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.

I have an article on how to write a blog post from start to finish. But today, I’ll share with you my tips for writing better blog posts.

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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.

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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.

RECOMMENDED READING: How to Write a Blog Post Outline

3. Write to solve a problem

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.

1. First, I come up with a concept for a blog post idea.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. I look at the related results and the content of those raking articles to find related keywords.
5. I also use AnswerThePublic to find queries I might have missed.
6. 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.

If you want a keyword research tutorial from real SEO experts, check out this article from Moz.

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.

RECOMMENDED READING: How to Write Clickable Blog Post Titles

7. Don’t skip the intro

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 important aspect.

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.

Apparently, your blog posts should be written as if they’re for an 8th grader.

13. Don’t write as you speak

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 use Grammarly for that.

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:

1. Plan your content in advance
2. Outline your blog posts
3. Write to solve a problem
4. Do keyword research
5. Choose a CTA before you start writing
6. Come up with a headline before you start writing
7. Don’t skip the intro
8. Write a conclusion
9. Write the body of your blog post before you write an intro and conclusion
10. Start the body of your blog posts by introducing the topic
11. Write short paragraphs
12. Use simple vocabulary
13. Don’t write as you speak
14. Use bullet points and numbered lists
15. Highlight important information
16. Use images
17. Proofread your blog posts
18. Remove the fluff
19. Let the blog post sit for a while before you publish it
20. 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!

RELATED:
10 Action-Inspiring Ways to End Your Next Blog Post

Featured image courtesy of Burst via Pexels

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