7 Steps to Writing Your Best Blog Post Every Time
You stare at the computer screen hoping inspiration leaps out. How much time has passed since you started writing? Five minutes, an hour, maybe even two?
Your head hits the keyboard as you sigh in disbelief. How can this be happening again?
If this scenario sounds familiar, you’re in good company. Whether you’re facing writers block or a creative slump, creating compelling content can feel elusive.
The good news? While writing great blog content on a consistent basis can seem overwhelming, it is possible.
Just take a look at some of today’s most successful writers and authors. How did they achieve the status of the best and brightest?
Each one committed to honing their craft through consistent efforts. No matter if you’re a newbie blogger or looking to improve your next blog post, you’ve come to the right place.
Here you’re going to learn seven steps to writing a great blog post every time.
7 Steps to Writing Your Best Blog Post
STEP 1: Make it Convincing
The first paragraph of your post will be the deciding factor. To quote the musical group the Clash, the question on your reader’s lips is,
“Should I stay or should I go?” (click here for your blast from the past)
You have one chance to grab your reader’s attention. Don’t miss the opportunity to craft an opening to your blog post that seizes your their attention from the moment they land on your blog.
Copyblogger suggests you open your blog post with a bang:
- Ask a question.
- Share an anecdote or quote.
- Invoke the mind’s eye.
- Use an analogy, metaphor or simile
- Cite a shocking statistic.
The key is to write with your reader in mind. What will wow, excite, or encourage them? What about your post will speak to their pain, struggle, and frustration?
If you’re just getting started, take time to research. Look to your competition, influential bloggers, and those in your space that have built what you’re eager to create.
Take a look at their tone, style… the words they use (and don’t use). Is it resonating with their audience? If so, why? What about it connects with you?
The goal isn’t to emulate their blog, but to better understand what their audience (and yours) is looking for.
Now put your personality into your writing. You’ll never convince people if you don’t believe it. And the only way to believe in what you write is to have been there / done that. Sharing anything you haven’t actually done is, well… a fabrication or to be straight – a lie.
To captivate your audience, you’re going to have to be straight with them. A great example of this is Michael Hyatt. Not only does he speak from the heart, but from years of experience.
And it shows.
He’s empathetic, creating a mental picture of his audience’s struggle, letting them know that he gets it. And he has the solution.
STEP 2: Speak to an Audience of ONE
I speak a lot about the importance of knowing your niche and understanding the needs of your target market.
Rather than blasting your content out to a broad audience, you write with a very specific reader in mind.
Speaking to an audience of one means you embrace your core audience. You define who they are in detail.
Have you taken the time to consider what your typical blog reader enjoys reading and what answers they’re looking for when they visit your blog?
If not, let’s get you into the head and heart of the person you’re eager to connect with.
How to Identify Content for Your Core Audience:
- Put yourself in the shoes of your target market. What challenges do they face, what questions do they have, and what problems do you solve?
- What is your competition talking about? Does that seem relevant to your audience?
- Look to the Internet. Research keywords and phrases that your audience would type in if they were looking for your product or service.
- When you’re researching topics, think about the true intent of your audience. This is where you want to mix in traditional keyword research with the contextual search or actual intent of your reader. Put it in their words. (e.g. what someone would actually type into Google or ask Siri?)
The more time you spend researching, the better you’ll understand exactly what potential readers are looking for and how you can best meet their needs.
Social Media Examiner understands their audience and speaks solely to that group in their titles, copy, meta – every inch of their blog posts. No generalizations here.
This post answers the question, “How do I run a Facebook ad?” That’s the problem they’re looking to solve for their reader. When you land on the post, you see that they’ve identified the problem, empathized with the situation, and provided an immediate solution.
STEP 3: Keep it Focused
Stick to one topic per post. Be brief and informative, but always know your goals before you find yourself rambling and down an unrelated rabbit hole.
How to get started:
- Get clear by outlining the key points that will support your topic.
- Now flesh out those key points and express the why, what and how of your post.
- Write down – why your reader should care, what they will learn by reading your content and how this post will make their life/business easier or better.
