Skipping the outlining process can seriously damage the quality of your blog post. And no one wants that, right?
You see, when it comes to blogging, creating quality content is extremely important.
That’s why I’m going to show you how to write a blog post outline step by step. It’s a fairly detailed process because I believe that poor content quality is a result of poor preparation.
Let’s dive into it!
DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase through one of those links, I’ll receive a commission. For more information, visit my affiliate disclosure.
What is an outline?
A blog post outline is the skeleton of your article that will guide you through the piece. An outline contains the structure, steps, points, and any other ideas for your article.
Why do you need to outline your blog posts?
You might be wondering, why even bother writing an outline? Why can’t I just type up the blog post?
Well, you can! You can do whatever you want. But I highly recommend you outline your blog posts beforehand.
Why?
Well, a few reasons:
1. It makes blog writing much faster
Once you sit down to write your blog post and see the main points in front of you, you’ll know the exact structure and the points you want to get across.
2. It helps you beat writer’s block
If you regularly plan and outline your blog content in advance, the risk of hitting writer’s block will decrease significantly.
3. It makes finding your key point more efficient
Sometimes we write something, but then when reading through the piece, we actually find out that the post is missing a key point. Outlining your blog post in advance makes this easier as it allows you to see the piece from a bird’s eye perspective.
4. It makes structuring your blog post much easier
There’s nothing worse than writing up a massive blog post only to realize later that the structure is just off. It might even make sense in your mind, but for somebody else reading your blog post, it just feels like a pile of crap and like nothing makes sense.
How to write a blog post outline
Great! Now that I’ve hopefully convinced you that it genuinely is a good idea to create an outline for your blog post, let’s have a look at how to actually outline a blog post.
1. Write down the main information about your blog post
I’m a natural planner. I plan literally everything I can. And I believe you should do the same for your blog content.
That’s why before you start outlining the blog post, you need to write down some basic information about the piece.
The basic information is:
Topic
What problem it solves
Message
Key point
Who it’s for
Word count
Call to action
This is the very first step you need to take before you start creating. You need to know where you are going.
2. Pick a keyword and write the title
Now that you know the basics, you need to brainstorm the title. If you’ve read my step by step guide on writing a blog post, you know that I recommend picking a headline before you start writing.
Why?
Because if you choose a headline before writing, it will be much easier for you to stay on topic. You see, each headline has its own search intent that dictates the format of the blog post.
But before you do that, you need to first find the right keyword and craft your headline around it. In other words, you need to conduct keyword research.
So, how do you conduct keyword research?
I’m not an SEO expert by any means, but here’s my simplified process:
I pick a topic
I Google the topic and see what people are searching for
You can also do the same on Pinterest. Alternatively, you can use Answer the Public to find all related search queries for you.
I scan the results on the first page, pick a seed keyword as well as the secondary keywords
I use KWFinder to check the search volume and difficulty of the seed keyword
I decide on the format based on the search intent of the keyword
Then, I craft a headline and outline the blog post
This video from Income School goes through the process:
Carrying with the previous point, now it’s time to decide on the format of the blog post. Is it a step by step guide? A listicle? A checklist? Something else?
And how do you even know?
Well, each title has its own search intent. The search intent is the reason behind the query.
Someone typing “how to start a blog” into Google is most likely looking for a guide that will walk them through the process of starting a blog.
On the other hand, someone searching for “ways to monetize a blog” is probably looking for, well, ways to make money from their blog.
See the difference?
And how do you even know?
This is going to be a part of your keyword research. Once you’ve decided on the keyword and title, type it into Google and have a look at the results on the first page. Are they guides? List posts? Hybrids? Something else? You’ll most likely want to write something along the same lines.
This will dictate the format of your blog post.
4. Research
Now that you know what your blog post is going to be about, it’s time to do some research! Blog writing is similar to writing essays. You need to back up your claims!
After all, everyone can publish anything on the internet. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you’re looking at it. While doing your research, bookmark any extra resources you want to link to.
Make sure to thoroughly research the topic, add your own ideas, and add any questions that need to be answered.
But how do you know what to include?
Have a look at the results on the first page of Google, read through them, and pay attention to the comments. Is there something the readers find missing?
Still on the first page of Google, have a look at the featured snippets and read through the questions people are asking. Then also scroll down and note the related queries at the very bottom of the page. Those will help you shape your blog post as well.
NOTE: Don’t forget to include links to related blog posts you’ve already written!
5. Write down your subheaders
After you’ve done your research, it’s time to write down your subheaders. Those are going to be the main points you want to get across. If you’re writing a guide, the steps will make up the main portion of your subheaders.
Write down your main points. Then think of the subpoints for each main point.
This way, you’ll create a subheading hierarchy. Subheading hierarchy is the structure of your blog post. It’s created by tags that go from H1 to H6. H1 is your main title, which means you’ll only use it once. Your main points will be H2s and each H2 will have H3 subpoints. Likewise, H3s will have H4 subpoints, and so on.
EXTRA TIP: When outlining your blog post, write a tag to each corresponding subheader.
6. Note your key points for each subheader
Now that you have your subheaders, write down your key points, or any other notes to each subheader. This will help you later when typing up the blog post. You’ll have a clear idea as to what the point is about, and as a result, when you finally start writing the blog post, it will pretty much write itself.
NOTE: I like to start my blog posts by introducing the topic and listing the importance of it. Just like I did in this article. Note that this won’t be applicable to everything you write, but it’s a good idea to implement this approach into your blog writing.
7. Outline the key points for your intro and conclusion
Once you have all your key points and notes written down for the main body of your blog post, it’s time to decide what you want to get across in your intro and conclusion.
I like to write those two sections last after I’ve written and reviewed the main body of my blog post. But it’s always good to know what these two will include.
You can decide now how you’re going to start your article and how you’re going to end it.
So you’ve finished your outline! Congratulations! What now? You can start writing immediately, but I suggest you let it sit for a few hours or days and then revise your outline.
It’s just like writing. It’s a good idea to let it sit for a while and then come back to it with a fresh perspective. You might find you need to move some things around, and it’s definitely easier to do when you haven’t written the post yet.
9. Draft
Your outline is ready! Now you’re good to go and create your first draft! I don’t have any specific tips on drafting your blog post. I’m sure you already have that process in mind.
But if you’re looking for a step-by-step guide on writing a blog post, here it is!
Blog Post Outline Example
Okay, but what does an outline look like?
