Step by Step Guide to Writing Blog Posts

by | Apr 2, 2019 | Content Marketing, Web Copy, Website Design

How to write a blog post. A step by step guide.

Have to write blog posts? Feeling a little lost? Obscurity can be a big problem with the internet. So, you’re reading our blog because you want to get more traffic to your site. The good news is the more creative, consistent and relentless you are with writing blog posts, the more attention you will get.

Blogs are good at getting traffic and are probably one of your company’s most valuable marketing tools. Blogs build trust with customers, generate leads, educate consumers, and build brand awareness.

Great, but how to go about writing blog posts that work?

The best company blogs connect with visitors, outline the value they will get from your product or service and provide them with an easy solution to their problems. It’s often challenging to write valuable, engaging content, and, believe me, it takes time. So, we’ve got some ideas to help you with writing blog posts that are effective.

Blog Length

The first question we get asked by most of our website clients is: How long should a good blog be?

In a nutshell: longer is usually better for social shares and SEO whereas shorter blog posts are usually better for getting more comments. You can vary your blog lengths to best serve your readers.

Below is a list of common blog post lengths and their purposes.

  • 75 to 300-word blogs. These very short posts are good for generating discussion and comments on your site. However, they tend to get very few shares on social media, and they’re not good for SEO.
  • 300 to 750-word blogs. This tends to be standard blogging length, recommended by many bloggers. 750 words is the standard length for professional journalism, especially newspapers.
  • 1000 to 1500-word blogs. According to a 2017 study by Orbit media the average blog word count is 1142. This length of blog post tends to get more shares on social media. However, according to HubSpot the highest-ranking articles on Google are around 2300 words. If you want to rank well on search engines this is the best length of blog post to write.

Writing Your Blog

Easy reading

A high-quality blog post is easy to read, so avoid gobbledygook, jargonese or trying to sound overly academic or technical.

Blogs serve a purpose

Your blogs should be valuable to your readers and offer a solution, advice or interesting facts on something they’re interested in.

Keyword topics

Each post you write should tackle a specific keyword or key-phrase. A topic that people search for a lot on Google, yet not one with loads of other posts or sites that compete to provide answers.

If you write about a topic you know well, you can write an effective, quality post by using a simple structure like a list post in which you:

  • Provide easy-to-implement tips, advice or solutions
  • Surprise your reader with something
  • Explore one or two myths
  • Inspire.

Writing your blog post: step by step

Here’s how to do it:

Step one:

  1. Good blog posts target a particular audience. So, before you start writing and developing content, decide who you are writing for and why.
  2. Think of a some-what formulaic headline such as 12 Easy Ways to Write a Blog Post or 7 Simple Tips For Blog Writing or 5 Things Not To Do For Your Website SEO.
  3. Put together a list of tips on writing blog posts. Choose the tips you want to use and then write sub headlines. Explain each tip or warning in a few sentences or paragraphs. If you are listing various ‘ways’, ‘steps’, ‘methods’, ‘signs’ etc., keep the format consistent.
  4. Inspire with your conclusion. Get your audience to take action or change their beliefs.
  5. Re-write your introduction. Many writers start with an introduction, but re-working it at the end tends to work better for me.

reading a good blogHow to make your blog posts irresistible

Step two:

Now the work begins.

1. Headlines really do matter

Studies suggest 80% of people will read headline copy, only 20% will read the rest. Your headline needs to make your readers curious. At this point, you may have the main idea for your blog post mostly put together and the headline roughly figured out, but don’t settle on a final headline too soon. Many bloggers suggest you come up with 5 possible headlines at this point.

2. Introducing your blog

A good idea is to open your blog post with a short sentence or question. In a good introductory paragraph, you empathise with readers’ struggles and try to help them with a promise, benefit or solution. Put your readers first. Become their friend.

3. Keeping readers on your site

Engage your readers with questions in your blog post. The most compelling questions include the word ‘you’.

4. Format your blog posts for easy reading

Readers are scanners. If readers see too much text without breaks, they’ll feel overwhelmed and vanish. Your H2 sub-headings are there to break up the text and guide readers. Sprinkle them through your blog every few paragraphs. Well-written sub-headings should contain keywords to keep readers interested.

5. Use bullet points and lists

Readers can scan lists quickly for the information that they’re looking for.

6. Readable paragraphs

Make your paragraphs no more than one to three sentences long. One-sentence paragraphs make reading your blog seem effortless. Break up blocks of text that run over 6 lines.

Vary your sentence length. Use short sentences. Even sentence fragments can be accepted.

7. Optimise your content for searches

An effective blog post follows search engine optimisation (SEO) rules: keyword optimised titles, and sub-headings, a good keyword ratio, the use of your targeted keywords in the first and last sentence and links to at least 3 other pages on your website.

8. Concluding your blog posts

You should always end a blog by asking your readers to do something. Always encourage feedback. “Would you like to get in touch? Just hit reply. I’d love to hear from you”. Your final paragraph is there to inspire your readers.

Step three:

But wait there’s more to writing blog posts.

1. Editing your post is essential

Misspelled words, poor punctuation and dreadful grammar shout: “Why should I invest in your company and take you seriously, if you don’t?”. Make sure your message is clear, easy to understand and contains no embarrassing errors. Take a well-deserved break. Step away for a day or more, come back to your blog with fresh eyes and then cut out any wordiness or repetitions.

To summarise:

How to write an effective blog post: a step by step guide.

  • Step 1: Start with the goal in mind
  • Step 2: Pick the right keyword
  • Step 3: Prepare the outline
  • Step 4: Write → Edit → Proofread
  • Step 5: Repeat

Need help with writing blog posts? Talk to us. Call 0800 686 237 . We’re a team of professional, experienced Auckland web developers, copy writers, graphic designers, and internet marketers who help business owners, like you, achieve big results on the web in an affordable, effective way without getting too stressed out.