- Finally, identify the most important takeaway that you’ll leave your readers with.
Seth Godin is the master of the set up and key takeaway. He guides you in and then leaves you with that aha moment. That moment of clarity where your mind shifts, eyes open, and the possibilities become endless.
Give your audience that same gift.
STEP 4: Make it Readable and Scannable
No matter the length of your post, it’s important to keep it scannable and readable.
Visitors are moving at the speed of light. Make it simple to quickly assess your article and topic.
Digital marketing influencer, Sam Hurley consistently writes an opening paragraph that leaves no doubt in the mind of the reader what:
- The article is about
- Why they need to read
- What they’re going to learn
The good news? You can do the same! Here’s a few tips to help you write better content, connect with your reader, and create an article that speaks to their pain.
- Stay away from technical terms or industry jargon that your typical reader (someone not working within your business) wouldn’t understand.
- Don’t use acronyms or other terms that make a reader question what they mean. If a reader can’t quickly discern what you’re message is, they’ll move on with the possibility of never returning.
- Format your post – use h1 through h6 heading elements, bold, italics, short and concise paragraphs, bulleted lists, graphics and other media to break up the post.
- Read through your post. Does it feel clunky or uncomfortable? If it doesn’t flow for you, it won’t for your reader either.
- Edit ruthlessly!
STEP 5: Give it a Great Headline
Your blog post title is similar to any marketing headline. Readers, just like consumers, make snap decisions based on your title or headline.
The goal is to draw them in through short, catchy and straightforward titles. You want your blog post title to incite interest and produce action, but only through an honest promise of what’s to come.
Tips to a Great Blog Title:
- Evoke emotion
- Personalize the content
- Solve a problem
- Simplify a process
- Encourage an action
- Take a stand
- Reveal a key strategy
- Offer unique insight and advice
- Make a promise your content keeps
- Set expectations
STEP 6: Make Sure its Shareable
The quickest way to create shareable content is to produce an eye-catching graphic. Not only will it help get your content shared, but images make an immediate impact.
Did you know:
90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000 times faster within the brain than text. Crazy, but true according to a study by 3M Corporation and Zabisco.
Encourage readers to share your content across multiple social channels by offering at least one branded image. What do I mean by this?
Steer clear of anything that reeks of a stock photo or doesn’t feel “on brand” for your business.
Peg Fitzpatrick, co-author of “The Art of Social Media,” suggests that you customize the size of your graphics to optimize the visual appeal on each platform. Here you can see she created an image that’s perfectly sized for Pinterest. (portrait vs. landscape)
The opportunity here is that every social network requires a different size image. If you’re ambitious and want to create a unique graphic for each social network, you can find those dimensions here.
If you’re not interested in spending an abundant amount of time sizing images on your own, use a tool like Relay to do it for you.
STEP 7: Tidy it Up
Always examine and tidy up your post before publishing. Eliminate any needless words or phrases. Keep it short and to the point, removing any adjectives or adverbs that only belabor a sentence.
Run it through spellcheck and if you don’t feel like sentence structure is your strength, hire a Virtual Assistant to review on your behalf.
Another tool I find extremely helpful is Hemingway. I aim for a 7-8 grade or readability score and always pay close attention to any use of passive voice or sentences that are hard to read.
*BONUS TIP*
Add a Persuasive Call to Action
You’ve written a great post and you’re ready to go live. Don’t hit that share button quite yet!
Make sure you’ve added your compelling call to action.
This should be the exact next-step you’re asking your readers to take. Whether it’s a subscription or download, give clear instructions.
You never want to assume they know what you want them to do.
Final Thoughts
A great blog post should inspire, encourage, motivate, and captivate your audience.
The goal is to give them a persuasive reason to return to your blog time and again.
Never miss an opportunity to write better content, speak to your exact reader, and be a beacon of trust that keeps your audience coming back for more.
Ready to improve your online marketing? Get the “Smart Guide to Marketing Your Business on Social Media!”
Great tips Rebekah! i have been searching for good tips to write a blog and this article helped m a lot. you have explained each and every point very clearly.