I thought it would be a good idea to show you an example of a blog post outline. So, here is an outline I created for the article you’ve just read:
How to write a blog post outline (H1)
Intro Talk about the importance of a good outline
What is an outline (H2)
Why it’s important to outline your blog posts (H2)
I. Makes writing faster (H3) II. Helps you beat the writer’s block (H3) III. Makes finding your key point more efficient (H3) IV. Makes structuring your blog post easier (H3)
How to write a blog post outline (H2)
I. Write the main information (H3) II. Pick a keyword and craft a title (H3) III. Decide on the format (H3) IV. Research (H3) V. Write down subheaders (H3) VI. Write down key points for the main body (H3) VII. Outline key points for the intro and conclusion (H3) VIII. Revise (H3) IX. Draft (H3)
Blog post outline example (H2)
Conclusion (H2) Summarize the importance of blog post outlines
See? It’s fairly simple!
Conclusion
Outlining your blog posts can seem like an unnecessary task and perhaps even a waste of time. But I believe that it has a lot of benefits. Creating an outline for your blog post will make the writing process a lot faster, it will help you avoid writer’s block, and it will also help you create better quality content for your blog.
Perhaps your friend or someone in your family is a blogger and you want to give them something useful for Christmas, their birthday, or any other occasion.
But damn, what are some practical gifts for bloggers? You don’t want to give them something they’ll never use, right?
Let me tell you straight away, blogging can be pretty expensive. There are some basic necessities each blogger needs to run their blog and those can be quite an investment.
But hopefully, you’ll be able to find something in this blogger gift guide that will suit your budget.
DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase through one of those links, I’ll receive a commission at no additional cost to you. For more information, visit my affiliate disclosure.
Pricing guide
I’ve put together a very basic pricing guide to make the search a bit easier for you.
$ – up to $250 $$ – $250 to $500 $$$ – $500 to $1000 $$$$ – $1000+
Use discount sites
As I already mentioned, blog equipment can be pretty expensive. That’s why, if you want to give your blogger friend or family member something from this gift guide, I suggest you use discount sites.
You can use sites such as Honey. It’s a Chrome extension that scans the internet for related discount codes and applies them for you!
By the way, this is by no means sponsored. I just think this is a great service!
Discuss before you purchase
Before we go any further, I’d just like to let you know that you should discuss everything with your friend or family member before you buy anything.
Each blogger has different preferences when it comes to the products they use. There are also different blogging niches and the equipment may differ slightly (or even significantly) from niche to niche. For instance, a person who blogs about “how to make money online” most likely won’t need a ring light. Unless they also have a YouTube channel where they are talking about the same thing.
Or buying a blogger the Divi blog them if they use and love the Genesis framework. You most likely have no idea what I’m talking about, but I’ll explain everything as I go!
And, also discuss before you buy, because they might already have the product! No matter the case, you don’t want to waste your money!
Practical gifts for bloggers
With that being said. Let’s dive into the list of practical gifts for bloggers. I’ve divided them into several different categories. So, hopefully, no matter whether you’re looking for gifts for fashion bloggers, food bloggers, home decor bloggers, or whatnot, you’ll be able to find something.
I’ll also tell you what each thing is and what it does so you know what you’re buying.
1. Blog basics
In this section, I’ll go through some of the basic necessities a blogger needs to invest in. This section applies pretty much to all bloggers of any niches.
Web hosting
$ – $$$
Web hosting is a crucial part of any self-hosted blog making it one of the most practical gifts for bloggers. Simply put, it’s what allows the website to be on the internet. A self-hosted blog means the blogger has purchased web hosting and domain name and is the owner of the website. He or she also needs a content management system, such as WordPress.org. But WordPress is free to use, so don’t worry about that!
Not all blogs work like this. Some blogs are hosted via a blogging platform such as WordPress.com or Blogger.
Check with your friend or family member if they have a self-hosted blog or want to switch to one. If they are on a blogging platform, you can offer to buy them a yearly subscription as those services are often paid as well.
However, I highly recommend self-hosting as it means your site can’t be taken down at any point whenever the blogging platform decides.
In general, web hosting services are billed yearly.
Check out this guide if you want to learn more about what web hosting is and the different types of web hosts.
I’ve been using SiteGround for years and I love their service. It’s shared hosting, but a good quality one. It’s fast and their customer service is superb.
I’m seeing a lot of bloggers recommending Bluehost. To be completely honest with you, I haven’t tried them. But I have seen a lot of bad reviews and people switching from them to SiteGround. So, be aware of that.
The most basic SiteGround plan starts at $6.99 per month, billed yearly.
But I can’t stress enough the importance of discussing everything first. Perhaps your friend is already using a different web host or is on a different plan. For instance, if your friend’s blog is generating hundreds of thousands of monthly pageviews, the basic plan won’t be sufficient.
Email marketing software
$$ – $$$$
Collecting emails for your blog is very important. That’s most likely where the biggest fans hang out and it can also be used to monetize the blog.
But to collect emails, the blogger needs email marketing software. This software allows them to send out emails and create a better connection with their audience.
There are quite a few email providers to choose from. A lot of bloggers use ConvertKit, Mailchimp, Aweber, and I’ve also heard great things about Flodesk.
I have been using and recommending ConvertKit. It has all the features a blogger needs. ConvertKit has a free version for up to 1000 subscribers. From there, the prices start at $29 per month and increase from there. In fact, the more subscribers the blogger has, the pricier it gets. So, keep that in mind!
You can choose to pay for the service monthly or yearly.
Legal templates
$ – $$$
Legal pages are a crucial part of any website or blog. They protect the website owner from potential lawsuits.
The three main pages a blog needs are privacy policy, terms and conditions, and a disclaimer page.
The issue is that many bloggers use free legal templates that are actually quite insufficient. Having them drafted by a lawyer can be very expensive. The blogger can also draft them themselves, but unless he or she is a lawyer, it’s most likely not a good idea.
Luckily, there’s a fourth option and that’s legal templates.
Amira from aselfguru.com is a lawyer who also blogs. She has drafted those three legal pages and sells them as a bundle. She actually has three bundles to choose from:
The starter legal bundle includes the main three pages – privacy policy, terms and conditions, and a disclaimer template ($197)
The premium legal bundle includes six legal templates – the three basic templates, sponsored post contract template, independent contractor template, and guest blogger agreement template ($297)
The VIP legal bundle includes 16 legal templates – the six templates I’ve mentioned, confidentiality agreement, design service agreement template, affiliate agreement template, LLC operating agreement template, media release agreement template, sweepstakes terms and conditions template, coaching agreement template, consulting agreement template, website sale agreement template, partnership agreement template ($597)
If your friend or family member is just starting out or has started just a few months ago, the starter bundle is perfectly suitable.
