Have you ever read a great piece of content that really stuck with you? Are you wondering how to write a good blog post that makes an impact? Writing great blog posts isn’t easy. But it’s not rocket science either!
In today’s article, I’ll tell you what makes a good blog and share some tips on how to write a good blog post that’ll bring in a lot of traffic. So let’s begin!
What Makes a Good Blog Post?
If you think that writing a good blog post just means using the right words, you’re mistaken.
There are a lot of other factors that contribute to making your blog post a success.
In fact, it’s possible (and even pretty common!) to be a great writer but not so great at blogging.
How’s that possible? Well, suppose you drafted an article that’s very well-researched and detailed and includes all the information your readers are looking for.
But it’s SO well-researched and informative that your paragraphs are really long and it’s hard to read. Maybe you forgot to add images or other media content in the fear of interrupting the flow of your article. Because it looks like a big wall of text, people are more likely to hit the “back” button than to stay and read the whole thing.
Do you think people would call that a good post?
So apart from the words themselves, you also need to consider…
- How easy is it to read?
- How visually engaging is the post?
- How well does it answer your readers’ questions?
- How will it keep attracting more traffic?
To help you publish an amazing piece, I’ll show you how to answer all these questions and more.
Ready? Let’s get started with our expert blog writing tips.
Expert Tips for Writing a Blog Post
Being a good writer is tough. But with a little practice and some research, it won’t take you long to join the ranks of other great bloggers.
So let’s check out how you too can come up with a blog post that you have always wanted to create when you started a blog.
1. Choose a Good Topic
The first step towards writing a blog post is to pick a good topic.
You’ll need to find out what your followers want to know and read about, so your post will continue to get traffic after it’s published.
Try to base the post on reader feedback, a known problem in the industry, or competition analysis.
Platforms like BuzzSumo can help you figure out what topics are trending. Check out our list of SEO tools for more suggestions on how to come up with blog post ideas that are search engine optimized.
If you need help, here are some blog post ideas to get you started.
2. Do Your Research
Once you have your idea, make sure to research the front page of Google and your main competitors at this stage to see how you can improve on what’s out there. If you can’t write a high quality post that’s better than theirs, don’t bother!
You don’t need to be an expert on the topic, but you do need to do your research to make sure you’re adding value.
3. Take Notes and Start an Outline
While you do your research keep a notebook handy where you can take down the important points and outline your topic.
Okay, if not a notebook at least keeps a Google doc tab open. I like using Google docs because, unlike using a notebook, I don’t have to bother about losing it.
4. Start Drafting Your Blog Post
Now that you have the outline, you can sit down to write your post. I generally like drafting it directly on my WordPress dashboard. It saves a lot of time and extra effort if I don’t have to copy and paste it from somewhere else later.
Are you struggling to start writing, or keep getting stuck or distracted? See our tips on how to write faster and you’ll be churning out more posts in no time!
5. Hook Your Readers With a Great Opening
If you can hook your readers with a good opening consider half your work to be done. Because if your introduction is boring, people wouldn’t bother to read the rest.
Many writers find it easier to write the body of the blog post first, and save writing the intro for last.
A good way to write a great introduction is to pose a question addressing the reader’s problem. Then you can tell them how reading your post can help them tackle it.
This is a great way to grab your readers’ attention, and they’ll definitely want to read it till the end in the hope of finding the solution.
6. Write Like You Talk
Don’t overlook the style and tone of your writing. Both these elements can make a big difference.
Writing like you’re talking to your reader can make them feel like they’re having a conversation with someone, rather than actually reading a post.
Your readers will feel like you’re talking to them one-one-one to help them figure out a problem that you can relate to. This is great for building a loyal readership.
7. Make It Scannable
People usually don’t read blog posts word-for-word. Instead, they scan them for the information they’re looking for.
That’s why it’s important to format your posts in a way that’s easy to scan. It’ll help your readers to get the info they’re looking for quickly, so they’re more likely to stick around your blog.
Here are a few ways you can make your blog posts scannable:
- Use Subheadings: Subheadings help your readers to see the main topics of your post, and will help you to stay organized and on track when writing.
