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.
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?
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!
You’re staring at the blank screen in front of you. The deadline is approaching. You’re supposed to publish a new blog post in just a few days and yet, you have nothing written.
You can’t afford not to post. Consistency is key, right?! If you don’t publish once according to your editorial calendar, your traffic is going to drop and your blog is going to fail!
Well, hold on! If you miss one day, it’s okay! You won’t lose any significant traffic and nor will your blog fail. But yes, consistency is important.
The key to staying consistent with your posting schedule is generating ideas for blog posts consistently.
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. Visit my affiliate disclosure for more info.
I know that finding out what to blog about is difficult.
I studied creative writing at university. Usually, I was oozing with ideas for stories, but once there was an assignment I had to complete, my mind was blank.
But, you see, ideas are everywhere. I know that this concept might be difficult to comprehend.
For instance, I’ve been wanting to write on Medium for a very long time. Most writers on Medium don’t stick to a single niche. But for some reason, the freedom of being able to write about anything I like has my brain cells completely blacked out.
So, what’s the point of this? Stick to a niche.
If you’re running a multi-niche blog, it’s the same process. Except, you’ll be searching for ideas in those niches.
The idea is that when you stick to one niche, it’s easier for you to know that niche through and through and therefore keep generating content.
With that being said…
How to find endless blog post ideas
We know that coming up with blog post ideas can be tricky. So, how to find blog post topics?
1. Look into your target audience avatar
There’s one thing I’m always going to preach: it’s all about your audience. Your blog isn’t about you. It’s about providing value to your readers and helping them overcome a pain point.
It doesn’t matter how big this pain point is. It can be something small such as sharing quick dinner recipes or helping others overcome depression.
So, what to do?
Have a look at your target audience avatar and the pain points specifically. You want to write a piece of content that addresses one of the struggles.
2. Pick a topic
At this point, all you need to do is to come up with a topic. Not a specific idea, just a topic.
But what’s the difference between a topic and a specific idea for a blog post?
TOPIC: Writing tips BLOG POST IDEA: How to never run out of blog post ideas, How to end a blog post, How to format your blog posts
See the difference?
Pick a topic and once you narrow it down, you can pick a seed keyword.
What’s a seed keyword?
That’s one or more words that describe your blog topic.
Let’s say I want to write about something that has to do with blog posts. My seed keyword is most likely going to be “blog post”.
EXTRA TIP: Use the topic cluster strategy. You’ll divide your content into specific topics around which you’ll be creating “clusters”. Apart from better SEO, this will also help you when generating blog content ideas.
3. Use Pinterest suggestions
A great place to find keywords and ideas for blog posts is Pinterest. Specifically, Pinterest’s autosuggestions.
If you go to Pinterest and type in a keyword, Pinterest will automatically give you some of the most searched queries associated with the keyword.
You can view those in the autosuggestions or you can click search and you’ll see them in the top bar. Don’t quote me on this, but it’s generally believed that the keywords toward the left are searched the most.
4. Make use of Google autosuggestions
Did you know that Google can be a great place to find ideas for blog posts?
Similarly to Pinterest, you can use Google as a blog topic generator. Just type in your seed keyword and see what comes up.
You can either have a look at the autosuggestions or you can scroll down to the bottom of the page.
A good idea is also to look at the results.
What are they about?
TIP: You can also type in your seed keyword and then try adding each letter of the alphabet one by one to find any hidden queries.
5. Use Answer The Public
Or you can use a tool that can do all of this for you!
Answer The Public is a keyword research tool. After you type in your seed keyword, it will scan all Google search results for any related queries. It does the same thing I described in the previous point. Except it’s much quicker than if you were doing it manually.
It gives you ideas for both queries and questions.
Answer The Public is a paid tool, but it also has a free version that gives you five free searches a day. To be honest, in most cases, that’s all you need.
6. Or you can use other keyword research tools
If you want something that will also give you data about the search volume and competition, you can use a keyword research tool.
Using these tools is similar to what we’ve already talked about. You type in your seed keyword and the tool will tell you the related queries and the search data.
So far, I’ve tried Ubersuggest, KWFinder, and the free version of Moz. All of them were great. I’ve also heard great things about Keysearch, but I haven’t tried it.
If you want a more advanced tool, you can try something like Ahrefs or SEMRush. But those tools are very expensive. We’re talking about monthly recurring payments of $100.
