Sitting down to write a blog post can be frustrating.
If you don’t have a plan, you’ll end up staring at your blank Word document for hours, getting more unmotivated to write with every minute that passes.
Don’t let that happen. Use this post as a guide to writing better blog posts – even when it seems impossible. Let’s get started.
If you sit down to blog without a plan, you'll lose steam faster than you can imagine. Click To TweetChoose the right topic
I know that my blog posts aren’t going to get any traffic or engagement if I don’t pick the right topic. So, before I ever start writing, I think about what my target audience would likely find helpful.
If you aren’t sure how to determine this, think about what challenges your audience faces every day and what information they’d need to overcome those challenges. If you can give them that information in a well-written blog post, you can feel pretty confident that you’ve got a good topic.
Once you’ve decided on a topic, pick a working title to use. Don’t worry about getting it in final headline form just yet – we’ll get to that later.
Write an outline and gather resources
Before I start writing, I outline my blog post. Every.single.time.
Why?
Because it helps me organize my thoughts and gives me a good foundation to build off of.
To create an outline for you blog post, all you need to do is figure out what to use for your headers. Keep it simple at first – just write a header based on what each section is going to be about.
If you want, you can also add in some links to good resources and notes about what you’d like to include in each section. Doing so will help you remember your train of thought if you come back to write your blog post later on as opposed to writing it immediately after you create your outline.
Breeze through the first draft
Lots of writers are hardcore perfectionists (myself included). So, I totally understand that it can be tough to write a quick first draft that you aren’t proud of.
But you can, and should, do it anyway.
Just use your outline to guide the flow of your content, and write freely. And whatever you do, don’t stress about grammar and spelling errors at this point.
Tip: Try writing the introduction after you write the body content of your blog post. Sometimes, doing this makes it easier to create a cohesive piece.
Edit like crazy
Okay, now is the time for you to start editing and proofreading your blog post.
I start by reading my first draft. Then, I re-arrange the content to make the piece flow better, removing and adding content when needed. After that, it’s time to proofread.
But I’ll let you in on a little secret – sometimes, I don’t proofread at all. I outsource my proofreading to an editor, which helps me save the time I would normally spend obsessing over whether or not my blog post is perfect.
If you don’t know any editors, you can also use tools like Grammarly and Hemingway app to check your writing.
Write a seductive headline
Don’t think headlines are important? If so, what I’m about to say might surprise you.
On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest.
So, you can see why it’s important to spend a significant chunk of time creating a headline that piques the interest of your audience — you want to entice them to read the rest of your blog post.
Here are a few things you should include in your headline:
- The benefit that readers will receive from reading your blog post
- The subject matter of the blog post stated clearly
- A strong adjective that makes your headline stand out
Keep in mind that people often prefer list posts, reader-addressing posts, and “how-to” posts over other types of posts, so you may want to use one of those formats for your headline.
Write your blog post first and your headline second Click To TweetSee – writing a blog post doesn’t sound so painful now, does it?
Use this easy process every time you blog, and you’ll find yourself writing faster and better than ever before.
What process do you use when writing blog posts? Share in the comments below!
