Although it may seem like writing a blog is a simple process, copywriters and marketing experts all know how particular the process really is. From choosing the right topic to writing it in a way that’s easy to understand and captures reader attention, learning how to write a great blog takes practice.
In case you’re eager to get started on your first fantastic blog, we’ve created this helpful guide. From picking the right title to optimizing it for search engine results, you’ll find everything you need right here. Let’s dive in!
Choosing a Topic and Outline
The first step in your blog creation process is clear: you need to define a topic and what you’re going to say about it. For some, this may be easy because you know exactly what you want to write about and share with your audience; others, however, might struggle to pin down exactly what their idea should be.
Regardless of if you have already have your idea, following these steps is a great way to ensure you start off on the right foot with the blog creation process:
Pinpoint your audience: to write a blog that your audience will be interested in, you first need to figure out who your audience is–and this can be more complicated than it seems. Determine their interests and their problems and, most importantly, how your blog will either fit within their interests or answer a problem they’re having.
Be honest with your experience and knowledge: writing a blog about a topic doesn’t mean you need to be the absolute expert on the topic, but it does require a certain level of knowledge and familiarity with terms to be able to communicate your ideas with readers.
Consider what’s already out there: depending on the topic you choose, it’s a real possibility that there are already quite a few articles out there that already cover the subject. To create unique content that truly brings value to the reader, it’s important to review existing content and see what you can create that has something that others don’t.
Once you have your topic decided, you can begin to outline your blog post, summarizing the major points you want to hit. Although you might be eager to just start writing, this step is crucial to ensuring that your blog flows and covers all the major points. While creating your outline, make sure you pick headers and subheadings that make it easy for the reader to follow your ideas. In addition, your blog needs to have a call to action (CTA) at the end that connects your reader back to the initial purpose of your article.
Depending on your product or service, or your intention behind writing the blog, this CTA could be a link to other websites with additional information or your products so that readers are able to explore further.
Writing a Blog Post
When beginning to write your blog post, it’s important to make sure you have a clear audience in mind so that you’re able to adjust your tone and difficulty level. For example, if you’re writing a how-to guide for users who aren’t that familiar with tech, you’ll need to bring the explanations and terminology to a very basic level. On the other hand, however, if you’re writing a post for experienced users, you can feel free to use advanced terms and concepts to match their knowledge.
In addition, keep these tips in mind when writing:
Less is more: repeating yourself or adding in extra words will just confuse or frustrate the reader; focus on getting right to the point and providing valuable information with every word you write.
Grammar is important: trust is communicated through your writing for blog posts and if your article has mistakes, audiences will be less likely to entrust you with their business. Commit to editing with a fine tooth comb and producing flawless content.
Formatting is important: in addition to writing clear and informative sentences, you’ll need to present the information in a visually appealing manner; use bullet points to break up major points, or bold the main takeaways you want your readers to have.
Conducting Keyword Research
You want potential users to be able to find your blog, right? Well, that comes from effective and properly executed keyword research. Tools like SEMrush or Google Keyword Planner can help you find the major keywords that people are searching for within your area of expertise and even suggest ways to incorporate them into your content.
Keyword research isn’t a one-and-done kind of situation; you’ll have to continually review search trends to see what users are searching for and update your content accordingly, ensuring that it continues to provide value to the user.
Once your keyword research is completed, it’s time to incorporate the relevant keywords into your content through intentional optimization, such as:
Including keywords in titles, meta descriptions, subtitles, and alternate image tags to ensure your content ranks high.
Using headers to separate your content and make it easily readable by search engines helps make sure it’s shown to the right audience; take advantage of different headers (H1, H2, H3) to create a well-structured blog post.
Linking to internal sources can help your authority on the subject matter; when needed, you can also use external links to attribute credit to the sources you used to create your post.
Updating your content regularly to reflect the latest search trends and updates in the field will also help your overall search ranking over time.
With these tips in mind, you’ll be well on your way to success. Blog writing doesn’t have to be intimidating–you got this!
Further Resources
📰 The Best Tools Digital Marketers Use in 2024
📰 Tools Marketers are Obsessed With Today
📰 5 Tips for Building a Successful Digital Marketing Career
📰 Content Marketing: What is it?
📰 Advice for Marketers of the Future
About the Author:
Juliette Carreiro is a tech writer, with two years of experience writing in-depth articles for Ironhack. Covering everything from career advice and navigating the job ladder, to the future impact of AI in the global tech space, Juliette is the go-to for Ironhack’s community of aspiring tech professionals.