- Write Short Sentences: Short sentences are much easier to read. Long sentences can make it complicated to understand.
- Keep Paragraphs Short: When your paragraphs are too long, it’s harder to read. I recommend using 2-4 sentences in most of your paragraphs, with some 1-sentence paragraphs to grab the eye.
- Use Bullet Points: Whenever you have a list, you can use bullet points to make your message precise and clear and easy to scan, instead of listing items in a sentence.
If you use these tips to make your text visually engaging, your readers will be more likely to read the whole post.
8. Use Images for Visual Engagement
A simple image has the power to make a boring post much more fun and engaging.
What you fail to explain in words, can be done with just a single image or a screenshot. Besides, it breaks the monotony of words and offers a refreshing visual break to the reader keeping them engaged for longer.
9. Include a Compelling Call to Action
Your post can’t be called a successful one unless you can convince your users to take action on the site.
What should your call to action (CTA) be? You could ask your readers to:
- Sign up to your email newsletter (must read, “how to create an email newsletter“)
- Leave a comment
- Share your post on social media
- Buy your product
It’s best to stick to one CTA so your readers aren’t distracted.
For your CTA to be compelling, put yourself in the readers’ shoes and talk about the benefits of taking action. What’s in it for them?
10. Add a Featured Image
Believe it or not, your readers won’t waste more than 2 seconds to decide whether or not to click on your post. If you want a positive response you need to have a plan.
Adding an eye-catching featured image to your post is a great way to get more clicks, shares, and engagement.
Shutterstock, Unsplash, and Pixabay are great platforms to help you find an appealing image to use. You can also use Canva if you like them edited.
11. Level Up Your SEO
If you think you know how to write a good blog post but it doesn’t get any traffic, you’re missing a step!
For your post to have a lot of readers, you need to level up your SEO, we have published a separate post dedicated to SEO tips for bloggers. If you’re using the Yoast plugin (assuming you have already installed it on your site), a lot of your work is done.
You need to add a focus keyword, add a title with the keywords in it, and also add an SEO title and meta description.
Your text also needs to have more than 300 words. However, I would recommend you to keep your word count to at least 1000 words.
Further, the images in your post need to be properly optimized too. Make sure they’re the right size and have descriptive names before you upload them. Each image should also have proper alt tags and categories.
For more details, see our ultimate SEO guide for bloggers.
12. Publish at the Right Time
Now you’re ready to publish!
The final step is to read out your post to yourself. This helps you identify errors and lets you rectify them before you hit the publish button. Do a quick read over for spelling and formatting but don’t waste too much time.
Hit publish at a peak time. For me that’s between 8 am and 10 am on Monday, Wednesday or Friday on East Coast USA time.
And that’s how to write a good blog post! Wasn’t too difficult, was it? Just follow these quick steps and see how you can master the art of writing a good blog post in no time.
Meanwhile, if you want to get more traffic quickly, here’s a guide that can help you.
Examples of Some Perfect Blog Posts
It wouldn’t be right to finish this post without showing you some of the most perfect blog posts that I’ve seen out there in the wild.
- 164 Best Email Subject Lines to Boost Your Email Open Rates
This post on OptinMonster is ultra-useful and comprehensive, and has great multimedia content as well. There’s a video and original graphics to keep readers interested and also attract links and shares. - Paleo Diet Beginner Guide: 7 Things to Know Before Eating Like a Caveman
Steve Kamb’s post over at Nerd Fitness has had over 2,000 comments and 45,000 likes on Facebook. It’s a massively detailed article with photos, videos and even it’s own app! Incredible value for anyone searching the topic. - 40 Most Common WordPress Errors and How to Fix Them
WPBeginner’s ultimate guide to WordPress errors is great because it’s comprehensive, but also easy for beginners to follow. This is a great example of a perfect tutorial post for beginners.
Do You Have a Perfect Blog Post?
Have you ever written a blog post that went viral or brought you a heaps of awesome results? I’d be really keen to hear about how you did it!
https://www.blogtyrant.com/how-to-write-the-perfect-blog-post/
