How to Write a Good Blog Post

Blogging has come a long way. From the 1990s, a blog was known as a weblog, and the purpose of them were to be informational websites that had diary-like entries. In 2019, there were over 500 million blogs. With all of those blogs out there, you’re probably wondering how you can create content that gets noticed. In this article, you’ll learn how to write a good blog post.

What is a Blog Post?

A blog post is just an article in a blog that can be just about anything. Topics can be journalistic, written like a diary, or be casual. You can either share your personal opinion and daily ongoings, or educate people on specific activities. You can even use a blog post as a tool to market your products and services.

There are very few rules when it comes to what a blog post should be, because the website owner is the one that sets the tone and topics for the site. The only thing any blog owner needs to make sure, is to make sure their articles are easy to read, as well as be unique, entertaining, and add value to their niche community.

Why is Blogging Important?

Blogging is important, especially if you’re wanting to use it to market your business. Blogging is a tool that is supposed to add value to your company and the community. Simply having a website online won’t cut it. You need to tell people about it through creating content.

When it comes to business, you will only thrive by the communication done between you and your customers. A story that matters, is one that should be something that people can connect with. In fact, people want to know how you can help them, not what you have done.

A good example of this is writing tutorials or explaining in how-to articles, on some real problems that people have. You could be on a website that sells a household item that allows you to do something more efficient and better than other tools in the same market. On that same website, they have a blog that, rather than being filled with customer case studies and company updates, contains some interesting how-to articles using the item they sell.

Anatomy of a Good Blog Post

A good post typically contains the following parts:

• A good enticing title.

• An opening paragraph to summarize what the post is about.

• Thought provoking subheadings.

• Short paragraphs.

• Bullet points.

• Vivid images that tie in well with the content.

• A closing summary.

A good enticing title.

Like a book title, your blog title should be something that catches your reader’s eye. If you’re not much of a wordsmith, then you might want to try out a free blog title generator. Just put your keyword or keyword phrase in the field, and it will generate some titles for you to consider.

An opening paragraph to summarize what the post is about.

The opening paragraph gives your reader some insight into what they are about to read. This can give your reader a clue whether they want to continue reading, bookmark your post, or unfortunately - leave. Make sure to create a short opening paragraph that will convince your website visitors to read more.

Thought provoking subheadings

You want to break up some of your content into sections, and give it a good subheading that asks something common to the blog post’s topic. In fact, when you first write your article, your subheadings should serve as an outline.

Short paragraphs.

Short paragraphs are super easy to read, versus long walls of text. You should keep paragraphs to at least 3 to 5 sentences. Be prepared to switch paragraphs if there’s a new thought.

Bullet points.

If you are using lists, you should include bullet points, and then talk about each point. This allows your readers to learn more about each point, rather than just looking through a list.

Vivid images that tie in well with the content.

You don’t necessarily have to add umpteen images to a single blog post, but having at least one or two will certainly help break the text. You can even use infographics to support your textual content.

A closing summary.

Your closing summary should be a short and sweet recollection of your post. Focus on a takeaway or two, and suggest what the reader should do next.

Types of Blog Posts

• Lists

• How-to articles

• Polls

• Reviews

• News

• Opinion

• Interviews

• Case Studies

Lists

People love lists! Whether it’s 10 Outstanding Ways to Find Good Deals, or 7 Best People in Town, these lists are easy and entertaining reads. They are also good ways to create your own list and compare it against the countless similar ones out there.

How-to articles

Educating people allows them to decide whether they want to undertake the task, or they want to hire someone else. Even if your how-to articles are for the beginner, there’s always going to be people who either don’t have the time to take on the project, or they just won’t. If you offer services related to your how-to articles, your blog post helps build trust with them.

Polls

The best way to get your readers engaged is to start a poll. Make it interesting, and follow-up with the results. You can even use your polls as inspiration for future content, based on your readers’ responses.

Reviews

What better way to inform people about a product, than to do a review about it. In fact, you should pick out items from your house or business before buying anything, as it’s not required that the products you review have to be brand spanking new.

News

There are so many online news websites, but it;s quite alright to curate and write your own news articles. In fact, if you do, it’s the perfect time to link to those sites. Just make sure the news is related to what your website talks about, rather than just any old tidbit out there.

Opinion

Your opinion is just as important as the next person, and some people might find that fascinating. The topic can be about anything, and you can even rant some. It’s your blog, so do what you like, while maintaining the tone you want your site to be seen as.

Interviews

Interviewing people in your niche is great, as it’s potential for driving in new traffic from the person you’re featuring. Also, you can use interviewing others, as a means to build a great bond with other digital content creators.

Case Studies

Has your business been working on some super innovative product or concept, and found some breakthrough success with it? Well, a case study post is perfect to talk about that project, and attract your reader’s interest to your products and services.

8 Tips on How to Write a Good Blog Post

1. Know your audience and do research.

2. Before writing, create an outline for your blog post.

3. Use images or infographics.

4. Support your information by linking to newsworthy and well-known resources.

5. Make sure to link to existing content within your site.

6. Add a list.

7. Use video, memes, or GIFs.

8. Use blocks of color.

1. Know your audience and do research.

It’s important in any business and any website, that you’ve done the research ahead of time, on what audience you want to target. From there, you can do keyword research, and check out what other sites in your niche are doing, as well as gather resources as references that you can use in your blog posts. All of this research is so you can build a blog that delivers unique content.

2. Before writing, create an outline for your blog post.

When you’re about to start writing any paragraphs, you should come up with a few thought provoking sub heading topics that support your article. Your initial research will turn up other articles that you can come up with those subheadings. Use those subheadings as a simple outline, and your articles will look more polished.

3. Use images or infographics.

Use at least one or two images in your article. You can even add infographics. However, if you are adding infographics, you should always have text to support it.

4. Support your information by linking to newsworthy and well-known resources.

If you’re not linking to outside sites, it’s kind of like the guy standing on a soapbox, shouting into a passing crowd. It’s called the Soapbox effect. It’s hard to believe someone who doesn’t link to others. Plus, it’s good karma in the blog community to link to great content.

5. Make sure to link to existing content within your site.

While you do need to link to a few outside resources, you should also try to link to existing content within your site. This will allow people to read more on your site, because you’ve peaked their interest.

6. Add a list.

Adding a list to your post, whether it’s entertaining or informative, can be a great way to add another outline to your site. For each point on your list, you can write a few supporting sentences.

7. Use video, memes, or GIFs.

Definitely use video, memes, or GIFs. These media formats add more “pop” to your content, much like regular images and infographics.

8. Use blocks of color.

Vary the style of your blog post. Use blocks of color for some areas, or even stylize a blockquote, so it breaks up the blog post’s paragraphs.

In Summary

When you’re wanting to write a good post, remember that you’re trying to add value to the blogging community, not just throw in another article like the rest. Make sure your readers can tell the difference between what they see on your blog, versus the countless other websites out there. Good luck, and happy blogging!

Frequently Asked Questions