Premium WordPress theme
$
Having a premium blog theme is a great investment for any blogger. If your friend or a family member owns a self-hosted WordPress site (once again, check with them before you purchase anything!), there are quite a few themes to choose from.
A blog theme is essentially the appearance of the website. It allows you to create a website you like without having to hire a web designer.
Most bloggers when they are starting out just use a free blog theme. But there are quite a few restrictions that come with free WordPress themes. So, as time goes, it’s a good idea to invest in a premium theme.
Now, there are some things to consider when purchasing a premium blog theme:
Features
Size
Mobile-friendliness
Browser compatibility
SEO friendliness
Price
Two very popular premium WordPress themes among bloggers are Genesis from StudioPress and Divi from Elegant Themes.
I haven’t used Genesis so I can’t give you an overview. However, I’ve been using Divi from Elegant Themes on my websites for a few months and I can’t complain. The theme is easy to use and thanks to the Divi Builder plugin, you can create pages that match your wildest imagination.
Just be careful, because too many features on a webpage can actually slow it down significantly.
If you want to purchase Divi, you need to purchase an Elegant Themes subscription that counts 87 different themes. The prices start at $89 per year and you have access to the entire library of themes. This means that if you’re not happy with Divi, you can try out different themes as well. You also have the option to purchase a one-time payment license that costs $249.
Keyword research tool
$$
For SEO purposes, a blogger needs to perform keyword research before they start writing a blog post. The keyword research can be simplified with a keyword research tool. This tool tells you the search volume of each keyword and also the difficulty of your site ranking for that query at the very least.
As with everything in blogging, there are quite a few products in this category to choose from. There are tuned up keyword research tools such as Ahrefs or SEMrush that have very detailed insights into each keyword but are also very expensive. Think $100 per month. No, it’s not a one-time payment. In both cases, it’s a monthly subscription that costs $100 each month.
That’s a lot, isn’t it?
Luckily, there are more affordable options as well. I’ve heard great things about Keysearch, but haven’t tried that one.
I’ve been using KWFinder. It’s a fairly basic keyword research tool. But to be honest, It’s perfectly sufficient for most bloggers.
KWFinder has three pricing plans. The most basic one costs $29 per month and gives you 100 keyword searches per 24 hours, which in my experience is enough.
Tailwind
$
Tailwind is a scheduling tool for Pinterest and Instagram. I haven’t tried it for Instagram, but it’s been a life-saver for me when it comes to Pinterest.
If you didn’t know, with the new algorithm, Pinterest now wants its users to be pinning new pins daily. This can be quite a time-consuming task, so I find it easier to schedule them ahead. The issue is that the built-in scheduler on Pinterest allows you to schedule only a certain amount of pins before marking your account as spam.
This is where Tailwind comes in. Yes, the blogger still needs to manually pin every now and then unless they want to get marked as spam, but Tailwind can be a great help. It allows you to schedule as many pins as you like. What I like the most is the insights feature that tells you when your audience is most active.
A very popular feature is also Tailwind tribes. Those are groups of pinners where they share their pins and then repin or reshare others’ pins.
The price for each Pinterest and Instagram plan is $9.99 per month billed yearly.
Grammarly
$$
Grammarly is a popular spellchecker. No matter how many times you proofread a blog post, you’ll always be able to spot some grammatical errors or misspellings in there. Or, if you’re like me, and English is not your first language, a good spellchecker can be a life-saver.
Grammarly doesn’t just correct misspellings. It also detects issues in the delivery, your word choice, fluency, and it also detects plagiarism.
I also like the voice tone detection feature which tells you how your writing sounds. This is great for branding purposes. If the blogger wants to keep their brand consistent and sound the same in each blog post, this feature might come in pretty handy.
The monthly plan for Grammarly premium costs $29.95 per month. You can also pay it quarterly ($19.98 per month) or yearly ($11.66 per month)
2. Technical gifts for bloggers
Blogging isn’t just about the software you’re using. It requires some technical gear as well. We’ll go over some of the most used technical gear in this section.
Camera & Lenses
$$ – $$$$
If the niche requires a lot of imagery (think fashion, beauty, food, travel, or home decor blogs), a good camera and lens can be a great investment.
Just a side note, camera equipment can be your best bet when looking for gifts for vloggers!
I’ve been using my Canon EOS 700D (Canon Rebel T5i in America) for my fashion blog and I’m very happy with it. It’s a beginner-friendly DSLR so it doesn’t have any incomprehensible features. What I also like about this camera is that it has a flip screen. That means you can be filming yourself while being able to see what you’re recording.
Each DSLR also needs a lens. You can either buy the body without a lens or you can also purchase it with the kit one (EFS 18-55mm). But to be honest, the quality of the kit lens isn’t great.
I’ve been using a 50mm lens. It’s a prime lens, which means you can’t zoom in or zoom out. You can buy this lens from Canon, but I purchased mine from Yongnuo. This is a cheaper version, but the quality is great.
The DSLR has a crop sensor, which means that these two together will crop the image quite a lot. When I’m shooting my fashion images with this gear, the person taking photos of me usually needs to be standing on the opposite side of the road to get a full picture of me. This can be quite annoying so you can consider purchasing a zoom lens.
I’ve been eyeing the 24-70mm lens. According to the reviews, it’s a great quality versatile lens for a lot of types of photography.
But some people don’t like DSLRs and prefer compact cameras. To be honest, I don’t own a compact camera, so I can’t recommend you any.
When purchasing cameras and lenses, also consider what type of photography the blogger is taking. A beauty blogger will have different needs than a home decor blogger.
Tripod
$
A tripod can be a great addition to the photography gear. I have this one from Amazon. It’s a basic light-weight tripod. It’s also super cheap in comparison to other tripods on the market.
Light equipment
$
If your friend’s blog relies on indoor photography or videos, light equipment might make their job a lot easier. A good ring light or lightbox can be very helpful.
When it comes to the ring light, a lot of bloggers recommend this one from Neewer. Ring lights are generally great for beauty bloggers or recording YouTube videos. If your friend’s blog requires quite a bit more product photography, a better option might be a lightbox.
Laptop or computer
$$$ – $$$$
Surprise, surprise! Blogging requires a computer! Each blogger has different preferences when it comes to the type and also the brand of the laptop or computer.
