by Are you a new blogger looking for tips on how to create the best blog posts possible, or a seasoned blogger simply looking to improve? Well in this article, I’m going to show you how to create a great first blog post for beginners and how to master your blog post writing skills in 2021.
How to write better blog posts in 2021
Prefer video? Watch instead of reading here:
Firstly, you might be wondering why you should listen to my advice when it comes to writing blog posts.
Well, I’ve been writing blog posts for 10 years and I’ve been a content marketer for four of those. So I’m armed with the knowledge and expertise on how to write blog posts for your reader and for Google too. So if you’re ready, let’s start from the very beginning.
Come up with your topic and find the right keywords
Before you start putting together your blog posts, you’ll want to have a topic or idea in mind for your blog post. I’ve gone into this subject in detail in a previous post. But the general idea is to make sure that your blog post topic is something your reader absolutely wants to read.
If you need help with this, have a read of this previous article: How To Come Up With Blog Post Ideas Your Audience Wants To Read
Once you have your topic idea, you’re going to want to find a keyword to match that topic. This is a very important step, no matter the size of your blog. So it’s worth getting right from the get-go.
If you’re new to the term, a keyword is a string of words people use to search on Google. So for example, if I’m looking for tips on how to prevent burnout as an introvert, I would search in Google something like introvert burnout. Introvert burnout is then the keyword or string of keywords.
And there’s something else to note here. Not all keywords are created equally. Some keywords are very hard to rank for and others are much easier.
See my previous post for researching the best keywords to use for your blog posts: My Personal Strategy for Doing Keyword Research for Your Blog Posts
Think about the reader and what they want to gain
There are a few more things you want to consider when writing the best possible blog posts and one of those is the reader.
Think about why somebody would search for that keyword or click on that blog post title. What are they looking to gain from reading that blog post?
This should inform the content you put within the blog post itself. You need to answer those questions.
Set a goal for each blog post you write
If it makes it easier, set a goal for each blog post you write. What do you want the reader to have achieved by the end of it? It could be anything from having that aha moment to achieving something that they can implement with ease.
Once you have this in mind, you’ll be able to structure your blog post to lead the reader to that goal. So let’s take a look at an example.
When writing posts for Limit Breaker, I usually want the reader to take away a bunch of tips to help them reach a goal. So I break my articles up into steps to walk them through it. Each step is easy to read and practical, leading them to a conclusion, and hopefully having some really useful advice to take away with them by the end of it.
For you, this doesn’t have to be steps, but it could be a journey you take the reader on to get to the end goal.
Put together your post structure
This brings me to my next point. Structure. I used to write blog posts by emptying whatever was in my brain down on paper. But this doesn’t really work to your benefit unless you’re okay with editing and rearranging all your thoughts into something usable by the end of it.
Instead, what I recommend doing is creating a really basic structure for your blog post and then bulking it out with everything you actually want to say.
As a reminder, we want to:
- Answer our reader’s questions,
- Solve a problem for the reader,
- Or have a goal we want the reader to reach.
Your structure should then be tailored around that.
Think of it like teaching a lesson. If you were teaching a lesson on your topic of choice, how would you structure it to lead your student to that end goal?
Catering for different types of reader
So let’s assume you have your chosen topic, keyword, title, and structure already laid out. Next comes the important bit, catering to different kinds of readers.
There are generally three types of reader:
- The skimmer,
- The skipper,
- and the information junkie.
So let’s cater for each of these in your blog post.
The skimmer
The skimmer will skim the entire article just to get the key bits of information.
So to make sure your article is readable to them, you’ll need to include:
- Titles or subheadings to break the content up,
- Bullet point lists for easy, digestible information,
- and bold text to highlight important points.
The skipper
Next, the skipper will scroll right down to the bottom of the article, read the outcome, and then decide if they want to read the rest of the article.
So to cater for this type of reader and make sure that they go back and read the rest of your article, you’ll want to include:
- A sentence at the beginning of the article indicating what they’re going to learn.
- A sentence at the end of the article recapping what the reader learned in the article.
The information junkie
Lastly, the information junkie is a big reader. They will consume every bit of your content, but they’re also very rare.
Don’t let this one pass you by though. The information junkie may be a big reader, but this doesn’t mean they won’t get bored or leave your article if they’re not getting what they want.
To make sure this type of reader is feeling fulfilled you’ll need to include:
- Adding images to break up and give a visual break for the reader.
- Make sure your content isn’t wordy is well-edited and gets to the point.
- Make sure the language you use is simple even if your topic of choice is not.
Now, you may feel that’s all a little overwhelming, but you don’t need to be perfect about it. Creating the best possible blog post takes time and practice. It’s a skill you need to craft.
A brief point on search engines
So let’s visit briefly making sure your blog post is good for search engines.
Catering for your human readers should be priority number one, but search engines aren’t far behind.
Remember earlier when we talked about picking your keyword? Well, this is where this comes into play.
Google, as a robot, needs to understand why your post is worth ranking high. But it can’t do it alone. You need to give it a helping hand when you’re writing your blog post, because Google only sees letters and numbers.
So your post needs to give Google everything it needs in a very particular way.
The things you need to do to help rank in Google include:
- Add the keyword to your blog post title (this doesn’t have to be in the right order or right next to each other).
- Include the keyword throughout the post, but not too much.
- Include the keyword within subtitles throughout your post, wherever it’s actually appropriate.
- Add the keywords to the alt tags of images within the post.
- Include it within the meta description of your blog post.
When it comes to creating better blog posts, all it takes is a bit of practice and a little understanding of how search engines consume content and readers too.
Then, before you know it you’ll be creating content that not only helps your readers but grows your business at the same time.
So tell me in the comments, will you be implementing any of these tips into your next blog posts?
Featured image by JESSICA TICOZZELLI
