I have read many blog articles from people who are experts in the blogging industry. And I can assure there is a pretty common denominator. If the blog post is effective, you’re likely to leave a positive impression of the person reading it. In fact, blogging is a powerful way to connect with an audience. These faithful readers become a vital part of your business. Oh, by the way, blogging IS a business and I suggest you treat it like one right away if you want to earn a living with it.
Through blogging people get to know, like and trust you. Once this happens, you have a faithful following who will trust your recommendations, products or affiliates you offer. But there is a system to it. You must always give genuine recommendations and you must write your post a certain way. In this article I will outline how to write a blog post step – by- step in addition to a free blog post template your cant steal!
Ready?
Keep reading!
Create a Great Headline that readers can’t resist
Can I tell you the most embarrassing mistake that a blogger makes? Writing a blog headline that’s dull and lack luster. Writing a headline must be captivating for both readers and Google alike. A headline is dependent on one thing : KEYWORD RESEARCH.
Keyword Research are words that are heavily searched within Google, Bing or any other search engine within a given month. Using searched keywords helps you attract traffic to your blog so that you are able to rank and gain readership. This directly equates to money if done correctly.
A tool I recommend is Ahrefs.
This is the most accurate keyword tool to date. Use this to understand the main topic of your blog post and to create a headline.
Free tools like Google Trends tool is another free alternative.
There is a feature within the Google Trends interface that allows you to see how often a word is searched. This tool expresses in generalities. For example, it will say there are 100-500 searches a month. The lack of specificity is a slight disadvantage but it can work in a pinch and on a budget.
So once you have a keyword you want to write about, its time to craft your headline. I always recommend looking for keywords with 100-2000 searches a month. This is low enough for you to have a fighting chance to rank, yet enough searches where you can gain a good amount of traffic.
Using tools such as RankMath plugin within your blog will let you know if your headline satisfies what Google likes.
For example, RankMath may suggest putting a number in your headline. It may suggest using a positive word, along with other pointers to give you an advantage in Googles search engine.
Having a great headline provides some direction your blog should take. Without a good headline you may create a blog post that’s confusing and all over the place. Don’t do this, it will make your readers dizzy. Write an effective title that sets an effective target, draws the reader to the site, and keeps them hungry to read more.
Use your preferred keyword tool to create a list of preferred keywords that you want to rank for- something like a mini database. This will help you save lots of time. This can be done monthly.
For those of you who need simple go to resource for blog post topic ideas, take a read of this post ( 72+ Best Blog Post Ideas That Will Actually Get You Traffic) These topic ideas are a great place to start.
Flesh Out Your Outline In Record Time
Now the execution starts, and in my opinion this is where search engine optimization starts. By now you should have compiled an extensive database of blog subjects. Now you can prepare to write a great blog post without wasting time. I suggest play a little focus music, I prefer jazz and work on a few headlines. A digital timer could also help you stay on track and away from the rabbit hole of distractions.
This may seem overwhelming, but it’s possible to spend 2 hours of research daily to create great content for your blog. Another wonderful tool I suggest is Keywords Everywhere.
This tool is a browser add on. Once activated it will identify the search volume of any keyword entered into Google. In addition on the right side under “Related Keywords” it will show you top searches keywords for the month.
This is a goldmine for your post outline. Use these related searched keywords as subtopics within your blog post.
Google wants to rank helpful and robust content. Having as many searched content related to your topic shows the depth and range of your blog post and encourages ranking within google.
Gather Sources & Start Researching
This is the art of blogging. Think of your research as your building blocks. Then you’re just going to add some essential content to fill the blocks. As mentioned. Keywords Everywhere is a great way to conduct research quickly.
Next you want to list sourced content from high ranking websites. If there is a quote you want to expound upon, use lets say the HuffPost to draw reference. In a google doc, list the link to the supplementary content. When writing your post link that within the post to not only get a little “linking power” but to add credibility to what you are writing about. The linking power also helps Google to trust your post a little more.