Thanks for sharing
These are the most valuable tips that every writers should follow before writing their blog article /post. Thanks for sharing. Just bookmarked this article for future reference.
Hello Rebekah Radice
i have a question about writing a blogs.
if i write a article and some content is copy from other blog then how can i manage that can not be a issue of copyright content .
please reply……..
I also have a personal blog but I have difficulty in building content, images, way of bringing people to my blog. Look forward to your sharing.
Very nice info.Thanks for providing this useful article.
Great write as usual. I love the CopyBlogger’s method especially with starting with a huge shocker or story line. Personally; I love story line best.
What a great article!. I am bookmarking it to read it again. It seems like a very interesting topic to write about. Your posts is really helpful for me.Thanks for your wonderful post.
Excellent article..very useful.thanks for sharing…
This articles covers all important topics . thanks for sharing knowledgeable post
Yes, I agree with this article. some tips to write best blog content are: Address a content to specific audience, Optimize the content to search and write some useful and informative quality content.
Thank you so much, Rebekah!
I love the way you make your blog posts interesting with fun jokes and appealing examples. Makes it so enjoyable to read.
Looking forward to much more to come!
Hi Rebekah,
What an insightful article. The steps you presented are amazing and very interesting. For example, writing to a a target audience like you’re writing to an individual person is a game changer because it gets to the core issues they trying to solve.
You identify that person’s problem and help with useful informative that’ll solve his problem. That’s remarkable. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Rebeka,
You have a nice blog and thanks for writing the helpful social media and blogging tips. Crafting the engaging content is indeed needed to reduce the bounce rate. And, hence we could get good SERPs. I’m following almost all of the tips that you have listed here, will follow the missed ones!
Hello, Rebekah!
Best post!
The headline is the first thing I invest a good amount of time on!
Because that’s the first item to grab the attention of the readers.
Now comes the body part of the content where too many aspects play the best role in keeping the readers interested.
I try best to keep it simple and interesting. Adding the story wherever possible does help me in getting my expected return out of my blog post.
And Hemmingway is my favorite tool as well. 🙂
Thanks for the best content, Rebekah! Happy to share it on my social life! 🙂
~ Adeel
Hi Rebekah, I love this ‘Speak to an Audience of ONE’. It’s definitely important to speak to one person and then you’ll end up connecting with many. I would add what keeps me coming back to a blog apart from the content is personality and tone of voice of the author.
Nice article Rebekah, your point are very useful.
Thanks, Roshan!
Hello Rebekah,
Great tips over here 🙂
You have explained all the points very well. Loved how you said ” make a promise that your content keeps” Indeed we can not
mis guide our clients or promise them what we doesn’t have.
Sharing is caring and people do like to share those which have great infographics. Videos pictures are now days trending.
People like to go through these rather than reading up a long blog post.
Thanks for the share.
Shantanu.
Today I read some of your blog posts, I found all are awesome, I subscribed to the newsletter and also follow you on Twitter. 🙂
Coming to this blog post. I loved this point “Use an analogy, metaphor or simile”. When I write I keep it clean, focused, everything that you mentioned in this post.
I want to add one more point, that to make it scannable. Adding bold, italic text and adding relevant images will again add more value to the post.
Thanks for sharing Rebekah 🙂
Good piece of writing. I agree on many insights shared, like, visuals have greater impact than the text but it is applicable more where readers are not at home in a particular language. Otherwise, it is also well proven concept that” text messages go into long term memories but visual impact is deleted by memory very soon because it is overlapped by other visual insemination. Our visual perception towards outer world is always stored in short term memories. Rebekah, I am citing an example for this. Remember the ideas or anecdote you read while you were a teenager or very young and also remember visual impacts( anything seen in a movie or TV) while you were of this age. I am 100% sure that you’ll clearly recollect the books/text you read.
Yes, people who have lethargic reading habits may have greater visual impact, especially females, but this impact is very short timed.
I have expressed my views about your insights . Kindly, don’t think that I am trying to converse against rather not conversing parallel to your views.