I love my 12inch MacBook. It’s light-weight and small so I can put it in my tote and go wherever I like.
I’ve also heard great things about MacBook Air which is a similar size and weight.
Headphones
$ – $$
Headphones or earphones can actually be a great gift for a blogger. They can be great for podcasting and video editing. I use them to block out any outside noises while working.
A portable charger can be a real life-saver. It’s happened to me many times that my phone is about to die when I need it, but I don’t have the option to charge it. Sometimes, I shoot my fashion photos on my phone. But for some reason, this drains the battery like crazy. That’s where a power bank comes in.
I’ve had this one for a few years now and it’s amazing! It even has a flashlight. Although, I rarely use the flashlight.
Laptop stand
$
Some bloggers don’t like working at desks. Some of us prefer staying in the comfort of our beds. If that’s the case for your blogger friend or family member, a laptop stand might be a great gift!
I have this laptop stand from Rain Design. It’s padded with cushions so you can rest your wrists to make the computer work more comfortable.
USB flash drive or external hard drive
$ – $$
Quite a basic item, but a useful one nonetheless. Bloggers create a lot of content that needs to be stored somewhere. Yes, you can keep everything on your computer, but it’s better to be safe in the case of your computer breaking.
ADATA has always been my go-to brand for flash drives. And this one has been my trusty companion for a few years.
3. Books
$
A book can be an amazing inexpensive gift for anyone. Bloggers included.
There are quite a few books about blogging, and to be completely honest with you, I haven’t read any of them. But there are also quite a few books that are not about blogging, but I believe any blogger and business owner would benefit from reading. Here are my recommendations:
“Unlimited SEO Search Traffic” by Deon Christie
Deon’s ebook walks you step by step through promoting your blog on Quora and generating unlimited traffic from that and leveraging that traffic with affiliate marketing. The book is extremely detailed and will walk you through the process of setting up your Quora profile to indexing affiliate links. For the price, the book is a total steal!
“The 4-Hour Workweek” by Tim Ferriss
Okay, so the title might be quite a stretch, but it’s a value-packed book nonetheless. Bloggers are responsible for a lot of things in their business. And, let’s face it, it requires a lot of time to manage a blog business. “The 4-Hour Workweek” will teach you how to manage your time better and more efficiently, so you can focus on other things as well and not just work.
“She Means Business” by Carrie Green
Carrie is my absolute female entrepreneur idol. Of course, her book made it to this list! Carrie shares her entrepreneurial journey and teaches the reader how to start a business and become in her words “wildly successful”. She gives you practical advice on starting a business as well as how to program yourself for success by changing your mindset.
4. Photo editing and graphic design
As I already said, blogging is image-heavy. And apart from camera equipment, there are also a lot of programs and software that help bloggers produce amazing visual content.
Canva subscription
$
Canva is graphic design software for beginners. It has a drag and drop feature and a lot of pre-made templates to choose from. A lot of bloggers use Canva for designing their social media graphics, freebies, and various elements of their blogs.
If your friend’s blog requires a lot of photography, editing software is a must. I like the Photography plan from Adobe. This plan includes Lightroom Classic, Lightroom, and Photoshop. Lightroom and Lightroom Classic are pretty much two versions of the same software. It’s a photo editing program that’s very easy to use. Photoshop is also an editing software but different from Lightroom.
Some people prefer using premade presets for their photography. That’s a premade editing bundle you just copy and paste on the photo. Keep in mind that these are exclusive to Lightroom so they will only work if the person already has the editing software.
You can purchase Lightroom presets on sites such as Etsy or from individual bloggers or photographers. Most Lightroom presets cost less than $10 so they make up for a great affordable gift!
Stock photo membership
$
Blogging, in general, requires a lot of imagery. But not all bloggers like taking their own photos. Some bloggers prefer using stock photos. If that’s the case, a stock photo membership might be a great gift!
There are quite a few stock photography memberships to choose from. But I like the Ivory Mix subscription the most. It costs $197 per year.
5. Courses
$ – $$
To be honest with you, I haven’t taken pretty much any blogging courses, so I can’t recommend you any.
But, if you want to give your friend a course, look for ones in the following categories:
Blogging
SEO
Affiliate marketing
Business or marketing-related
Graphic design
Email marketing
Content marketing
Social media courses
Keep in mind that the prices can vary quite a lot based on the size of the course.
If you know your friend or family member is using Pinterest to promote their blog, a Pinterest course might be the perfect gift! I highly recommend Pinterest with Ell. Ell is a blogger from Boss Girl Bloggers and her course is an amazing course for beginners who want to use Pinterest to drive traffic to their blog.
For $47, this course is a great investment!
Then, I also recommend Skillshare. Skillshare is a platform with thousands of courses on various topics. For the yearly price of $99, it’s a great value!
6. Other
Here, you’ll find everything else that doesn’t really fit into a specific category.
My ultimate blog planner
$
I’m releasing a blog planner/blog kit next week, so I’ll update this list then. But it’s going to be a super practical and affordable gift for any blogger!
Fill out the form below so you’re the first one to know about the release!
Journal
$
A good old journal can be an amazing gift for any blogger. Running a blog requires a lot of organization and planning, which also requires a lot of journals, notebooks, and notepads!
Stationary
$
Stationary, in general, can be a great gift for a blogger of any niche. As I said, us bloggers plan and organize a lot, and stationery makes it a lot easier.
Organization app
$
Some people don’t like using traditional journals and notepads for various reasons. In that case, an organization app could be a great alternative.
I don’t really use organization apps as I prefer physical journals, but a few organization apps people recommend a lot are:
Trello
Asana
Evernote
Blog coach
$$$ – $$$$
We’ve already talked about blogging courses, but some bloggers offer coaching services to others. To find one, simply type “blog coach” into Google Search, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, or, well, any other social media platform.
But, what I would suggest is that you ask your blogger friend or family member who their favorite blog gurus are and find out if the person offers coaching services.
Just keep in mind that this option will be more expensive than purchasing a course.
What does a blog coach do?
A blog coach is a person who will lead you through the process of starting and running a blog business basically by hand. They will help you find the best niche for you, brand your business, create the best content for the blog, and also monetize the blog.
Blog and website services
$$ – $$$$
Running a blog can be difficult at times. Especially if there’s something not working on your website and you have no idea how to fix it yourself.
You can ask your friend if there’s something you could help with. For instance, your friend might be struggling with the loading speed, but fixing it would require them to dig into the code of the site, which is beyond their skills. You might offer to hire a web developer who will fix it for them.
