Knowing how to write a blog post takes practice. You can study books, videos, and attend talks with a certified instructor for months, but nothing will prepare you better than jumping in and learning as you go.
By now, you may already know how important the process of blogging is for any type of business. There are more than 600 million blogs today, with eight out of ten brands producing blog posts as part of their content marketing. Learning how to write a blog post is essential if you want to vamp up your marketing efforts and manage your business.
Without good blog posts, you will find your business experiencing problems such as lack of content, little to no clout or leads, and poor search engine optimization. Whether you’re not new to the blogging world or you already have a blog that is not converting the way you want it to, you need tips on how to write a blog post.
What Is a Blog Post?
A blog post is an article that you have on a blog. It can include all types of content, such as infographics, photos, videos, or text. The basic structure of a blog post includes the following:
Headline
This is the title of your blog post. It needs to capture the attention of your readers. People can see the headline or title on their news feed or search results. Because of this, include the main keywords that you can use when people search for the topic you are writing about.
Publish date
This part of your content is not necessary, but it is recommended. If you update your blog frequently, the post dates will allow your visitors to determine your most recent posts. This is important so they’ll think you are always active. While publish dates are not so important if you have evergreen content, it’s essential to have if you have daily published content.
Author
The by-line will aid readers to identify who the author of the blog post is. This is vital for blogs with tons of writers. The by-line will also give the content more attention if it is written by a great blog writer.
Category
The category classes are used to group your content into various sections. It is vital to use different category tags for every blog post you have. This way, you can group all relevant information to help your blog visitors easily find the content they are most curious about. This will also allow search engines to crawl your blog more effectively.
Introduction
This is the first paragraph of your blog post. It is important to write it well because this will be the deciding factor of people on whether they will read it or not. Make sure that the introduction is compelling enough to encourage people to read your entire blog post. You should also use targeted keywords so search engines can crawl them.
Body
This is the most important and longest part of your blog post. If your headline is the promise of your blog post, this is where it is fulfilled. The body of your blog post should be aligned with your headline.
If you create content that does not meet your headline, people will not trust you. The length of blog posts ranges between 300 to 3,000 words or more. The average blog post is 1,142 words. It is recommended to alternate lengths if you’re still starting since this will give you an idea about what type of content your audience loves most.
Sub-headlines
Many people do not have the time to read your entire blog post. Instead of reading it word for word, readers will opt to simply scan the headlines. This is why you need to break your content into simple and easily digestible parts.
Bolded text
Bold text should only be used sparingly in your blog post. Its purpose is to highlight major points. If you have tons of bolded text, your article will seem very monotonous.
Bulleted or numbered lists
It is not recommended to fill your blog post with bulleted or numbered lists, but it can help readability, especially if you are outlining steps.
Media
If you want your content to be more interesting, supplement your text with illustrations, images, videos, and other media. This will break up your content and explain concepts better. You don’t have to fill your blog post with media. Attaching even one feature image will do wonders for it. Don’t forget to add the keyword of your blog post in the file name, as well as its ALT. This will improve the search optimization of your post.
Conclusion
This consists of two or fewer paragraphs at the end of the post. The goal of the conclusion is to summarize everything you have written. Readers should be able to understand all the vital concepts and information you have covered.
Call to action
This should be the last line of your blog post. It can be as straightforward as requesting your readers to let them know your thoughts in the comment section or share it on their social media pages. If you wrote your blog post to promote your product, the call to action should be to ask readers if they want to check it out.
Social share buttons
Social media is a very useful tool to promote your content. You need to enable social media sharing for all your blog posts so people can easily share the articles to their network.
Comments section
Aside from the content, the comment section is also a very important part of the blog post. This will allow your readers to share their thoughts with you. It is recommended to respond to these comments.
Knowing How to Write a Blog Post
Follow these tips if you want to maximize the potential of your blog post.
Craft a catchy headline
One of the biggest mistakes of brands is they write a blog post before they think of a title. Without your headline, you won’t have a clear roadmap to guide you. Therefore, your post can cover multiple topics and still leave your readers feeling confused.
It is recommended to create a headline your audience can’t resist. This will allow you to write a post that is clear, concise, and brimming with conviction. If you spend time thinking about a quality headline, you will use more readers and leave them wanting to hear what you have to say.
To do this, pick an interesting topic. The headline must promise your readers the answer to something they are curious about. Readers are very swift at determining what’s true or not, so do not exaggerate it.
Keep your headline specific. For example, if you are writing a post about how to improve someone’s life, do not simply write a title that says “How to improve your life.” Turn it into “How You Can Be Bolder in Reaching Your Dreams.” You can also tease your followers with headlines like “Want to Reach Your Dreams Fast? These Tips Below Are Perfect for You.”
Seduce people with your introduction
Your job is not done after you lured your readers with a killer headline. One of the key lessons in knowing how to write a blog post is to ease your readers into your main point. If information is presented right away, you will simply bore them. Step into your reader’s shoes and write your blog post in a way that will captivate them. Then, think of the feelings you want your readers to experience. Do you want to wow, confuse, disgust, shame, or comfort people?
You also want this part to be quick. Now is not the time to slow things down. You can achieve this by using short sentences and making sure the introduction does not exceed five sentences.
Deliver information that’s easy to consume
If you want to hook your readers and make them look forward to all your future blog posts, you need to keep your information as easily digestible as possible. To do this, use subheads since most readers simply scan content. Subheads should be present every few paragraphs.
Be generous with your information. Do not worry that you’re giving too much information. After all, people want to know something new by reading your post. When you hold back, they will think you are not knowledgeable enough.
Just as your headline and introduction grab the reader’s attention, the main body of your blog post should start and end with a bang. Every section needs to have good content but if you’re giving readers 10 tips, save the best one for last.
Close it well
This part is where you should rally behind whoever is reading your blog post. Show them that you believe in them. Tell them that they have come far. Let them know what they are capable of and what their life will look like if they listen to what you said. When you empower your readers to take action, they will feel inspired, and they will develop an attachment to your brand.
As with other parts of your blog post, put yourself in the shoes of your readers. The more you can hone this skill, the more your readers will love you. After writing everything, take a break. This will allow you to look at your work with fresh eyes when polishing it.
Now You Know How to Write a Blog Post
Blogging is one of the best ways to build brand awareness and become an expert in your industry, boost your conversions, and attract leads. Learning how to write a job post is no easy feat, but soon, you can start publishing and reaping its benefits.
