mind, you should be able to write great blog posts with ease!