Hi Rebekah,
I am brand new to blogging and have just stumbled across this post now. Thanks so much for providing such a streamlined and simple structure that will help me focus. I will definitely be signing up for your emails/newsletters.
Take care xx
Awesome post Rebekah!
It looks like you definitely are applying your own proven advice! Because under tip # 5, tips for writing great headlines.
One of your ten excellent tips, you said to “make a promise your content keeps.”
And you’ve certainly done that and then some! You’ve written an excellent post Rebekah!
It’s extremely practical and full of lots workable strategies! It’s an excellent example of specifically what to do!Thanks!
Hi Mark! It is so important to tell your readers what they’re going to receive and then follow through with that content. Too often we see a bait and switch situation when it comes to marketing – whether it’s social media or blog content.
Glad to hear it was helpful!
Great work REBEKAH. Awesome post on having a best written blog post. Well points mentioned and explained.
One more point I would liked to add is that on concluding the blog content. Have a proper conclusion in the content – small summary of your post for quick revision. Adding the important points for the readers. So, that the whole blog could be summarized in the end.
Great tip Carolina! I agree. Tell people what they’re going to learn, provide that content and then reiterate what they just learned. It’s important to spell that out and also ask questions. Give your readers something to think about and then a reason to get engaged.
Loved this post!
Really working on the appearance of the way my post look. Love the design layout you use. Easy to the eye to read.
I’ve found when I include great images,infographics or videos I get more shares/engagement.
This was awesome!!!!
Thank you Michael! It really does help when you spend time on the layout of your post.
Structure makes a big difference in how long people stay on your blog and whether or not they’ll actually read the whole post through.
What a handy 7 step routine Rebekah. My only tweak would be to replace step #5 and make it step #1 based on your other excellent article that turned me on to AMI headline analyzer. Since everything starts with the headline! Unless you get the readers attention in those critical 2-3 seconds, they go poof!
Rebekah,
I am speaking at WordCamp Milwaukee in July about blogging. Is it OK, if I pull some quotes out of this post for my presentation?
Thanks!
Andy
Hi Andy! Absolutely go ahead and use any of the quotes you’d like as long as there’s attribution. I’d love to see your presentation when its done!
Hey Rebekah,
There have been quite a few times where I get on my computer and just stare at the screen for a few minutes, trying to think of what to write LOL… Eventually I came up with something, but I feel like I wasted some time.
Out of all the tips, number 1 is the one that I’m interested in. I never thought of making my blog convincing for readers to say, although I have been doing this! But the word “convincing” is a great word help many of us bloggers to spruce up our title and content!
Thanks for sharing!
It’s definitely a problem all writers share and one of the most frustrating to overcome. Can’t wait to see what “convincing” content you come up with! 🙂
Hello; as a blind computer user I do all my work with speech. so my number one suggestion is to always reread your post out loud before pressing publish. Its the best way to know if the post flows smoothly. And often hearing the words will help you eliminate unnecessary words or phrases. I often find duplicated sentences this way. And your suggestion about hiring an editor or a virtual assistant is a very good one. thanks for sharing these helpful suggestions. take care, max
Hi Maxwell! What a great recommendation. I read my posts out loud multiple times. I figure that if it doesn’t flow out of my mouth smoothly, it will be difficult to read and therefore, tough to understand or relate to.
Hi Rebekah,
It’s been awhile since I’ve been by.I saw your latest post on Adrienne’s blog so, I had to come by and check out this post.
I have Jon Morrows guide on how to craft a headline. That is a great tool to use when thinking about a headline.
At the urging of my coach, I have now started using original images. I think this makes a big difference when it comes to SEO.
My best tip for engagement on a blog post is be human meaning, don’t just give the facts but, put your experiences into the mix.
My belief is, it takes time to become a proficient writer and yes, the more you write the better you will become.
Thanks for all the tips and I like the way you write. Have a wonderful week ahead!
Geri
Hi Geri! Thank you so much for making your way back to my blog. I’m so glad you stopped by!
I would completely agree about original images. Not only do they help with SEO (because they receive more shares IMO), but they’re great for personal branding.