If you want a free keyword research tool from Google, you can use the Google Keyword Planner. The data is not as specific as the other tools, but you have to keep in mind that all of the keyword tools I’ve mentioned get their data from Google Keyword Planner. That’s why the data might not always be accurate.
How do you know?
Let’s say you type in a keyword and the tool tells you the search volume is zero. But then you’re typing the keyword into Google, and the search engine keeps autosuggesting. That’s a sign that people are searching for that keyword and that the search volume is certainly not a zero.
7. Generate blog post ideas with Google Search Console
Another great place to find blog post topics is the Google Search Console. It happens often that your articles appear in searches that don’t match what the article is about.
Have you ever thought about writing about these topics?
I mean, sure, some of the queries are downright nonsense. But some of them could be great ideas!
Also, since you’re already appearing somewhere for that keyword, your new post could appear for it as well!
8. Pay attention to questions in Facebook Groups and forums
A great place to find blog post ideas are Facebook groups and forums like Reddit or Quora.
You can join groups and forums in your niche and read other people’s questions. You can then go and write a post addressing the topic discussed and can even go back and link to that post.
Just read the rules of the group before you do that!
9. Or use FAQ Fox for faster results
If you don’t want to spend time scrolling through online forums, you can use FAQ Fox instead. It’s a content marketing tool that allows you to find forums about a specific topic with only one click!
Simply go to FAQ Fox and type in your keyword. And voila, you’re ready to find topics to write about.
10. Ask your readers
This is the easiest way to find ideas for new blog posts. Simply ask your readers!
There are several ways to do that:
In emails
On social media
Surveys
Quizzes
You can just send them a newsletter asking what they’d like to see next on your blog. Or you can create an Instagram story poll, or even tweet it out.
An interesting way to ask your readers what they’d like to read from you is to ask them as a part of a survey. To be honest, I’ve never tried creating a survey, so here’s an article on how to create a survey, and here’s a tutorial on how to create a survey in WordPress using WPForms.
Or you can also use quizzes. Quizzes are a great way to get to know your readers better. I’ve never tried creating a quiz for my blog either. But there is a tutorial from WPBeginner.
If you don’t want to use a plugin to create a quiz for your blog, you can do it with an email marketing tool. I’m using ConvertKit, so I’m not sure if other email tools have this option as well. So, here’s a tutorial on how to create a quiz.
11. Pay attention to comments on other blogs
If your blog is new and you don’t have an audience to ask, you can use other blogger’s audiences.
Well, that’s an interesting way to put it. We’re not going to be using them. But bear with me.
What you can do is that you can go to other blogs in your niche. You can go to any blog post you like. You scroll down and read the comments.
Still with me?
What you’re looking for are comments asking about topics that haven’t been discussed in the article. You can use it as a cue to write that article yourself.
12. Use BuzzSumo
If you don’t want to be scrolling through your competitors’ blogs, you can use BuzzSumo instead. BuzzSumo lets you see the most popular topics that are being discussed right now. You can search for topics by keywords or by websites.
You can enter your competitor’s URL and see their most shared content. It’s a paid tool but the free version gives you enough information. The only downside is that the free version gives you only ten searches a month. So, use them wisely!
13. Look inside Amazon books
Did you know that you can use Amazon to find ideas for blog content? Yeah, the books section is perfect for it!
You can select a book on the topic you’d like to write about and have a look inside. Each book on Amazon gives you a limited amount of pages you can view without purchasing the book. It gives you enough pages to see the contents. You can then use those contents to generate ideas for blog posts.
14. Keep a list of blog post ideas
Do you have these kinds of days when you’re oozing with ideas?
Take advantage of that and write all of them into a notebook. It doesn’t matter if it’s a physical list or just a note on your smartphone.
I prefer using my smartphone. Ideas usually strike me in the state of falling asleep so it’s easier to type it into my iPhone than into a notebook.
15. Expand existing content
If you don’t want to be leaving the comfort of your own blog, have a read through your old blog posts.
Is there something that could have its own separate article?
Here’s what I mean: Let’s say I’m reading through this particular post. I could grab any of the sections in this post, and expand them in a separate article. I could write follow-up posts on how to use BuzzSumo/Google Search Console/FAQ Fox to generate blog post ideas.
Well, I’m not sure if “How to use Google Search Console to generate blog post ideas” would make up for an entire article.