Target a low-volume keyword to optimize around
Search based keywords for the best quality on Google. We suggest a maximum of 100 – 2000 searches per month. This subject offers a number of competitive advantages that can therefore increase your website rankings easily. Do you feel intimidated with key word research? I use to feel this way. But as mentioned there are a number of tools you can use. Such as Keywords Everywhere, Ahrefs, Keysearch.co, Google Adwords there are a lot of tools you can use. Find one that you’re comfortable with and use it to create the best headlines.
Google the term to understand your audience’s search intent
Speaking of being specific, ensure you understand the audience search intent. What is the intent of their google search? If someone is having plumbing problems in their home, they might seek a tutorial, diagrams, articles or products for fixing that problem. Your number one question when writing a blog post is:
Is there any other solution to their query?
Your position as a blogger is to solve peoples problems, point – blank – period.
You need to evaluate if the search engines are returning answers to peoples queries and if not you use your blog post to fil the gap.
What can be a simple way of evaluating the search results?
Search this term and see if there are any answers. If you can find other blogs with the answer in it, you’d better go ahead and create a even better post with more robust, in-depth, information with higher word count.
You evaluate your competitors the tools such as Ahrefs. See how many words they have in their post and write more, how many graphics are in their posts and put more. Do they answer with quality and references, you do it better. You job is to out educate, out type, outsmart the competition as a blogger who is seeking to be the number one answer to your audiences questions.
Write an intro (and make it captivating)
How do we write compelling introductions? Let’s start by keeping readers interested. The reader may lose interest if your introduction is to long and fluffy. It is possible to tell a story or a joke empathetically or grip readers with an important truth. Then tell the readers the point of the post what you’re trying to accomplish.
Writing your first blog post
So you begin writing your first post. Stay on topic and minimize the fluff. People want their questions answered and so you must do just that. If you tell a relatable story let is be in the third or fourth paragraph and only if it is super relevant to the question at hand. This maximizes the on page reading and lowers the bounce rate.
Imagine you put in Google:
“How to use a garlic press?”
The blogger spends the first two paragraphs talking about how much they enjoy garlic butter chicken. Yeah, they may be building up to the garlic press “How to” instructions but they stand a chance of losing the reader to a more direct post.
Speaking of getting right to the point. A helpful tip is to use a Table of Content Plugin. In using table of content, you can encourage the reader to click to the specific part of the post they are more interested in.
Once, you consistently provide valuable, to the point content. Readers are more inclined to browse your posts and read other post in its entirety and even more of your fluffy posts because they have then gained trust in you.
So be specific and direct in the building block posts on your website and you should fair well in building a loyal community.
Pack Your Post With Value.
Of course this is the most important point of writing a blog post. There just isn’t a way around it. Blog writing is time consuming, labor intensive and honestly, not as easy as you may think. If it were, more people would be top bloggers.
Writing a great post must give quality, meaty, robust content. Over deliver in your posts each and every time. During the research process you will need to scrape off unnecessary information and refocus your posts to get more clarity a few times. Tools such as Grammarly can be useful in helping you keep your grammar correct. At this point you may be asking,
How to make my blog post effective?
Tip #1: find the balance between emotions and nutrition. It’s critical for bloggers to hit those emotional buttons of your reader, especially when they are promised sensational stuff.
Tip #2: Though you want to hit emotional buttons, the reader should have the opportunity to see immediate immediate results by applying the solution themselves.
Now this doesn’t go for EVERY topic. Some answers will take time to work, like ranking in google, to a weight loss blog post. However, many, “How to” blog posts should offer immediate results. This helps readers build trust in you. So please, write posts on what you know well or have researched well.
Tip #3: Mind your On-Page Seo. While I wont get into depth within this post about on page seo, It is important to mention that search engine optimization means you are writing your post in a way for the google search engine to find it and rank it. Once again, RankMath plug-in is what I use in WordPress but feel free to google search for a good seo tool and I’m sure you’ll find a good fit.