Gift cards
$ – $$
If you genuinely have no idea what to give your blogger friend or family member, why not give them a gift card to their favorite store?
For instance, when it comes to gifts for fashion bloggers, clothes might be your first idea. But from my experience, whenever someone from my family gives me clothes, they don’t exactly hit the nail on the head with the style of the clothes.
A gift card would have done the job without you wasting your money!
Pinterest pin templates
$
As I mentioned, Pinterest wants its users to be creating new pins daily. This can be quite time-consuming. Luckily, there are bloggers out there who have created Pinterest templates that speed up the whole process quite significantly.
They are also pretty affordable. Most Pinterest templates cost less than $50.
Coffee
$
Most bloggers won’t say no to coffee. Just saying! Ask them what their favorite brand is or give them a gift card to their favorite coffee shop.
Photo props
$
Once again, if your friend’s blog requires a lot of imagery, especially flatlay imagery, photo props might be a great gift. This can be really anything. From plastic roses to pretty photo frames. Make sure to discuss this one with the blogger.
Web design
$$$ – $$$$
We’ve already talked about blog themes, but perhaps your friend or family member doesn’t know or have the skills to create a decent-looking website. If that’s the case, you can hire a web designer for them!
Conclusion
I will repeat myself, but I can’t stress this enough: discuss with your friend or family member before you purchase anything. Each blogger has different preferences and also some products suit different niches better.
Other than that, I really hope you enjoyed this blogger gift guide and let me know what you think!
Consistency is a crucial aspect of running a successful blog. We’ve heard that multiple times, haven’t we?
But since you’re looking for ways to stay consistent with blogging, you’re most likely aware that blogging is hard work, and it can be difficult to stay consistent not only with your posting schedule but with all the tasks blogging requires.
I mean, let’s face it, blogging isn’t just writing. There’s much more than writing that goes into running a blog.
So, let’s dive into the tips on how to blog consistently.
14 Ways to Stay Consistent with Blogging
1. Set deadlines
The number one thing that’s been helping me with consistency is setting deadlines. In fact, I like setting fairly tight deadlines. Have you ever noticed that if you set a deadline that’s a month from now, you’ll finish the work or project by that time? But if you set a deadline a week from now, you’ll get the work done that week.
Interesting, right?
I’m not saying you should set tight deadlines for yourself to stress yourself out. Set tight but doable deadlines. Do you really need the whole month to finish that project or task? Or are two weeks just enough?
2. Organize your day
Good organization is a big culprit in staying consistent with your blog. What I like to do is that each week, usually Sunday evening, I write down all the tasks that need to be done within that week. Then, each day, I work on the most important tasks for the day.
Generally, I don’t recommend writing too many tasks on your to-do list for the day. It would be easy for you to get overwhelmed and end up watching Netflix instead.
If you’re still new to blogging, don’t work on more than one big task per day. If you put too many tasks on your daily to-do list, you’re just going to rush through them to get them done.
The problem with this approach is that you won’t be happy with your results and will have to go back to rework whatever you’ve done.
3. Set an achievable posting schedule
Often, we are overly optimistic when it comes to posting schedules. Whether that’s for the blog or for social media. You see, most of us aren’t able to stick to daily blogging.
How frequently should you post on a blog anyway?
As many times per week or month you want, as long as your content is of good quality.
If you know you can’t post three blog posts a week, don’t do it. You’re going to rush it and the end product will lack quality. Remember that in blogging, it’s all about quality over quantity. What if, instead, you were posting just once a week? If the content is good, it most likely won’t cost you any traffic or subscribers.
4. Let go of perfectionism
We creators tend to be perfectionists. It makes sense. We want to put out only the best work.
But you know what?
Perfection doesn’t exist! You’ll never be fully happy with anything you produce.
And do you want to know a secret?
Nobody knows what your vision looks like so they can’t compare it with the version you have in mind. Chances are that people will most likely be happy with the version you give them.
Another thing is that, as a creator, it’s difficult to know for sure what your audience will like. Sometimes you produce something you think is going to be a hit, and it’s a big flop instead. And sometimes, you put out something you’re not even in love with, and it ends up being the most successful product/content you’ve ever produced.
Don’t get hung up on perfection. Create the best content you can to your current ability with the equipment you have available at the moment.
5. Write whenever you can
Blogging isn’t all about writing as some people think. But writing still makes up a big part of blogging.
And, although, I believe the best thing you can do is to set a specific time of the day to dedicate to writing, this approach isn’t always doable.
What you can do is to write whenever you can instead. When you’re waiting in a line or when you’re commuting. The good thing is that you don’t need to carry your laptop everywhere with you. You can write in a notebook or even on your smartphone. Sure, writing on a laptop is much more comfortable, but not always doable. Especially if you’re waiting in line. Just saying!
It’s the small steps that lead to big results. And one of those small steps is to show up daily.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge advocate of taking breaks so you can always be the best self. So, yes, take your weekends off if you can, but make the commitment to show up daily.
I’m not saying to hustle daily for eighteen hours a day. That’s not doable in the long run. Just make sure to work on your blog daily to get closer to your dreams and goals step by step. Even if it’s just a small task.
7. Create a daily checklist for yourself
It’s important to create a to-do list with the specific tasks for the day.
But I’ve also recently created a daily checklist for myself with all the tasks I need to get done on a daily basis. These tasks include stuff like upload X amount of stories on my Instagram account, engage with X amount of accounts daily, etc.
Creating this little daily checklist has been keeping me accountable and consistent.
I created a daily checklist for bloggers which you can grab in the form below!
8. Remove distractions when you need to work
When you need to work, try to remove all distractions.
I know that this is not achievable for everyone. Some of you have kids running around or have different commitments.
The key is to work around with your surroundings and find a time of the day when you can work on your blog undisturbed.
9. Use the Pomodoro technique for optimal productivity
If you find that you yourself are your biggest distraction because you can’t concentrate on the task long enough, the Pomodoro technique might be a great option for you.
You work on a project for 25 minutes straight. Then you take a five-minute break. You do this four times in a row and then take a longer break. You can then repeat this whole process again.
10. Batch similar tasks
Batching has been a game-changer for me and has helped me blog more regularly. If you have two or more similar tasks to work on, batch them!
What personally helped me the most has been theming my days. I don’t do this with every single day of the week, but some of my days are themed.