Hi Rebekah, Working on the sharing part. What is the plug in you use that shows the sharing totals? Bill
Hey Bill,
just thought I’d answer that question for you. The plugin is called Filament. It’s not your normal plugin as it works in conduction with the Filament website. The one plugin allows you to incorporate several features including the Share feature.
Hi Bill! The plugin is called Flare. I have tried multiple social share plugins over the years and have been incredibly happy with this one. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Hi Rebekah,
I really enjoyed the post! I have to say under Step 5, Make a promise Your Content Keeps, has been a major one for me lately. It is really frustrating when a headline draws me in and the content doesn’t even get close to what they have in the headline.
Headlines are the beginning of everything when marketing your post and I completely understand why you dedicated one of your Steps to it.
First time commenting but I will surely return!
Take care Rebekah…
Another great post, Rebekah! Checklists are so handy as simple, concise reminders of what should be included.
Hi Rebekah,
Very detail post.
Can you give me some suggestion.
I have blog about software coupon.
In blog post have two subheading.
1. Coupon
2. Review about software
What the best placement for above the fold?
Coupon first or Review.
Thanks,
Bambang Est
Although, we all know these tips but usually we miss some of them while writing a new post. However, writing a catchy headline do almost half of the job but still other points also equally important.
Well done Rebekah, Nice post!
If you use a “read more” tag – so that a list of current blog posts appears on our main blog page. This is great – but that bit you’ve isolated on the blog page needs to be a real hook that will get people interested and compel them to click the “read more” button. So don’t look at each post in isolation because that’s not what your visitors are doing – they’re looking at the blog page and reading your headline and that first little blurb – make sure that you’ve put the time into making each one of these blurbs a little gem.
This is a great post Rebekah and I immediately edited a post that I wrote earlier today to implement one of your ideas (start the post with a question)
My favorite tip was ‘speak to an audience of one’. It seems that one of the biggest mistakes you can make in marketing is to address too broad an audience. When you try to please everyone with your message, instead of attracting more people, you are likely to attract less. I am a firm believer that targeting your post to the type of client you most want to attract allows you to use language specific to their unique problems and goals. I think that too many bloggers are afraid that they will scare off people who don’t want what they offer. But that is a good thing 🙂
Well said as always Rebekah. I rarely struggle writing but if I do it’s because I’ve become distracted with other things and have to scramble to get a new post written. I really try to avoid that because as a result of the stress-factor it ends up taking me 3 times longer to come up with something worth printing. These days I normally write my posts in advance and then review them a couple of times before even adding them to my blog. Has made a HUGE difference. Thanks for the great tips!
Hi Rebekah. Wonderful post. I just finished a whole series on blogging, and I can never have too many tips. These are good suggestions – the only one I don’t think I’ll do is customizing the graphic for each platform. Maybe that will happen when I have a virtual assistant! Thanks for sharing this information.
All the best,
Leslie
Great tips/reminders! Fulfilling promises within the content is key. I love it when bloggers do this — and tune out when they don’t.
One tip I would add: Whenever possible, give your writing “soak time.” Write the draft, then let it “soak” for a day or two, or even for a few hours. When you do look at the draft again (with fresh eyes), you will often see rather quickly how to make it tighter, stronger, and better.
Adding in soak time also takes some of the stress out of writing, which makes the whole process more creative — and more fun. Writing should be FUN, yes? 🙂
I just LOVED this, Rebekah! Every bit of this is WONDERFUL. Thank you!
Thank you Lisa! So glad to know it’s a help to you!
Fabulous post! I really like the idea of writing to one person. If you try to be all things to all readers, you’ll fail. But if you speak to that guy right over there, you’ll hit home.
Exactly right Susan. As the saying goes..the riches are in the niches. Niche it down and know who you’re talking to.
Thank you for this great post, the thing is, I love writing, but my blog bounce rate is in the 80th percentile, I guess I am not a “good writer” I hope this tips will go a long way in improving my blog writing skills. I won’t stop writing until I get better doing it.
Nice points Rebeka, thanks for sharing…
Great checklist, Rebekah! Thanks!
