How to write the perfect blog post

The basics of good content structure

 

Having a good structure to your content ensures that people will be able to read and understand your content more easily. Having a way to structure the creation of your content makes life easier for you too.

Step by step post creation guide

Step 1: Plan your post – choose the topic, research, outline the post.

 

After you’ve decided on your topic, you need to research to find your angle and any sources or stats you might want to reference. Use Google search and a keyword planner to decide on the best keywords for the post. Then outline your post making note of your key points in each section.

Step 2: Create a headline that’s informative and will capture readers’ attentions.

 

Headlines can make or break a post. The perfect headline is one which explains what the person will get from reading the post and pique their interest. Odd numbers are said to be psychologically more attractive, so if relevant, it would be good to include them. The ideal structure is;

 

Odd number + Superlative + Exact keyword phrase

Step 3: Get to work writing your post.

 

Whether you choose to work in sections or write the entire post in one sitting, it is up to you. The key here is just to write. Don’t edit as you go and if you make a mistake just keep writing.

Step 4: SEO 

 

The start of thinking about SEO comes right at the beginning of the post creation process. You need to establish your keywords before you start to write. Then you will keep SEO in mind when you’re writing your post to ensure you get the keywords in there. At the end of the post writing process it’s time to revisit SEO and make sure you have optimised the post for SEO to the best of your ability. Using Yoast (a WP plugin) is a good call as this really spells out what you need to do to your post.

Step 5: Add images

 

Images enhance your post. They improve its flow, can explain complex topics more easily and can even add humour. Research shows that content with visuals gets 94% more views.  You need to create a featured images, Pinterest pin, Facebook and Twitter optimised graphics.

Step 6: 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 and don’t be afraid to cut out text or adapt your writing at the last minute. You can also check that the headings are descriptive and are using the proper sizes ( H2, H3 etc). Make sure you have added the relevant internal links. You may cut down super long blocks of copy and add formatting such as bold, italics, bulleted lists etc. Then give it a final proofread.

Step 7: Promotion 

You need to have a system for promoting your posts. If you haven’t got a set promotion schedule it’s likely that you will forget to promote your posts on some platforms in the business of the day.

 

An example schedule might be:

• 1 x Facebook Share on the day the post is live.
• 20 x Twitter shares, one every 10 hours of so. Then if the post is evergreen you can reduce the frequency to approximately every 30 hours and leave it to run indefinitely (doing this is super easy with Social Oomph Twitter Unlimited package*)
• Add the post to relevant FB sharing groups.
• Pin to Pinterest then share to group boards/tribes (I use Tailwind* and BoardBooster*).
• Add to Stumbleupon.
• Post on Instagram (I use GRUM).
• Tease the post on FB live or Instagram Stories.
• You could even use Missinglttr* which quickly and easily creates a year’s worth of social media content. This is then dripped out for the next 365 days.

If you want a post creation checklist check out the bottom of this post.

 

Here are the main elements to well-structured content. 

The introduction

 

The first sentence of any article needs to be carefully crafted to catch attention. People should instantly be able to grasp what the gist of the article is just by reading the first sentence. Likewise, the first paragraph should elaborate on the first sentence and get people interested in reading the rest of the content.

Let them know what to expect

 

Before jumping into the bulk of the content, let them know what to expect in the rest of the content. This can be as detailed as “we’ll cover X, Y and Z now” to as simple as “here’s how to do X.” The most important thing is to prepare people to receive whatever you’re about to discuss.

Main talking points

 

Go through each of your talking points, one by one. Make sure to separate your content into easily digestible chunks. Don’t just write a 500-word article from top to bottom, but break it up into subsections and subheads (this is also important for SEO and readability).

 

Make sure that you word as much of your content in “what’s in it for you” terms. Users should feel like you’re speaking directly to them. It often helps to present a few different solutions, angles or opinions in your main points. The more theoretical your article is, the less likely they are to remember it a few weeks from now. Examples help take something that’s theoretical and turn it into something more concrete. People are much more likely to remember an example demonstrating a principle than just the theory.

The conclusion

 

The last paragraph of your article is the conclusion. The conclusion should sum up everything you have just shared. Plus perhaps reiterating the most important point. Sometimes it’s best to leave the user with a concrete piece of action they can immediate take at the end of the conclusion. At other times, the conclusion just wraps up the whole article nicely. If you’re selling a product, the conclusion is where you want to put your call to action. Tell people exactly what it is you want them to do. Be assertive and make sure to recap all the main benefits to them taking action now rather than later.

 

Following this structure will help give your users a good sense of what to expect from your article and keep them engaged as they’re reading. It’ll also make it easier for you to organise your thoughts into a coherent chronological order before you start writing.

 

Do you have any tips for post creation?

 

If you want to join my mailing list and get access to my epic Blogger’s Resource vault of cheatsheets and downloads (INCLUDING THE POST CREATION CHECKLIST) as a welcome gift, you can do that here.