Have you been wondering how to write a blog post that is stunning and attention-grabbing? How do you write a blog post that gives a lot of value to your readers?
I’ve been blogging since 2005 and found that blogging has become easier with a formula that works nearly the same just about every time.
I don’t have to second-guess what I’m doing. I know exactly what process to use and I go for it!
I want to share with you some of
If you like videos instead, I made one just for you!
How to write a blog post (in 12 steps)
1. Do a brain dump
The very first thing I do is a brain dump. I like to use my Hillsong planner. This one, in fact…
This is where all my organized posts go after I’ve dumped my ideas into a notebook. Any notebook. (Of course, I have a special Typo notebook I really like, but anything will work, really.)
Use your Google Docs, use Evernote, use whatever you need to.
The idea is to get all your blog post ideas down, divide them out by the month and week, then begin to tackle these ideas one by one.
You can write up one or several posts each week and load them into your WordPress dashboard to be scheduled out.
Before you do all of this, though, it’s a good idea to find related keywords and create an outline.
2. Use SEO in keywords
I like to use Google Keyword Planner to find which keywords people are looking for the most.
When I find a great batch of these, I make a list of them and use them liberally in future blog posts.
For example, for this post in particular I wanted to include one of these keyword phrases:
- write a blog
- write a blog post
- blog post
Why? Because after heading over to Keyword Planner and typing in “blog post”…
I find that there are between 1,000 and 10,000 searches for the phrase “writing a blog post”, and 10,000-100,000 searches for the phrase “blog post”.
Combined with a low competition, these key phrases are great picks for my future post ideas.
I keep a running list of keywords like these so that whenever I run out of post ideas I can always refer back to these.
Interwoven throughout your post, your keywords can really help to boost your blog SEO.
3. Consider your readers’ problems
Although I like to use Keyword Planner to grab keywords to boost my SEO, most of my ideas come from my audience.
If my reader has a problem I want to solve it- through my blog and podcast, my blogging courses, or my books.
Always consider your readers’ problems before you begin writing your blog post to make sure your writing helps them solve something.
4. Create an outline
Before I begin writing the body or “meat” of my post, I need to create an outline.
This helps me to shift my attention towards the specifics of what I want to cover in the post so that I’m not distracted in my writing.
I find that if I have an outline, I write faster and with more clarity. An outline gives me a clear focus on what I should be discussing in my blog post.
5. Type it up in your favorite editor
My favorite editor happens to be Google docs, but sometimes I write my posts directly within WordPress itself.
Figure out what system works best for you. An editor you really like can make all the difference for you.
Google docs is pretty easy for me. I type it up, then copy and paste it over to WordPress.
Typically, formatting stays the same, which is great.
6. Craft an attention-grabbing headline
It’s only after I’ve written my post that I usually come up with my headline. I do this for a number of reasons: mainly that it’s so much easier to know what to name a post after I’ve written it.
I like to use an online thesaurus to find strong adjectives like “bombastic”, “incredible”, “stunning”, “electrifying”. And, of course, I use these to make my title stand out.
You’ll want to write up a headline that attracts attention to your post content. It should make your reader want to read all the way through the post.
7. Format your post
Formatting is pretty simple.
First, you’ll start with a catchy title.
Then, make sure the body of your post has the proper amount of words. About 800-1,000 words or longer should be perfect.
Be sure to include headers (header 1, header 2) and so forth. For example, this particular paragraph section is called “Format your post”. (Do you see that above?)
It’s actually a Header 2 tag (H2), which allows Google to see it as an important piece of information to my blog underneath my Header 1 tag (the one at the very top that says “How to write a blog post (in 12 steps)”.
Be sure to include meta tags…
your focus keyphrase (the one you picked from Keyword Planner at the very beginning)…
and your meta description (which includes your keywords).
8. Create beautiful graphics
We always want our blog posts to look marvelous! How do I do that?
I use graphics.
My favorite graphics creator is currently Canva. I have used PicMonkey and even Adobe Photoshop, but I find that Canva has been so worth it for me.
I like Canva so much that I pay for the pro account monthly. It is easy to use, and super quick for me to whip out those graphics (a must if you’re blogging more than once a week).
These beautiful graphics don’t need to be hard to create. Use templates as a starting point and create one template that meets the needs of all your blog posts. All you need to do is tweak the wording and graphics each time.
These featured images are going to look marvelous on your blog and make your post more attractive. It will also be great for inviting pinners to share your work on Pinterest!
9. Use Grammarly and spell check
Spell check is my best friend…and next to that: Grammarly.
I have made my share of spelling errors in my blog posts, and it can be really embarrassing (especially if something is misspelled in a graphic, which is hard to go back and correct, by the way.)
Better to run the spell check before your readers do!
10. Link up to other posts
You’ll want to be sure to include loads of inbound and outbound links (here’s a tutorial on understanding how outbound links work).
Google loves a blog that is getting link juice from other blogs, but also that shares relevant content.
Be sure to always link to other blog posts within your blog as well as to outside sources that have relevance to your post topic.
11. Offer content upgrades
Lately, I’ve been offering more content upgrades with my posts- something I haven’t always done.
I really like doing this because it gives me an opportunity to go above and beyond and offer more than the typical to my readers.
Sometimes I offer a video (like in this post). Other times I offer a podcast.
And sometimes I offer a free printable or worksheet (like with my goals post.)
Figure out what you enjoy offering to your readers and upgrade your blog post. It gives your readers an incentive to read more and allows them to get to know you better.
You also have the opportunity to capture more information on your readers as they offer their email to have you keep in touch with them. In exchange for their email, you can offer incentives and upgrades.
12. Hit publish and share!
This is the best part of your post- publishing and sharing! Once you’ve completed the post it’s time to hit “publish”.
The best part for me is always sharing with others.
I like to spread the news on all my social media outlets- Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram.
Even if you don’t use all these platforms regularly, share our posts there anyway.
Then celebrate!
Writing a post is hard work and you deserve a celebratory pat on the back, so reward yourself. For every post completed.