But hopefully, you get the point.
16. Read
Read a lot!
Reading and consuming content creates new associations in your brain and forms new ideas. If you don’t know what to write about, the answer is simple: read!
You don’t have to read about topics in your niche only. In fact, that might lead to information overload.
To be honest with you, I’m not a huge fan of blog topic generators. I feel like the results are, well, generic.
I had a bit of a laugh when reading some of the ideas. One blog post generator suggested: “How to become the Elon Musk of blog post”.
Sounds interesting! I want to know!
But for some topics, it might be a great tool. I mean, you can find some unique blog post ideas there.
18. Repurpose old blog content
If you genuinely don’t know what to write about, you can repurpose your old content. Is there a post that could be updated? Update the post and republish it.
Republishing old content on WordPress is very easy. You don’t have to create a new post from scratch. All you need to do (after you’ve updated the post) is to change the publish date to a different day.
19. Start a series
To prevent similar situations where you don’t know what to write about in the future, you can start a blog post series.
For example, on my old fashion blog, I create a series on how to dress according to your body shape.
With six female body shapes and one shape being published monthly, I had content for the upcoming six months. I was publishing weekly, so of course, I had to come up with different ideas as well, but it did help.
Conclusion
How to come up with a blog post idea?
There’s not a specific process to come up with a blog post idea. Look into your target audience avatar and create content based on your target reader’s pain points. Pick a topic, pick a seed keyword, and do your research.
Did you know that the conclusions are where your readers take action most? Yes, and it makes sense.
After all, in most cases, the reader wants to understand the topic as a whole before signing up for your email list or buying whatever you’re selling.
Writing compelling blog post conclusions isn’t rocket science. And despite that, I see a lot of bloggers omitting them entirely. There’s nothing wrong with saying, “Hope you liked it! See you next time!” at the end of your blog post. It’s better than ending your article abruptly. But there are better ways to wrap up your blog posts.
That being said, let’s have a look at some of the best ways to end a blog post.
DISCLOSURE: This 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. For more information, visit my affiliate disclosure.
Why Are Blog Post Conclusions So Important?
First and foremost, the primary role of any conclusion is to summarize the points you’ve made in the article. Conclusions give your blog posts a closure.
But there’s more.
A well-written strong conclusion propels the reader to take further action.
A good conclusion includes a call to action. Even though you can have a call to action in the middle of the article, CTAs at the end are generally more powerful.
Why?
The visitor has just finished reading the blog post, knows what the main points are, and is ready to take the action you want him/her to.
Or not.
Not every visitor is going to convert. And that’s okay.
How to End Your Blog Post
Before we dive into the ways to finish off your blog posts, there are some best practices when writing your conclusions:
1. Keep It Short
There’s no need to be stretching your blog post conclusions.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re writing short posts or are focusing on producing long-form content; long wrap-ups are generally tedious and unnecessary.
Keep it just a few sentences long.
2. Start with “Conclusion”
Even though your readers can probably tell that you’re finishing off the blog post, it’s a good idea to start the conclusion with an H2 tag saying “Conclusion,” “Key Takeaways,” or something along those lines.
Not only does the H2 tag divide your article, but it’s also a good visual cue for the reader.
After all, if you were writing an essay, you’d include a clear conclusion. I don’t like comparing content writing to essay writing, but there are similarities.
3. Summarize the Main Points
I’ve already made it clear that this is one of the primary purposes of a blog post conclusion
The chances are that you’ve made a lot of points in your article you’d like the reader to take away. It’s easier for the reader to see them somewhere grouped.
This is especially true for long-form content.
What were the most important points you’ve made in your article? What do you want the reader to take away?
As I mention in my tips for writing better blog posts, you should highlight the important information throughout the article using bulk fonts.
The conclusion is a place to summarize these points. If you’re writing a guide, you can repeat the steps.
4. Add a CTA
Like I’ve already mentioned, a good conclusion propels the reader to do something. Whether that’s to read another blog post of yours, sign up to your newsletter, purchase your products or something else entirely.
What are some examples of CTAs? Depending on what you want the reader to do, you can use the examples below:
Join the newsletter
Grab the [freebie]
Share the blog post on social media
Leave a comment
Get creative! Think outside of the box and craft a call to action tailored for your target audience.
