You've probably come across content created by a thought leader who is an expert in their field if you've ever read a blog post. If the blog post was well-written, you most likely gained useful information and a positive impression of the author or brand that created the content. Anyone can use blogging to connect with their audience and reap the numerous benefits that blogging provides, such as organic traffic from search engines, promotional content for social media, and recognition from a previously untapped audience. If you've heard of blogging but aren't sure where to start, the time for excuses is over because we'll cover how to write and manage your business's blog and provide helpful blog templates to make your blogging efforts easier.
What is a Blog Post?
Image is taken from Strikingly user’s website
A blog post is a piece of writing, such as an article, a news item, or a guide, published in the blog section of a website. A blog post typically covers a specific topic or query, is educational, includes other media types such as images, videos, infographics, and interactive charts, and ranges in length from 600 to 2,000 words. Blog posts allow you and your business to publish insights, thoughts, and stories about any topic on your website. They can assist you in increasing brand recognition, credibility, conversions, and revenue. Most importantly, they can help you increase the number of visitors to your website. However, before you can start writing blog posts, you must first learn how to start a blog. Let's get started.
Blogging Fundamentals
Do you blog for business? Do you want people to return to your blog after reading it for the first time? Make posts that people want to read! How you create, write, and organize content determines whether or not readers are drawn to your blog posts. And it's not difficult to do if you have a process in place. This article will walk you through the nine steps to writing a well-written blog post. These pointers will assist you in writing simple-to-follow and digest posts, resulting in loyal readers of your blog.
1. Work Together to Outline Your Topic
Image is taken from Strikingly
To begin creating content for new posts, you must first gather ideas.
Because ideas for titles, topics, and even paragraphs often come to you outside of the office, make it a habit to save them in tools like Evernote, Google Drive, or Basecamp as you think of them. You can now take the ideas you've gathered and share them with interested groups within your company (such as department heads or managers) to see if anyone else has any additional examples or anecdotes to help you take the post further.
This collaboration assists in fleshing out an idea and connecting it to other ideas or content that you may not have considered. Some of this feedback may also be used to help create the sections of your post. Create an outline as your sections develop to have a post structure to work from.
2. Produce Your Post
Image is taken from Strikingly
You're now ready to put everything together. Make sure that the structure of your post is easy to follow from beginning to end.
- Begin with an enticing introduction
The first paragraph of a blog post should always explain the post's topic. You can pique readers' interest by posing a question or quoting something relevant, but always from your own point of view. To connect with your audience, you can use up to 60 words in the first paragraph.
- Divide your post's body into paragraphs
Try to find ways to guide the reader along and make the content more accessible as you write the body of your post. Divide your post into sections to break up your content into smaller, more digestible chunks, and then add headings. Keep in mind that you'll most likely change the post's headings several times as you write it.
- Directions and information in bullet form
Bullet points assist readers in connecting with your content, allowing them to understand it more clearly and easily. Use them to draw attention to statistics, products, action steps, and other information.
- Include visual interest
To make the post more engaging or entertaining, include an image. Experiment with various image types to see what works best for your post.
If you don't already have an image, look for it in Flickr's Creative Commons section. Make sure to read the license so that you properly credit the owner for using the image.
- Conclude with a goal in mind
There are three effective methods for concluding a blog post:
- The first is to engage the reader in a conversation by asking questions at the end of the post. The questions you ask should be geared toward eliciting answers that are beneficial to your company and your audience.
- Second, you can include a call to action at the end of your post. Use a call to action to direct the reader to your desired destination.
- The third way to end a blog post is to provide the reader with an actionable takeaway that they can implement right away. For example, you could direct the reader to a website where they can obtain an ebook.
3. Remove Unnecessary Words
When you're satisfied that your post communicates what you want it to, read it from the perspective of your ideal audience. Take note of any passages that ramble and deviate from your topic as you read. Put your post on a diet and cut out any fluff obscuring your point.
4. Make Good on Your Title's Promise
Image is taken from Strikingly user’s website
Your blog post title should be SEO-friendly and appealing, as well as simple and easy for readers to understand at a glance. Beyond the standard "How to / Achieve / Improve" format, focus your title on something clear and direct. At the same time, keep in mind that your blog article must fulfill the promise of your title.
Blog Post Layout Designs
Before you begin writing, you must first consider a blog post template. Writing an excellent blog article is ideal for your skills, but it may go unnoticed if you don't have the appropriate representation. Your blog format template, structure, and tone are determined by the niche you've chosen and the audience you're trying to reach. Strikingly provides a plethora of free blog post templates to assist you in getting started with the design of your page. Your Blogspot must have a great design that is simple to navigate. This is not only for the user's benefit, but it is also crucial for your SEO. We've listed some of the most basic blog post templates below to help you get started.
1. List Post
A list post, as the name suggests, is a type of blog post that consists of several items on a list. When writing a blog post of this type, you can write about niches such as how-tos, strategies, tactics, tips, tricks, and so on. This format allows you to divide a large amount of information into smaller chunks, making it easier for readers to understand the context.
A list post must always include a set of actions that must be completed, making it SEO-friendly. Your blog title should include a specific benefit as well as a timeframe. For instance, your blog title could be '15 Ways to Prepare for a Job Interview.' Once you've finished with the title, write a catchy introduction that grabs your audience's attention right away. This format allows you to divide a large amount of information into smaller chunks, making it easier for readers to understand the context.
A list post must always include a set of actions that must be completed, making it SEO-friendly. Your blog title should include a specific benefit as well as a timeframe. For instance, your blog title could be '15 Ways to Prepare for a Job Interview.' Once you've finished with the title, write a catchy introduction that grabs your audience's attention right away. Furthermore, it should have an equally firm conclusion with a strong call to action (CTA) so that readers know how to contact you about the content.
2. Guide Blog Post
The beginner's guide blog is one of the most popular, if not the most popular, blog format examples. This comprehensive blog article allows you to guide beginners in understanding all of the talking points of a specific topic before learning more about it. There could be numerous topics to discuss, such as coding and web development. The title must indicate that it is explicitly intended for beginners. Regardless of the topic chosen, it must be distinct for the content to meet the reader's needs. For instance, the subject could be 'A beginner's guide to blogging' or 'A beginner's guide to playing tennis.' In the blog, you should explain why beginners should read your content. You must inform them of what they will learn so that they do not lose concentration.
Conclusion
If you want to create a free Blogspot, you can do so with a free website builder. Now that you've mastered the steps for creating a Blogspot website, it's time to get to work. Strikingly provides Blogspot features that are intuitive, simple to learn, and enjoyable. If you want to start your first blog with Strikingly, you must be aware of the sections, you must include. Strikingly, fortunately, offers a wide range of features and tools that meet common blog standards. A good blog post communicates its message by combining words with visual interest in a well-structured, easy-to-read format. Follow the guidelines in this article to begin writing posts that will capture and hold your readers' attention. When you're ready to take your blog to the next level, check out this useful resource on advanced blogging.