Keep in mind that Google is only one of a few search engines we can optimize for. But it is King when it comes to driving the most traffic because more people use it than its competitors. This is why I mention it so much.
The Editing Part
Honestly, I can’t write a blog without editing. I write my first draft, knowing I will have at least two more. A blogger has to edit something in their post to make it better. Although sentence structures and grammar are very important, editing involves viewing the entire text as a whole.
Sometimes we have to sacrifice words which compromises our word count. We count on this a lot to outrank the competition. There is a lot of effort required in order to achieve the desired cohesion. Blogging is not for the faint of heart. Your first draft should have a strong outline, this way you don’t feel like your starting from scratch every time you edit.
If you do not check your spelling, make sure you do. Below are some self-editable tips and suggestions on how to make an effective and engaging piece of work that can be read.
Keep sentences short and paragraphs shorter
Its important to learn how to write in order for your blog to rank in search engine results. Nothing intimidates readers more than long, boring paragraphs. I think this is a frequent mistake of an inexperienced, new bloggers make and this is reflected in many articles.
A great blog post includes sentences that are made short and to the point. Bullet points also help keep content to the point and easy to navigate. This is important to keep reader’s attention.
Short sentences also lower the chance of you as the blogger going off on a tangent. This also increases reader retention by short paragraphs.
Just remember that keeping your reader’s attention is important for ad revenue, ranking in google and affiliate income. So this should be always in the back of your mind when creating blog content.
Accept that your blog post won’t be perfect
There can never be an ideal post. There is always updating to be done to a post in order to keep it competitive. Writing blog posts require dynamic content. Strategies change, technology develops, science evolves. You will always need to keep your articles updated to an extent.
I don’t advocate releasing sloppy writing nor suggest avoiding perfection. But a good article can have a lot of potential, while not being perfect and yet, still be a good post. As bloggers, time has always been of the essence. You want to get the minimum viable post out the door so it can begin aging within Googles system.
Set a time frame to get your posts out the door and published. Antagonizing over over every single post would sap you from your passion for writing – without even considering the wrath your editor might have. You will become better and better with each and every post, so please don’t worry to much about perfection. Blogging is a muscle you must flex.
Have someone else read your work?
Those who don’t have experience in blogging are highly encouraged to take this step. Asking a friend/workmate for feedback is never an admission of weakness. Consider hiring a person who is familiar with the subject and is interested in it. Ideally, you can ask an editor for proof. Also be careful with grammar problems and misspelled words. Googles wants well written, coherent articles to rank on their engines
Are your words clear?
Do they make sense?
Are they relevant to the topic at hand?
Avoid repetition
Once you finish the draft for this blog, you can look at the words you want to replace to make sure there repetition. Repetition should never happen, unless it is to expand on the initial point!
All writers have their own way of communicating. Find your voice and clearly express each point in your post to the best of your ability. I understand the pressure to create meaty, robust content. However, be vigilant to avoid being redundant because it will lower readership.
Your readers will lose interest as they will clearly see you filling your content with fluff. Remember how earlier I warned against this?
Why?
Lost of trust and it seems as though the blogger really isn’t enjoying what they are writing about.
Read Your Post Aloud to Check Flow
Try reading the article aloud and checking for word-stacking and contrived sentences. Do you stumble over sentences? This means they are not constructed well and are difficult to follow. We don’t want this. Take the necessary time to make your sentences palatable for the reader.
Write a Solid Close and CTA (5 minutes)
I often headline my closing with FAQ’s on the given topic. This helps the reader gather the main points of the topic once again so they walk away, having the answer to their question fresh in their minds.
I may not put conclusion when writing blogging content, because often I am still updating them. Blogging topics are an evolving topic so I am comfortable ending in FAQ’s.
If its something pretty set in stone, like “How to cook chicken,” then my close will be headed with “Conclusion.”
You can choose what kind of ending is better for you and the kind of posts you write.
I always end my conversation on a positive tone. This is not something that is set in stone, and there’s no harden rule for this structure but its been working well so I do it.