5. No Pictures
A conclusion isn’t a place for images. I find that images in the blog post conclusion take away from the email sign-up form.
I must admit that I’m guilty of this as I sometimes add a Pinterest image after my conclusions.
You can simply avoid this by using the Tasty Pins plugin that will hide the image. If someone wants to share your post on Pinterest via your social sharing buttons, it will show them all the hidden pictures.
Now, I wouldn’t call this one a part of the best practices, as this point is optional.
You see, apart from being a summary, a conclusion is a great place to express your personal opinion on the topic of your blog post.
If you didn’t have the opportunity to express your own thoughts in the article, you can do it at the end of the blog post.
Ways to End a Blog Post
So, now that we’ve established the role of a conclusion, let’s dive into how you can finish off a blog post.
1. Add Links to Related Posts
After you’ve summarized your points, you can add a list of related posts.
This is great if the reader wants further information. It’s also a fantastic way to reduce your bounce rate.
If you didn’t know, the bounce rate is measured by the action of the user. If the visitor just scrolls through your article without clicking anything, it will be displayed as a 100% bounce rate in your Google Analytics.
Now, I don’t want to go in-depth on the bounce rate, so I’m just scratching the surface.
If you want to know more about the bounce rate, check out this article.
Now, the best way to grab your reader’s attention with related content is to make it attention-grabbing. Consider writing “related posts” in all caps.
2. Add an Email Opt-in for a Content Upgrade
As a blogger, you should be collecting email addresses. Generally speaking, your biggest fans are on your email list.
That being said, if you’re collecting emails, you need to offer something in return. You see, your visitors won’t just give you their email addresses.
You can add an opt-in for your newsletter, but the chances are that you’ll need a better offer than only a newsletter.
You can increase your chances of collecting emails by offering a content upgrade your audience finds valuable.
What’s a content upgrade anyway?
A content upgrade is an additional piece of content that makes it easier for the reader to accomplish or understand whatever was discussed in the main article. You can also find this under the names “freebie” and “lead magnet.”
Think checklists, templates, ebooks, email courses, etc.
So, is there something your audience is struggling with? Can you offer something that would solve this issue?
3. Ask a Question
One of my best tips to end a blog post is to ask your readers a question.
After all, it’s easier to leave a comment on a blog post, when it’s clear what to comment on. This is especially important if you want to get genuine comments instead of the kind of “Great post!”
The smartest thing to ask your readers is, “what is your main struggle with this topic?”
Your readers will give you a better idea as to what their pain points are, but they’re also giving you ideas for new content.
4. End with a Cliffhanger
You may have heard about cliffhangers in relation to story-telling.
Well, you can use them in blog writing as well.
What’s a cliffhanger anyway?
It’s a way of ending where some questions remain unanswered.
Now, if you’re writing a blog post on a specific topic, answer all related questions. But if there’s a topic that’s related but doesn’t necessarily need to be explained in the blog post, you can mention it in the conclusion, and when you write the blog post, you can interlink those two articles. As you can see, this relates to point number one.
EXAMPLE: “As I’ve mentioned, writing compelling blog post titles is crucial for the success of your content. But that’s a story for another time.”
5. Ask Your Readers to Share Your Article
Having social media sharing buttons at the end of your blog post is a fantastic way for your readers to promote your content for you.
But you can also remind your readers to share it.
Now, I haven’t tried this one myself, so I’m not sure if it works.
But I’ve seen a lot of bloggers add the ubiquitous “sharing is caring” to their blog posts, and it seems to be working.
The recurring theme here is that if you don’t remind the readers to take action, they won’t do it. And it seems to be the case for social media sharing.
6. Promote Your Offerings
If you have a product or services you are selling; you can remind your readers in the conclusion.
This works best in blog posts that are related to your offering.
Depending on the offering, you can add an email sign up or a link to a page where your visitors can purchase the product.
If your offering is service-based, such as coaching or consulting, you can imbed a contact form.
7. Add Links to Useful Resources
This is very similar to linking related content within your blog.
But you don’t have to link to internal resources only. If there are some other articles you think your audience would benefit from reading, you can link them throughout the blog post.
If it didn’t make sense to add those resources in the body of the article, add them at the end.
I like to link to external resources that explain the topic better than I would, or the topic is something I don’t feel qualified to be talking about or to back up my claims.
A great way to spark conversation in your comments section is by making an opposing statement.