For instance, I have a specific day of the week dedicated to social media. On this day, I create all my social media content for the week and schedule it as well.
Yes, creating all my Pinterest pins in one day and scheduling them can be tiring. But I find this approach way better than creating a few pins a day along with my other daily tasks.
11. Plan your content in advance and schedule in advance
I feel like this is the number one reason why bloggers are unable to stay consistent with their blogging schedule.
Plan your content in advance! I like to plan my content quarterly. At around the middle of each quarter, I like to sit down and create a content calendar for the next quarter.
But it doesn’t end with just writing a few titles down. You also need to create your content in advance. Sometimes life happens and you won’t always be able to write daily.
By creating your content in advance, you’ll also have enough time to go through the content and make sure it’s the quality you want to produce.
12. Republish old content
If everything else fails, you can always republish your existing content. Sometimes stuff happens and you just can’t create new content.
You can go through some of your existing content, update it, and republish it.
If you’re on WordPress, this is very easy. All you need to do is to go to the article and change the publish date to a date in the future. The blog post will be republished on that day making it look like you’ve created a new piece of content.
13. Prioritize blogging
If you want to turn your blog into a business or scale the business, you need to prioritize it.
Don’t treat your blog as a hobby or a side hustle. If you want this to be your full-time career, your blog needs to become your priority.
14. Consider contributors
If you find that you really can’t stick to the frequency you’d love to, consider hiring contributors. There are a few ways to go about this:
Guest bloggers
Ghostwriters
Guest bloggers are a great option if you’re not ready for a financial commitment. Generally, those are other bloggers in your niche who will write a blog post for your blog. In return, you’ll give them a link to their website which helps them with exposure and traffic.
Ghostwriters are writers who will create content for your blog but won’t get credit for that. Everything they create will be published under your name. Instead of exposure, you will reward them financially.
Just a shameless promo, my agency The Blogger Assistant, offers ghostwriting services to lifestyle, home decor, and fashion bloggers!
Conclusion
Blogging regularly is important if you want to turn your blog into a full-time career or scale your already existing business. So, how do you blog regularly?
How is it October already? I swear September has been the fastest month of the year. And yeah, it’s time for another blogging report.
But before I get any further, I decided to stop doing monthly reports and do quarterly ones instead. I feel like there isn’t much happening on a month to month basis, so doing them every three months will make more sense.
That means that in this post, I’ll share with you my third month of blogging insights. As well as a bit of an overview of the past three months.
Okay, let’s get the disclaimers out of the way.
DISCLAIMER NO. 1: This isn’t my first blog. I’ve been blogging on and off since 2008, professionally from late 2018. In early 2020, I decided to leave my fashion blog SaraViktorie.com. Then, there were quite a few months when I was working on Blogology before I officially launched it. By now, I completely abandoned my previous blog, but here’s my Instagram account I’m trying to revive at the moment, and here’s an interview with me with a company I used to be working with. I was cringing a bit when I was rereading it, so don’t read it if you don’t have to haha!
DISCLAIMER NO. 2: I’m not a blogging expert. I do have experience with starting and running blogs, but I don’t know everything that goes into blogging. I only teach what I know. In the venues where I’m still lacking, I provide you with other resources.
AND
DISCLOSURE: This blog post contains affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase through one of my links, I’ll receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Read my affiliate disclosure for more information.
Content
In the first month of Blogology, I was posting four times a month. However, in the second month, I decided to only post twice a month and I’m still sticking with that.
Perhaps, a bit. You’ll notice later on that the traffic coming to my blog this month has been similar to last month. That said, I try to write long detailed posts which I can’t produce every week. For me, personally, I prefer quality over quantity.
Blog traffic report
In September, I generated exactly 1,192 pageviews from 1,063 users. If you look at my second month of blogging report, you’ll notice that this month is just slightly better than the previous month.
My main source of traffic remains Pinterest.
Moving on to SEO, I got exactly 60 clicks from Google in September. According to Google Search Console, I’m appearing somewhere in the search for 16 queries.
In terms of backlinks, according to Moz, I have 6.3K inbound links. I checked them, and most of them come from DoSplash, which is a blogging community. And no, I definitely didn’t submit that many links there.
What’s interesting is that Moz now tells me I have no ranking keywords. Last month, I had one, and it was “blogology”. I checked, and I’m still the number one result for that query. Having said that, I still have a lot of SEO related stuff to learn and practice.
This is my September report from Bing Webmaster Tools. As you can see, it’s quite nonexistent. I’m appearing somewhere in the search for 35 queries, and quite a few of them are on the first page. But clearly, they are not very searched.
Growth strategies
Here’s what I do each week:
I pick 2 to 3 posts I want to promote that week
I tweet them on Twitter and submit them to comment threads in Facebook groups
Every time I post a new article, I also submit it to Blog Post Vote Up, DoSplash, Mix, and Bloglovin’. To be honest, I’ve only seen a few clicks from Blog Post Vote Up and DoSplash, other than that, I haven’t had much luck with the other two. But that’s okay, I’m putting more time into other strategies.
Social media
I’ve been keeping it pretty simple in terms of growth strategies. I don’t want to get overwhelmed with doing too much stuff at the same time. This is not the only blog I’m trying to grow.
That’s why I started with Pinterest for social media. At the moment, I’m pinning 5 fresh animated pins a day. I pin them to 3 related boards on average plus 1 or 2 group boards.
My descriptions are 2 to 3 sentences long and contain 3 keywords. I was previously using hashtags in my descriptions, but this month, I decided not to use them.
I’m also using Tailwind Tribes, but to be honest, I keep forgetting about them.
My impressions on Pinterest keep going down. I got over 300,000 impressions.
That being said, my overall clicks are going up. According to Pinterest analytics, I got 380 link clicks. But then when I was looking at the traffic coming from Pinterest on Google Analytics, it said 577. So, yeah.
When it comes to Instagram, I decided to only post once a week for the feed to keep moving and look kinda nice. But at the moment, Instagram isn’t my priority.
A similar thing to Twitter. I try to engage on Twitter every day, but I don’t have a set strategy. Twitter is a great place to strike a conversation with real people, as opposed to Instagram.
Email marketing
Email marketing seems to be going great because we are now at 78 subscribers.
The average open rate is still around 50% while the average click rate decreased a bit. But this is fine with me as both numbers are above average.
If you’re wondering, I’m using ConvertKit to capture emails.
