How to write a blog post in 2022 - A beginner’s guide

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Blogging is an excellent way to build an online presence and share your passion with the world. However, writing a blog post for the first time can feel like a challenge, especially for those without any prior blogging experience.

It’s essential to have a clear goal and strategy in mind when drafting a blog post – this will help save time, create better content, and reach potential readers faster.

In this article, we’ll guide you through the steps on how to write a blog post and showcase some blog post ideas to get you started.

What is a blog post?

A blog post is a piece of content that you publish ona blog. It can contain various media files which accompany the text, such as videos, images, and infographics.

Blog posts are the most effective form of content when compared to ebooks, email, and white papers. That’s why many businesses place blogs as one of their primary marketing efforts when trying to generate leads with minimal effort and expense.

There are other benefits of creating blog posts, such as:

What exactly makes a good blog post?

One of the characteristics of a good blog post is that it addresses and solves readers’ problems. In other words, it should provide helpful information and valuable takeaways that motivate readers to take action.

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Here are some other traits of a good blog post:

Getting started with writing blog posts

Now that you know the characteristics of a great blog post, it’s time to create informational and engaging content.

Here’s how to write a blog post in ten simple steps:

1. Pick your niche and understand your audience

The first step of creating a blog post is to choose a niche – it’s a specific area to center your content in.

Many new bloggers overlook this process and write blog posts about different topics. As a result, it can be hard to have the blog stand out from the competition and have readers coming back.

A Couple Cooksis an example of a blog that uses food as its topic and focuses on sharing knowledge and recipes specifically for home cooks as its niche.

Consider picking a niche thatyou’re passionate about. It helps to keep you stay motivated and makes you less likely to run out of ideas.

To pick the right niche, start bymaking a listof your hobbies and topics you know the best or enjoy learning and reading about. Then, useGoogle Trendsto see which idea is stable or rising in popularity – it’s better to choose one that can stay relevant for years.

Once you figure out the niche of your blog, it’s time to define atarget audience– a group of people who are most likely to resonate with your blog posts.

If you’re unsure how to determine your target audience, try using social listening tools likeTweetDeckandAwario. These websites can help you identify demographics that consistently talk about topics related to your niche on social media.

2. Choose your domain name

Adomain nameis the web address that people type in their browser to access a website. It’s also part of site branding, helping your blog stand out from the others.

Your blog domain name will most likely stay the same for a long time and changing it later might affect a site’s search engine optimization (SEO). Thus, make sure to choose a name carefully beforebuying a domain name.

Here’s how to pick the best domain name :

Once you get a domain name, make sure to check its availability using a free tool likeWhoIS. It also lets you see the website address’s history, preventing you from using a domain that might have been linked to a malicious website in the past.

Before using a domain, you will need to register it with adomain name registrarthat ICANN authorizes. The price of a domain can start anywhere from$1.49/year, depending on the extension.

3. Choose your CMS and hosting platform

Once you find the best domain name for your blog, you will most likely want to pick a CMS to build your site with.

A content management system (CMS) is software with a graphical user interface that allows users without technical knowledge to create, manage, and modify blog content.

WordPressis one of the best and most popularcontent management systemson the market. This platform is free to use and easy to set up, making it an excellent choice for new bloggers.

Before creating a WordPress blog, it’s necessary to purchase aweb hostingservice to store its content and make the site accessible online.

A hosting serviceshould have all of the necessities for running a blog quickly and easily, such as a one-click WordPress installer, intuitive control panel, and a stable and fast server speed.

Some popularWordPress hosting providersto consider areHostinger,Bluehost, andInMotion Hosting. Aside from providing all features needed to start a blog, these companies also offer cost-effective starting plans and reasonable renewal prices.

4. Chose your blog’s theme

The next step to do is to pick a theme, which is a file that contains a pre-made layout. With a blog theme, users can build a site quickly without having to start from scratch.

Using a fitting and intuitive theme is crucial since it can affect visitors’ first impression of a site. It only takes them0.05 secondsto determine whether to leave or stay on a blog.

If you use WordPress, theWordPress official directoryhas over 8000 free themes to offer. However, some of these templates lack functionality, making premium themes a more attractive choice for websites that require complexity.

There are many third-party marketplaces that offerpremium WordPress themes, such asThemeForestandTemplateMonster.

Choosing one from thousands ofWordPress themescan be overwhelming. Thus, it’s good to have specific criteria to look for in a template.