I’m not saying you have to make a 180-turn. But there is often more than one side of the coin.
Whatever you are saying, there’s always going to be someone who has a different opinion. Making an opposing statement in your conclusion is an opportunity to acknowledge those opinions and express that you’re open to those opinions.
EXAMPLE: “Some people might disagree with me. And that’s okay.”
9. Add Action Points
Adding an action point at the end of your blog post is a great way to engage the reader.
Let’s say you’re writing a recipe. In your conclusion, you can write something along those lines of “And now it’s your turn! Send me images of your recipes by tagging me on Instagram at @yourusername and add the hashtag #yourbrandedhashtag for the opportunity to get reposted.”
The key here is to give the reader something they’ll get in return. There are a lot of people who want free exposure on social media from someone they’re following.
OR
If you’re teaching something, let’s say coding, you could say something like this: “Here’s your homework: create a simple web page using HTML.”
You might want to give your readers more instructions, but hopefully, you get the point.
10. Invite Your Readers to Get in Touch
You can ask your readers to get in touch.
I like using this call to action to ask my readers to contact me if they have struggles regarding the topic of the particular blog post. This is similar to asking your readers to leave a comment, but you’re taking it to another level.
Asking your readers to contact you also gives you the chance to get to know some of your readers personally and even better understand their needs and struggles.
As a blogger, it’s your job to understand your audience so you can create better content.
EXAMPLE: “Are you struggling with this? Leave a comment down below or contact me so we can figure it out together.”
Conclusion
Wrapping up a blog post isn’t difficult. Just summarize your main points, keep it short, images-free, and don’t forget to add a call to action.
In summary, these are the best ways to end a blog post:
Add links to related posts
Add an email opt-in for a content upgrade
Ask a question
End with a cliffhanger
Ask your readers to share your article
Promote your offerings
Add links to useful resources
Make an opposing statement
Add action points
Invite your readers to get in touch
What is your favorite way to end your blog posts? Let me know!
Every blogger wants to know how to drive more traffic to their blog and how to monetize it. But did you know that the quality of your content might be what’s putting off your visitors?
If they don’t like what they see, they’ll click away and increase your bounce rate. For this reason, knowing how to write better blog posts is crucial for every single blogger.
Yes, this is the old “content is king” cliché. Is content really a king? I don’t know. What I do know is that as a blogger, it’s your job to produce good-quality blog content.
DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase through one of the links, I’ll receive a commission. For more info, read my Affiliate Disclosure.
20 TIPS FOR WRITING BETTER BLOG POSTS
1. Plan your blog content in advance
My first tip for writing better blog posts is planning your blog content.
You’ll save yourself a lot of pain and quality writing. You see, it’s much easier for you to think about your content in advance and outline it if planned at least a few weeks before the publish date.
Think about it, if you have a new blog post due tomorrow, but still don’t know what it’s going to be about, you’ll most likely write a low-quality piece you’ll not be happy with.
Or, you’re not going to publish anything at all.
2. Outline your blog posts
Carrying with the thought of planning your blog content, you should also outline your blog posts.
Why do you need to outline your blog posts?
Because crafting an outline will help you produce more organized articles.
How to outline a blog post?
There’s no need to write complex outlines. Simply take the topics you want to write about in your article and organize them into a logical order.
Before you start writing your blog post, you should know its purpose and who it’s for.
Who is your target audience?
What are they struggling with?
Does this blog post help them overcome a problem?
You need to write useful content that helps the reader solve a problem.
NOTE: Don’t write about yourself unless it’s about how you overcame something.
4. Do keyword research
Before you start writing a blog post, make sure to do keyword research.
Now, I’m not an SEO expert, so I’m just going to tell you what I do.
First, I come up with a concept for a blog post idea.
I keep Googling different queries related to the concept. If the autosuggest doesn’t fill the query, I dismiss the keyword. If it does, I take it into account.
I look at the results on the first page of Google. If the results are recent articles, it most likely isn’t the right keyword to target for my new website. If there are old results, results from forums, or if the articles don’t quite match the search query, it’s a good keyword to target.
I look at the related results and the content of those raking articles to find related keywords.
I also use AnswerThePublic to find queries I might have missed.
I then type the keywords I’ve found into a keyword research tool. I tend to use Ubersuggest the most.
Now, this technique is based on this video from Income School.