I create various freebies that I’m offering all over my blog and I’m also sharing them on Pinterest. On my blog, I’m using a pop-up opt-in which you’ve probably already seen at this point, and I’m also using inline forms. Those are customized to fit the topic of the blog post and what I-m offering.
Blog income report
At the moment, I’m monetizing my blog with Google AdSense, affiliate marketing, and I also had a sponsored post in September.
Google AdSense
To date, I’ve made £5.19 from Google AdSense. At the time of publishing, this is roughly $6.72.
Affiliate marketing
When it comes to affiliate marketing, I’ve only made one sale so far, and that was in August and it was $0.25.
Sponsored content
I had one sponsored post so far, and that was in September. I made exactly $200 from that post.
This means that to date, I’ve made $206.97 from Blogology.
Expenses
I didn’t invest in anything blog-related in August nor September. However, there were a lot of purchases I made before launching Blogology.
In total, I invested $548. That means I still need to make quite a few bucks to get my investments back.
Struggles
To be honest, there weren’t that many struggles in September. Yes, I still need to improve my sitespeed, and I’m still struggling with self-doubt, but I’m slowly trying to combat those things.
Conclusion
So, that was a blogging report for the third month of Blogology. Don’t forget to subscribe to keep up with my (from now on quarterly) blogging reports.
Well, it makes sense. If your headline is boring and doesn’t spike any interest, I won’t read the article.
So, if your traffic could use a boost and admittedly, you haven’t been giving a second thought to your blog titles, you now know why your traffic might be stalling.
That’s why in this article, you’ll learn how to write blog post titles that get clicks and I’ll also show you some blog title examples.
DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase through one of those links, I’ll receive a commission. For more information, visit my affiliate disclosure.
What’s a catchy headline anyway?
A catchy headline is a kind of headline that evokes interest and emotion in the reader. It includes words and expressions designed to catch the reader’s attention so the reader reads the whole article.
How to Write Clickable Blog Post Titles
So, how do you come up with a blog post title?
A lot of bloggers start by writing a blog post and pick a title after the blog post is finished. That’s a mistake.
Because you need to make sure you deliver what you promise in the title. After you write a blog post, you only have a few choices for headlines. However, if you do it the other way around, you can first pick from possibly hundreds of titles and adjust the blog post to match the search intent.
So, before you start writing, draft a few titles and pick your favorite.
Okay, so, how do you draft a blog title?
1. Pick a Topic Based on Your Target Audience
When you’re drafting your headline, you should already have chosen a topic for the blog post. Ideally, you should choose the topic based on your target audience’s needs and struggles.
All of your content should be written based on what your target audience is searching for.
Now it’s time to do keyword research and pick the right keyword.
But how do you conduct keyword research?
Choose an expression that best describes the topic of your blog post (this is called the seed keyword)
Type this query into Google search
Take a note of the results and other related queries
Read through the results and note the topics they are including in their articles, but also the formats of the results (this is called the search intent and it’s an important ranking factor)
Scroll down the results page and take note of the related searches at the bottom of the page
You can also use a keyword research tool such as KWFinder, Ubersuggest, or Google Keyword Planner to give you more data on the specific keywords you’ve found
Alternatively, use a tool such as AnswerThePublic to find all queries related to your seed keyword
There’s a video from Income School that describes a similar approach, so check it out if you want to.
EXTRA TIP: For best results, try to include the keyword at the beginning of the title. According to Ahrefs, front-loading your keyword can be beneficial.
3. Look at What’s Already Working
Go to BuzzSumo and check out the topic you’ll be writing about. Which variations get more social shares?
You can even check your competitors.
Which competitors have already written about the topic? How are those posts doing? How can you do it better?
4. Brainstorm 5 to 10 Blog Titles
Now it’s time to brainstorm ideas. Ideally, write 5 to 10 potential blog post titles. Let them sit for a few hours or days and then come back.
Which one do you find most enticing?
5. Pick Your Favorite
There’s no way to know for sure which one is going to perform the best. Sometimes, you come up with a headline you love, and it doesn’t perform the way you’d like it to. Other times, you don’t give a second thought to the title, and it’s working like crazy.
Go with your instinct. You can always tweak the blog post title in the future.
6. Keep Testing Your Headlines
A/B testing is crucial. There’s no foolproof way to know which headline will work the best for you and your readers.
What is A/B testing?
A/B testing, in this case also called headline testing, is comparing the performance of more than one variation of an object. In other words, you choose two headlines you’d like to test and measure their performances.
How do you test a headline?
When testing your headlines, pay attention to the CTR, bounce rate, and average time on page of the specific blog post or page. You can measure the latter two in Google Analytics.
But how do you test two headlines at the same time?
However, I like to use Pinterest paired with Tailwind. I can create tens of pins with different titles linking to the same post. Then, in Tailwind, I can see which pins are performing the best in terms of link clicks and repins.
I’m also using the Divi theme on Blogology. Divi has an A/B testing feature that allows me to test two different titles at the same time, collect the data, and use the better-performing headline.
Tips for Crafting Clickable Blog Post Titles
Although there are different types of blog post titles, there are also some general guidelines you should keep in mind at all times.
So, how to use numbers effectively in your blog posts?
Always use specific numbers and data in your headlines. What do I mean by this?
Which title do you find more clickable?
“Exactly How I Increased My Blog Traffic by 235% in One Month”
OR
“Exactly How I Increased My Blog Traffic by 200% in One Month”
This isn’t a question of the higher number. This comes down to the more specific number. A headline that says: “How I Made $968 from My Blog Last Month” sounds more believable than if you rounded up the number to $1000.
Also, “Exactly How I Increased My Blog Traffic by 235% in One Month” is way more specific and therefore more clickable than “Exactly How I Increased My Blog Traffic Last Month”.
2. Use Emotions
I’ve said it many times throughout my content – blogging is selling. If you’re not actually selling anything, you’re at least selling your ideas. Emotions are what sells.
That’s the power of copywriting.
The goal is to write headlines that trigger a certain emotion in the reader. No, that doesn’t mean the reader has to burst into tears reading your headline. But there should be some level of emotion in your blog titles.
So, how do you write emotional headlines?
Pick the emotion you want to trigger in the reader
Use power words and other expressions that trigger the particular emotion
Use a headline analyzer
How do you decide which emotion to pick?
Have a look at your target audience avatar and have a look at your target reader’s:
Fears
Wants
Desires
Frustrations
Passions
Now, are you writing a blog post based on your target reader’s fears? In that case, the emotion you want to evoke can be fear.
But it doesn’t have to be. You can transform any headline into any emotion you like.