This may also be an opportunity to draw attention to your offer or affiliate product. By this time, you have given so much value that the reader is more willing to click on what ever your offering is.
What is a Call To Action? A call to action is a marketing term which encourages the reader to make an immediate action which results in a sale, or a specific request being completed. I.E signing up for an email list, or purchasing an offer or clicking on an affiliate link.
This Call To Action should be direct. People usually do what you tell them to. So now is the time to direct your readers and honestly if this is done right, there isn’t a need to be shy.
You already spilled your guts and worked for their trust.
You can try: “Go ahead and try “Insert Affiliate” product for the best results.”
Or, ” To learn more about blogging sign up below (with a link to your email list).”
The 6-point framework of a persuasive blog post (plus an outline you can steal)
Below is the template that you can steal for your blog post flow!
Ready Keep reading !
When a reader detects sleazy stuff in a blog, it dives them to exit your post quickly. So once again, try to provide valuable content within your post. There are six pressure points within a post to remember. Below you will find a blog post outline that you can feel free to use.
1
Title:
(Based on keyword and search intent analysis)
2
Intro:
● Use about two sentences to draw the reader in.
● Highlight the benefit that they get by reading this.
● Use the target keyword 1 time.
3
H2: What Are/Is the Best [target keyword phrase]?
● Write a straight to the point section answering the question above.
● Please use the target keyword and multiple variations of the keyword.
4
How to describe Products/subject of post
● [Product name] in H3
Screenshot of product image
“Overview” in h4
2-4 sentences giving a concise description of the product
“Highlights/Top Features/Benefits” in h4
Bulleted list of the top 5-10 highlights of the product. These should be benefit driven highlights of the product that show what the product can do for its target customers.
bullet points shouldn’t be any longer than 2 sentences max.This whole section should be around 50-100 words depending on the product.“Bottom Line/wrap up/my take” in h4
Write 1-2 sentences explaining the type of person/company/situation this product is best suited for.
This is where you can promote a free trial and actually sell them on trying out the product.
This is an opportunity to naturally use a related or target keyword if needed.
Repeat the format above for each product.
5
What Are/Is [target keyword phrase]? (As an H2)
● 50 words straight to the point intro including the target keyword phrase.
6
Wrap Up./Conclusion./Summary/FAQ (As a H2)
● Write around a 50 word straight to the point conclusion.
● Use the target keyword once.
● Use one other related keyword from the bottom of the article.
How to write a blog post FAQ
Can I Hire writers for my Blog posts?
Yes, a lot of people hire writers. However I always think its better to learn how to write posts yourself from scratch so that you don’t become totally dependent on a writer. This also helps to make sure that you know how to instruct your writers on how to create the best quality for your blog. You can hire writers from places such as Upwork or Fiverr.
Can I also hire editors for my Blog posts?
Absolutely. I suggest that you learn how to edit on your own first. After which, you can hire editors on Fiverr or Upwork. Make sure these editors want to learn your way of blogging before you hand them your hard work. I am sure there are more companies available for this, nothing a quick google search cant help you find.
Can I use Artificial Intelligence to write my Blog Posts?
There’s alot of movement around artificial intelligence writing blog posts these days. While I am not completely against it I think its helpful for you to learn how to write content yourself initially. Google is getting very smart at learning what is artificially produced and what is authentic.
There are alot of times that the AI may produce grammatically incorrect or nonsensical content for the sake of ensuring the content is unique. Even worse, it may not be completely unique at all.
However, I think AI is a useful tool. But use it strategically, only after you’ve perfected how to create a blog post yourself. This way you can skim what the AI has produced and be able to correct it yourself.
About the Author
De’Shante’ Grant – Parris
De’Shante’ is a Lifestyle and Wellness blogger with a Bachelors degree in Psychology. De’Shante’s love for living a life in balance was heightened through her experiences watching people in her life lose themselves to the rat race of life. De ‘Shante believes unbearable stress and neglect can lead to many preventable illnesses. She is an advocate for a life of wellness and self-care as top priority in our human experience.
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