Some of the essential aspects that a blog theme should have are:

After choosing a blog theme, modify the look to match your brand or content. For instance, if your blog posts involve fun or casual topics, consider using a bold color scheme or colorful illustrations and animations to liven your site.

5. Choose a writing topic

Before you write a blog post, it’s essential to determine potential writing topics. This process can prevent writing blog posts about subjects that nobody is searching for.

A great way to find some topic ideas is to dokeyword research– this will help find topics that are easy to rank.

Start by making a list of five to 10 relevant terms based on your blog niche. Then, enter those terms into akeyword research toollikeAnswer The PublicorKWFinderto see each keyword’s search volume and search results number.

Before choosing a keyword as a blog post topic, consider these aspects:

6. Work on a headline

Once you find a topic, it’s time to write out a headline or a post title – it’s the first thing in a blog post that people will notice.

Having a great headline helpsconvince visitorsto click and read your content. It also has a significant impact on SEO.

To make readers interested in your articles, try to avoid vague headlines that are confusing. Instead, make the titlesspecificandget to the pointfast, helping the audience know what to expect from the content.

ThisBuzzfeed articleis an excellent example of a headline that clearly states the essential points the content will be about:

If you don’t know how to start writing headlines, consider, finding, testing, and tweaking differentheadline formulasto figure out which one works best for you.

Also, make sure to utilize these practices to create a headline that can grab the reader’s attention:

7. Prepare an outline

The next step before you can begin writing is to create an outline – the basic structure of a blog post.

Preparing an outline helpsovercome writer’s blockand allows for the planning out and arrangement of ideas, keeping the article focused and on-point. Having a guide makes the writing process quicker and more efficient than starting from a blank page.

Before outlining, do aGooglesearch on your topic and look at the section headers within the top-ranking articles. Then,pick the most helpful and relevant sectionsto include in your outline.

Once you have a list of potential sections, startcreating bullet pointsof all the ideas you want to add under each section. Use a writing tool likeGoogle Docsto write down your notes and complete the outline.

The last process is toensure that each of the points is relevantto your topic and eliminate additional information that doesn’t fit the scope of your article. Also, remember to arrange all sections and points into a logical order to make the writing flow better.

When preparing an outline,place data and factssupporting your ideas underneath each section. Doing this can save you time when writing the article.

8. Write the blog post based on your outline

Now that you have an outline, it’s time to use it as a guide and start writing your first draft.

When writing a blog post, it’s essential tokeep the word count in mindsince the length of a post can affect your SEO. Google tends to rank lengthy posts higher on search results, so try to produce an article with at least2,100-2,400 words.

To create a great blog post, refer to these blog writing tips:

If you’re stuck on a specific section when writing a draft, feel free to put it aside and move to another section. This process can help you push through the mental block, providing a fresh perspective when you come back to it.

9. Edit your post

Editing your first draft is a crucial step of the writing process. You shouldn’t just fix the grammar and sentence structure, but also make the article more engaging and appealing.

However, self-editing can be challenging. Consider asking a friend to do this process – someone with a fresh pair of eyes might help spot any overlooked issues or errors. Alternatively,hire an editorto give you feedback and make edits for you.

If you prefer to do the whole process yourself, use this checklist to start editing the blog post:

10. SEO optimize your blog post

The last step before publishing your new blog post is to optimize it for search engines. Blog posts that rank high on search engine results pages (SERPs) can bring more traffic to the website.

There are many important on-page SEO practices that will make a blog post rank high on search results. One of them, for example, is compressing images– reducing the size of pictures can improve page load times, which is one of the ranking factors.

Here are more tips on how to optimize blog posts for SEO:

Blog post ideas to get you started

There are many blog post ideas to consider for your first article. One of the most common ones isthe ultimate guide post, which provides steps to solve readers’ problems.

Below is an example of an ultimate guide post byGamesIndustry.biz, which shares some methods on how to sell indie games.

Here are other content ideas to try:

How to write a blog post

Blog posts can help you reach a wide demographic, turn visitors into loyal readers, and establish yourself as an expert in the industry.

High-quality content usually comes with valuable takeaways that are able to solve readers’ problems. It also has a unique tone, sparks discussion, gets to the point, and features good flow.

It’s easy to craft an awesome blog post if you have a clear goal to achieve and a plan to guide you through the writing process.

Here are the steps on how to write a blog post:

If your goal will be to produce valuable and engaging content for the readers, traffic and high search engine rankings will follow naturally.

Désiré has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He dabbled inwebsite buildersandweb hostingwhen DHTML and frames were in vogue and started narrating about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium.

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