For instance, my target audience’s fear might be not taking off their blog, failing to get traffic, not being able to start making enough money from their blog to quit their day jobs, and respectively not being able to travel the world while making money online, right?
Based on this fear, I could craft a headline and write an article on “Why 94% of Bloggers Are Not Making Any Money”.
Just a side note, I made up that number!
Or, I could give them (well, you!) some hope by writing an article on “How Not to Be in the 94% of Bloggers Who Don’t Make Any Money”.
3. Use Power Words
If you want to evoke emotion in your blog titles, you need to use power words.
What are power words?
Power words are words and expressions that evoke a certain emotion.
What are some examples of other power words?
According to Optin Monster, there are seven types of power words:
Fear power words (disastrous, caution)
Lust power words (mind-blowing, intriguing)
Vanity power words (jaw-dropping, amazing)
Sloth power words (easy, fast)
Trust power words (proven, according to)
Greed power words (bargain, exclusive)
Curiosity power words (little-known, limited)
Anger power words (worst, pitiful)
They have a long list of power words for each of those emotions.
4. Use the Word “You”
If you can, use the word “you”. “You” is the single most important power word.
This might not always be the case, but in most of your content, your reader is going to be the main character. You, as the writer, are helping your main character to overcome a problem.
Your reader should always be the subject of your blog post, and you should always speak directly to her/him.
5. Use a Headline Analyzer
Advanced Marketing Institute has a headline analyzer that tells you the score of your headline based on its emotional value.
The more percent your headline gets, the better.
6. Always Deliver
Avoid clickbait at any point. The goal here isn’t just getting clicks. Which kind of traffic do you prefer?
The kind of visitor who finds your content valuable, subscribes to your email list, and potentially buys the products you’re selling or recommending?
Or the kind of visitor who lands on your blog and leaves immediately?
The latter is exactly what clickbait achieves. But this visitor isn’t worth anything. It’s just a number in your analytics.
When it comes to Google, the quality of the content is paramount. If Google thinks your content is bad, it won’t rank you. Period.
On the other hand, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been clickbaited on Pinterest. You can create the most clickable pin and rank it. But the quality of the content itself is often overlooked.
For example, I once clicked on a pin saying “How to Turn Your Blog into a Money-Making Business”. The actual article was about the ways to make money from your blog.
See what I mean?
If I land on a page that’s supposed to tell me how to turn my blog into a money-making business, I don’t expect to see advice telling me to place ads on my blog.
Look, if this happens one, fine. But if I see three posts of yours that just don’t deliver, I’ll avoid anything with your URL in the future all together.
Facebook headlines should be between 12 and 14 words and Twitter headlines should be between 8 and 12 words.
When it comes to Pinterest graphics, there’s no set amount of words or characters you should abide by. But the general advice is: keep it short and to the point.
Which one looks better?
“How to Monetize Your Blog So That You Can Turn it Into a Full-Time Career”
OR
“How to Turn Your Blog into a Full-Time Career”
8. Use Special Characters
Outbrain did a study and found out that using special characters such as hyphens or colons in your titles increase the CTR by 9%.
So, what does that look like in real life?
Instead of writing:
“How to Write a Blog Post”
Do this:
“Writing the Perfect Blog Post: Ultimate Guide”
9. Capitalize Letters
I don’t think that capitalizing letters in your blog post titles is going to increase your CTR. However, it’s a generally accepted formatting guideline.
What letters do you capitalize in a title?
These are the capitalization rules:
Capitalize the first letter, all nouns, pronouns, verbs, proverbs, and adjectives. Don’t capitalize articles, prepositions, and conjunctions unless they are the first word of the title.
What does that look like in real life?
“How to Start a Money-Making Blog in 2021”
NOTE: This only applies to blog post titles, not the content of the article. I see a lot of bloggers capitalizing words in their articles. Don’t do that!
Blog Post Title Formulas
There are lots and lots of headline formulas we could go through. But there are three main types of headlines you should master:
How to
Listicles
Guides
How To
The “how to” headline formula is one of the most used. It looks like this:
How to [achieve a desired outcome]
In reality, it looks like this:
“How to Start a Blog” “How Not to Write a Headline” “How to Avoid Running Out of Blog Post Ideas”
But that’s quite boring, isn’t it? To make your “how to” headline more clickable, add a modifier such as:
Step-by-Step
A timeframe
Like a pro/badass/boss
How to _ without _
How to _ and _
EXAMPLES:
“How to Start a Blog Step-by-Step” “How to Start a Blog in 30 Minutes” “How to Write a Blog Post Like a Pro” “How to Move Without Going Crazy” “How to Make Money Online and Live Your Dream Life”
List Posts
People love numbers. They give a sense of specificity.
If you can, use odd numbers. Research shows that listicles with odd numbers get more clicks than ones with even numbers! If in doubt, use number 10!
The listicle formula looks like this:
[number] of ways/things/steps to/tips for [achieve a desired outcome]
In practice, it will look like this:
“27 Ways to End Your Blog Post and Keep Your Readers Engaged” “9 Free Ways to Promote Your Blog and Skyrocket Your Traffic” “12 Critical Things to Do Before You Start a Blog” “7 Easy Steps to Starting the Business of Your Dreams” “17 Mind-Blowing Tips for Improving Your Blog Writing Instantly”
Guides
Guides can be similar to “how to” posts as they teach the reader to achieve a desired outcome. But that doesn’t always have to be the case.
Some guides are written to introduce a topic to its whole extent.
There are three headline formulas you can use to write an ultimate guide:
“Ultimate Guide to [topic]” “[topic]: The Ultimate Guide” “How to [achieve a desired outcome]: Ultimate Guide”
You don’t need to always use the expression “ultimate guide”. You can switch it up by using expressions such as “beginner guide” or “definitive guide”.
EXAMPLES:
“Ultimate Guide to SEO” “SEO: Detailed Guide” “How to Master SEO: Beginner Guide”
NOTE: Each of these formulas has a different search intent. That’s why you need to decide which headline you’re going to use before writing the blog post.
EXTRA TIP: If you see a headline that catches your eye, write it down for future reference. You can tweak it and use it for your content!
Conclusion
Writing clickable blog post titles takes time to master. Keep practicing and testing. There’s no way to know for sure whether a headline will perform the way you want it to.
Pick a topic
Choose a keyword
Look at what’s already working
Brainstorm
Pick your favorite
Keep testing
To make the mastering process a bit easier, grab my free blog post title template!