5. Choose a call to action before you start writing
What is a call to action?
A call to action is a sentence that tells the reader to do something.
You can ask your readers to:
sign up to your email list
grab a freebie
leave a comment
share your post
follow you on social media
etc.
You should decide what your call to action is before you start writing your blog post. You’ll know what the direction of the article is.
How many times should you mention the CTA in the blog post?
I’d say once or twice is enough. You don’t want to be telling your visitors to subscribe to your email list in every paragraph.
Can you use more than one type of CTA in a blog post?
Generally speaking, you should pick just one CTA. But, in some cases, you can use more than one. I add an email sign up form to every single one of my blog posts. But most of the time, I also ask my readers to leave a comment.
6. Come up with a headline before you start writing
What’s the essential part of any article?
The headline, of course!
Why?
Because it’s the first thing a person sees when he or she comes across your blog post. The title determines whether they click to read your blog post or not.
So yes, you should craft titles people are going to click on.
But you should also decide what your headline is going to be before you start writing.
Why?
If you have a headline already crafted, it’s easier for you to stick to the intent of the blog post.
I’ve been reading a lot of blog posts recently, and it surprised me how many of them skipped the intro altogether. If your headline is the most crucial part of your blog post, then the intro is the second most importantaspect.
Why?
It sets the tone of the article, tells the reader what to expect from the blog post, and, if done right, hooks the reader.
How to hook the reader in your intro?
Ask a question
Include a fact or a statistic
Tell a story
Include a metaphor
Add a quote
Make a strong claim your reader doesn’t expect
8. Write conclusions
Conclusions are the second part some bloggers keep omitting.
Whenever you’re writing an essay, you need a conclusion to summarize your points.
Now, I’m not saying that writing blog posts is like writing essays.
But there are similarities. Like in an essay, you need to write a conclusion at the end of your blog post.
Summarize your main key points or anything you want the reader to take away. This is especially important if you’re writing mainly long-form content.
9. Write the body of your blog post first
Even though the intro and conclusion are essential parts of your article, you should first write the main body.
You can craft your intro and conclusion based on the body of your blog post.
Your introductions and conclusions will get the point across better if you write them after writing the main body.
10. Start the body of your blog post by introducing the topic
If you’re writing a blog post on how something works, it’s good to tell the readers what the thing is exactly.
For example, if I were writing an article on how to increase your email subscribers, I’d start with a definition of email marketing right after the introduction.
Why?
Well, not everyone who lands on the article knows it, or fully understands the concept.
11. Write short paragraphs
What’s easier for you to read?
When I’m writing like this? In short paragraphs?
OR
When I’m writing like this? Writing long bulky paragraphs that intimidate you? Including as much information as you can in a single paragraph? Stuffing long sentences into an enormous paragraph that could and should be divided into a series of shorter sections? Yeah, I don’t know what else to include, so I’m just writing random stuff to make this paragraph even longer than it should be.
You get my point, right?
You see, most people don’t read your content word for word. Most people just skim your blog posts to find the information they’re looking for.
Also, most people find long paragraphs intimidating, and when they see bulky writing, they click away to find the information somewhere else.
12. Use simple vocabulary
I sometimes see bloggers wanting to look so professional and educated in their writing that they use super complex vocabulary the average person doesn’t even understand.
Sometimes it’s just the way they speak, and that’s okay.
The thing is that not everyone on the internet has the same education as you. Not everyone who’s reading your content is a native speaker of your language.
I’ve seen this advice floating around: write as you speak.
My advice?
Don’t write as you speak!
When people talk, they use long, complex sentences. They also use redundant words, such as:
actually
very
really
like
Although it’s okay to use those words sparingly in your writing, when overused, they’ll turn your blog post into a hot mess.
Aim to write short sentences.
And yeah, I’m still trying to learn this one too.
14. Use bullet points and numbered lists
To make your blog posts more interesting and user friendly, you should format your content properly.
Use bullet points, numbered lists, blockquotes, etc. to make your blog posts easier to read.
Bullet points make your blog posts:
Scannable
Easier to read
Easier to find the information the reader is looking for
Easier to navigate
They grab the reader’s attention
Now, imagine if I wrote those points in sentences and wrote them in a single paragraph. It would look somewhat like this:
Bullet points make your blog posts easier to read. Your readers will find it easier to find the exact information they’re looking for because bullet points make your articles more scannable. Also, when a visitor is skimming through your blog post, they grab his or her attention.
