FIVE STEPS TO WRITE AN EFFECTIVE BLOG POST

Are your blog posts not converting as well as you’d like them to? Want to know the secrets of how to write a blog post that converts? 

You see, most people that visit your blog post usually leave without reading it all the way through.

And the worst part is that an even larger percentage of people who see your blog post whichever social media platforms you use never even click on it.

You really only have 2–3 seconds to grab your user’s attention, convince them to click, and actually read your blog post.

So how do you make sure that your content marketing efforts aren’t going to waste? Well, you follow these 5 tips, and we promise it’ll help you write blog posts that convert.

Five easy steps to write a blog post

1. Step 1: Plan your blog post by choosing a topic, creating an outline, conducting research, and checking facts.
2. Step 2: Craft a headline that is both informative and will capture readers’ attentions.
3. Step 3: Write your post, either writing a draft in a single session or gradually word on parts of it.
4. Step 4: Use images to enhance your post, improve its flow, add humor, and explain complex topics.
5. Step 5: Edit your blog post. Make sure to avoid repetition, read your post aloud to check its flow, have someone else read it and provide feedback, keep sentences and paragraphs short, don’t be a perfectionist, don’t be afraid to cut out text or adapt your writing last minute.

 

 Step 1

 

•  Choosing a topic
  

First, a disclaimer – the entire process of writing a blog post often takes more than a couple of hours, even if you can type eighty words per minute and your writing skills are sharp. From the seed of the idea to finally hitting “Publish,” you might spend several days or maybe even a week “writing” a blog post, but it’s important to spend those vital hours planning your post and even thinking about your post  before you actually write it. Before you do any of the following steps, be sure to pick a topic that actually interests you.

• Write an Outline

Great blog posts don’t just happen. Even the best bloggers need a rough idea to keep them on-track. This is where outlines come in.

An outline doesn’t need to be lengthy, or even detailed – it’s just a rough guide to make sure you don’t ramble on and on about something tangential to your topic.

The purpose of this outline is to make sure I know what I plan to cover, in what order the various sections will appear, and some bare-bones details of what each section will include.

Outlines keep you honest. They stop you from indulging in poorly thought-out metaphors about driving and keep you focused on the overall structure of your post.

• Conduct researches

 Truth be told, sometimes we don’t know anything about a topic before we sit down to write about it.

This doesn’t mean that all bloggers are insincere fakers. On the contrary, many bloggers’ natural curiosity is what makes them great at what they do.

If you’re relying on third-party information to write your blog post, choose authoritative sources. Official associations, government websites, heavily cited research papers, and preeminent industry experts are all good examples. Nobody is right all the time, though, so approach every source with a the practiced skepticism of a journalist and question everything until you’re positive your information is solid.

 

 Step 2

 

•  Writing a Great Headline

Vague headlines might work just fine, but for most of us, being specific is better.

There are two main approaches you can take to writing blog post headlines. You can either decide on your final headline before you write the rest of your post , or you can write your blog post with a working title and see what fits when you’re done.

Sometimes I’ll come up with a strong headline from the outset and stick with it, whereas other posts will take a lot more work.

 

 Step 3

 

•  The Writing Part

So, you’ve done your research, settled on a headline , now you’re ready to actually write a blog post.

Even if you work more effectively in short bursts, try to maximize the amount of writing you get done in those sessions. The more times you have to revisit a draft, the more tempting it is to add a little here, and a little there, and before you know it, you’ve gone wildly off-topic. Get as much done as you can in a single sitting even if you prefer to draft a blog post over three or four writing sessions.

Like most skills, writing becomes easier and more natural the more you do it. When you first start, you might find that it takes a week (or longer) to write a post, but with practice, you’ll be knocking out great posts in hours. Unfortunately, there are no “hacks” or shortcuts when it comes to writing – you have to put in the time at the coalface.

 A lot of people struggle with writing introductions. A great strategy is to write the introduction last.

 

 Step 4

 

 Using Images Effectively

 

 

Oftentimes, people simply don’t have the time, will, or ability to focus on lengthy blog posts without some visual stimulation. Even a well-formatted blog post consisting solely of text is likely to send your reader screaming back to Reddit or Twitter within minutes, which is why it’s so important to include images in your posts.

One of the most important reasons to include images in your blog posts is to break up the text. Many people scan blog posts rather than pore over every word, and interspersing images throughout the copy will make your post seem less intimidating and more visually appealing.

 

 Step 5

 

•  The Editing Part

Actually editing a blog post is harder. Many people mistakenly assume that editing is simply striking through sentences that don’t work or fixing grammatical errors. Although sentence structure and grammar are both very important, editing is about seeing the piece as a whole and, sometimes, being willing to sacrifice words (and the hours it took to write them) for the sake of cohesion.

• Avoid Repetition

Few things are more jarring to read than repetition of certain words or phrases. Once you’re done with the first draft of your blog post, read through it and check for words that can be replaced to avoid repeating yourself.

• Read Your Post Aloud to Check Flow

This is a trick that many writers learn in workshops. If a piece reads awkwardly out loud, it will probably read awkwardly in your reader’s mind. It might seem a bit weird, but force yourself to read your post aloud to check for wordy bottlenecks or contrived sentences. Find yourself struggling with the flow of a sentence? Rework it until it rolls off your tongue.

• Keep Sentences Short and Paragraphs Shorter

Nothing will intimidate or outright anger a reader faster than huge walls of text. It’s a common mistake for inexperienced bloggers to make, and one I see far too often in a lot of online articles.

Sentences should be as short as possible. They’re easier to read, making your audience’s job easier. Shorter sentences also reduce the likelihood of going off on tangents.