Learn how to write blog posts that stand out and keep readers hooked. There are billions of blogs out there and every day, millions of new blog posts get published. There is zero tolerance for boring or even mediocre blog content. If you want your post to stand out, you will need to put some effort into your blog post creation. Gone are the days when people got away with writing a 500-word post by just putting out lots of them.
Use this guide to write blog posts that stand out! Make people come back for more so that your blog will be around and doing well years down the road. Don’t be one of those bloggers who start enthusiastically only to abandon their blogs a few months later.
Anyone can write. But unless you want your blog to be your creative outlet that only your BFF reads you better write well.
But what does that even mean in the world of blogging?
How To Write A Really Good Blog Post That People Crave
I started writing professionally after I earned my Ph.D.
I specialized in white papers for scientists and people in the health field.
But boy, writing for the web is a whole other ball game!
First, forget all the rules they are teaching you in school. Don’t write a review or scientific paper. You need to draw people in and have them keep reading in a world where the average attention span is shorter than that of a goldfish.
Keep in mind, you need to write and format each blog post to make it scannable. You need to guide them the way and yet answer the burning questions people have when it comes to your topic.
Creating your content calendar and finding great blog post ideas
The most important step that many, many people miss though is validating your blog post ideas. Or don’t use your own ideas at all and instead do a little research.
How to research and validate blog post ideas? Simply ask Google! Enter a keyword in the search box and see what suggestions come up.
Note them down.
The next stop is Pinterest. Again, enter your keyword and look at the suggestions. After you hit enter, look at the pins that come up at the top, but ignore the sponsored ones. These are here because people paid for them to show up. You want organic traffic until you have a big budget for ad campaigns.
Note the ideas down.
Google Trends and Pinterest Trends are other tools that can help you understand what people are looking for.
Want to know what questions they ask? Go to the web tool Answer The Public and find out! Note a few questions to use when creating your blog post.
Lastly, you can go to Facebook groups, Quora, or Reddit and engage in discussions around your topic. You’ll find a goldmine of information. That will help you tailor your blog content to what people are looking for.
When they go online, chances are they land on your blog post. Now, if you can help them find answers or solve a problem, they might turn into loyal fans or customers.
With your research on hand, you now have a mighty list of popular blog post ideas.
If you want to take a deep dive into planning popular content, then get the “Traffic-Boosting Content Plan”. It’s a beautifully designed planner that you will enjoy using daily. Plus, a workshop that takes you by the hand to find proven content ideas that do well on Pinterest all year round.
Creating The Lifeline When Working On Your Blog Post
Before you start writing your blog post, create a loose outline that helps you stay on track. What is your goal for the post? Which are the questions you are going to answer in your post?
What will you ask them to do once they read your blog post? Sign up for your freebie? Book a call? Share the post?
Look at your research data. What keywords are you going to use? Are there related keywords you can build in?
Now take a deep breath and jump in. Write a crappy first draft. I dare you to not hit back and go, go, go. Try to set a timer and see what you can do in 15 minutes!
Phew… now it’s time to let your first draft sit and rest.
Wait at the very least 30 minutes before you start editing a blog post! Wait longer if you can. I usually don’t look at it for a full day. The next day, I see it with fresh eyes!
Next step: Editing
Editing is the most laborious task when writing your blog posts.
Check out this list of tools that help you write faster AND better! I recommend using at least Grammarly and Hemingway Editor to get rid of errors and trim the fat!
The next step is formatting your new blog post for the web!
Make paragraphs short. Avoid big fat chunks of text as well as looong sentences! People will not read them.
Use italics and bold letters sparingly to get attention to your points.
Use bullet points and lists whereever you see fit! For example, when you talk about what makes your idea great and helpful, instead of
“My idea will help you do this and that and this.!”
With my idea, you will be able to:
- Do this
- And that
- And that.
See?
Lots of things try to get our attention at any given moment. Keep them reading by making your blog post easy to scan and easy to navigate!
Your Intro: Hook them and reel them in
One of the most important parts of your post is going to be the hook that draws them in. When they land on your blog post from Pinterest or Google they are not yet determined to read your post.
They come to see if your post is worth reading. So, first thing is your blog needs to load fast. Keep popups at a minimum and have them show up later instead of instantly.
Make people curious with your intro. Share a shocking statistic or blunder most people make. Create an open loop. Ask them to read until the end to learn how to not make deadly mistakes!
Good Blog Posts Have SEO built In
Use your keywords and related phrases in your headline, intro, and throughout the post.
Finally, you can read your new blog post aloud to check the readability. (Hemingway editor will also help you gauge your text by giving it a score of readability. Aim for easy-to-read!)
There you have it. Writing a popular blog post from start to finish!
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