That’s some awkward writing over here, but you get the point.
Now, I’m not saying that the second way is inherently wrong. But judge for yourself, which one do you prefer?
15. Highlight important information
Highlight your key points.
See what I did there?
It’s going to distinguish the most important information from the rest. Also, the visual part will make it easier for your readers to take away the exact information you want them to remember.
How can you highlight important information in your blog posts?
Bulk fonts
Cursive
Different colors
Different fonts
But don’t go overboard. If everything is highlighted, nothing is highlighted.
NOTE: Stay away from underlining important information. Why? Because your visitors can think it’s a link.
16. Use images
Personally, this one is the most difficult one for me. Some blog posts just don’t call for images.
But, images break up your articles into smaller sections, making them more digestible.
What images can you use in your blog posts?
That depends on what kind of blog post you’re writing.
If you’re writing a recipe, include photos of the meal. If it’s a review, include images of whatever you’re reviewing.
If it’s a software review, or you’re showing your readers around the software, use screenshots.
You can also use infographics to get the point across or to create a visual demonstration. Infographics can be highly shareable, which means that if you have a great infographic, other bloggers can use it as well, and you can earn backlinks this way.
If none of the mentioned above apply to your blog post, you can use stock images. You can find those on sites like Shutterstock, Unsplash, or Pexels.
You can also imbed videos to your blog posts.
17. Proofread your blog posts
If you want to write better blog content, you need to proofread your blog posts before publishing them. I’m not saying that your writing has to be perfect.
A grammatical error or a misspelling every now and then is acceptable. But if that happens in almost every single sentence, it can be off-putting.
Sometimes, no matter how many times you proofread your blog posts yourself, some misspellings can go unnoticed.
What you can do is to ask someone you know to proofread your articles for you. But that can be a bit annoying, and, if you’re like me, you might not even have someone who’d be willing to check your blog posts for you.
If that’s the case, you can use a tool that will proofread your articles for you.
I’ve been using it since 2016 when I started studying at a university in the UK, and I can’t recommend it enough.
What’s a Grammarly?
It’s a spellchecker, and it also detects plagiarism.
18. Remove the fluff
When editing your blog post, don’t be afraid to be a throat-cutter. Remove fluff words and expressions such as:
Very
Really
Actually
In order to
Like
You won’t be able to stop using them altogether. Just keep them to a minimum.
Don’t be afraid to exclude redundant information. Is everything you’re mentioning in the article necessary to understand the concept?
I once read this piece of advice from Amy Lynn Andrews. I can’t remember where exactly it was, but it went something like this: “I see the whole article as fluff. Then I cherry-pick the most important information.”
19. Let the blog post sit before you publish it
I’ve written hundreds of blog posts in my life, and one thing is sure – you’ll never be entirely happy with whatever you produce.
After you draft and edit your blog post, let it sit for at least a day. You’ll see it in a different light. You might find new sections that should be rewritten, or you’ll find out that the article is actually better than what you thought it was.
It’s happened to me before. I was writing a blog post, and no matter what I did, I just wasn’t happy with it. I decided to give it some time. I let it sit for a few days, and when I reread it, it wasn’t that bad after all.
20. Be personable and authentic
My last blog writing tip is to be personable and authentic. None of the tips mentioned above will work if you’re trying to portray some kind of fake persona or are lying to your audience.
You see, in blogging, people want to know who’s behind the blog. They want to know the real you.
This is especially true with personal blogs.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Knowing how to write good blog posts is essential for every blogger. So, here are my tips for writing better blog posts:
Plan your content in advance
Outline your blog posts
Write to solve a problem
Do keyword research
Choose a CTA before you start writing
Come up with a headline before you start writing
Don’t skip the intro
Write a conclusion
Write the body of your blog post before you write an intro and conclusion
Start the body of your blog posts by introducing the topic
Write short paragraphs
Use simple vocabulary
Don’t write as you speak
Use bullet points and numbered lists
Highlight important information
Use images
Proofread your blog posts
Remove the fluff
Let the blog post sit for a while before you publish it
Be personable and authentic
FUN FACT: This was supposed to be a short post of 5 to 7 blog writing tips. Well, here we go!
What’s your main struggle when writing blog posts? Let me know!