Thanks for stopping by Gina!
Hi Rebekah,
Again you did an amazing work, Title and first paragraph of your blog post are very crucial and you should not take them lightly. Spend some time on research and come up with catchy title and engaging first paragraph and you would certainly see higher engagement.
Hi Rebekah,
Writing shareable posts, for an audience of one, makes your blog rock. Write for a single person. I imagine me in a room chatting with folks on a 1 to 1 basis before writing posts to get that personal touch.
Awesome tips!
That’s exactly how your writing feels Ryan. You do a great job talking directly to your reader!
Hi Rebekah,
Excellent article and one for pinning to use later that is for sure. In your opening you ask “How much time has passed since you started writing?” This is a rhetorical question, right? You don’t really want to know that I have had drafts sitting unfinished for ….. well, a long time. These tips will certainly be a help to stimulate me to push ahead, and great for those who are just starting out.
As far as other tips, I would suggest something like keeping it emotionally balanced. For myself, anyway, I find that posts that are too positive or too negative can be a bit of a drain. That could be just me of course.
Anyway, thanks again for such a great post.
Regards,
Michael
That’s a great suggestion Michael. We all have to find a balance, both in our blog post writing as well as our social media posts.
As far as your writing goes, glad I could be the kick in the pants you need to finish up a few of those posts sitting in draft. 🙂
Hi Rebeka,
What a great post and just what I needed right now. I’ve been having some slump weeks actually. I think everywhere I turn I’m tired of reading about the same old thing yet my mind isn’t pulling in new ways to livin up old news.
I just finished a huge course on top of running my business so I think I’m just tired. My brain is drained so my thinking cap isn’t up to par.
You know I read a lot of posts like this with suggestions and it’s just really hard for me to follow certain steps. I just have a different type of writing style I guess but it would probably be in my best interest if at least give some of this more thought and maybe it would help me get over my slump.
I do love your suggestions though. I had one guy insult my writing style last week but it didn’t phase me really. I am who I am and I don’t know, I ain’t doing so bad so let them say what they will. We can’t all be perfect right!
Hope you’re enjoying your week and thanks again for these great tips.
~Adrienne
I know exactly what you mean about feeling tired. Between running a company and trying to keep up with the amount of content coming at us, it’s a lot to take in (and create) on a daily basis.
And I couldn’t agree more with you about your writing style. I love your style and say…keep on doing what you’re doing because it’s obviously working!
Hey Rebekah
I devoured your post! LOL
“TIPS TO A GREAT BLOG TITLE:
Evoke emotion
Personalize the content
Solve a problem
Simplify a process
Encourage an action
Take a stand
Reveal a key strategy
Offer unique insight and advice
Make a promise your content keeps
Set expectations”
WOWZA – loved this in particular! You clearly are my favorite social media blogger, lady, and this article simply highlights your ability to be an ‘approachable expert’!
Love ya
Kitto
You absolutely made my day Kit! Thank you for such wonderful feedback – I truly appreciate you!
As Regi told, it is a great post as usual from you Rebekah 🙂
Thanks for revealing some extraordinary executable tips, will follow your writing ways & tips.
Speaking with readers by understanding them, stick to one point, formatting, adding attractive titles with adjectives are some of the strategies that am already following to write the best posts for my blog.
Keep sharing the splendid stuffs 🙂
Hi Nirmala! It’s great to hear you’re already using a few of these strategies. You’re doing a terrific job with your blog. Keep up the great work!
This is a real keeper and I’ve printed and made a checklist out of the points you’ve made. I’ve been paying more attention to Step 2 recently and identifying the persona I am trying to reach. This has honed the focus of my posts and kept me on track.
We’ve been getting feedback on our images too…when they are larger and branded they have much greater impact so that is a priority too now for every post to come.
Rebekah,
Great write as usual. I love the CopyBlogger’s method especially with starting with a huge shocker or story line. Personally; I love story line best 🙂
Edit ruthlessly is another excellent point. I guess it is important to ensure that everytime you edit, edit it more than once. My preference would be editing after finishing the post.
All in all, thanks for sharing thid great article.