Overwhelmed, intimidated, doubtful – are these emotions familiar to you as you think about how to write a blog post? If yes, you aren’t alone and are at the right place to seek a safe space and a practical solution to your feelings.
Stringing words together to create a blog post, an article, or any written content sounds easy, but it isn’t always easy. Because blogging is a nuanced effort, it’s a skill you hone over time, and subpar efforts will not yield results.
Quality of content is considered the most important success factor for blogs. So learning what adds quality to your content is the crux of blog writing.
Furthermore, the internet is filled with resources that tell you to do ten different things to write effectively. But these ten things change with whatever is trending. All this information can be confusing, especially if you are new to blogging or are trying to improve your writing skills.
We’ve all been there. So breathe; it’s okay!
We’ve written this blog as the one-stop solution to help make your blog writing journey better. We will walk you through how to write a blog post, with relevant blog writing examples, and do it in a way that will set you up for success.
Whether it’s your first blog or first post ever, you want to learn how to make your writing more engaging or even understand the structure of a blog better to get more results from your blogging efforts; we’ll tell you all about it.
So, let’s dive in and learn a few things about blog post writing in this ultimate guide.
What is a good blog post?
Blog posts and articles are believed to be the most effective in moving leads from awareness to the consideration stage by 77% of marketers.
Therefore, you must write helpful content to see this movement in your customer funnel. A great blog post has a clear intent; this comes from understanding your target audience and knowing what they want to read. Once you understand who you are writing the blog post for, you can think from their perspective and understand their pain points.
Besides this starting point for blog writing, here are other factors:
- Keywords
- Good hook
- Clear and concise language
- Readability
- Engaging writing
Well-written content transforms your content from a blog to a good blog that ranks on search engines and reaches the right audience. Check out these blogging tools to make your work easy.
How to write a blog (Tips + Examples)
As content strategist Jonathon Colman, who works for Facebook once told: “Start with empathy. Continue with utility. Improve with analysis. Optimize with love,” said Ann Handley, a writer and a digital marketing pioneer.
This is the essence of writing a blog – moving from one stage to another, learning and evolving along the way. And there’s a lot of power in these simple but powerful steps. For example, Buffer, the social media management SaaS company, grew its traffic to 1.5 million monthly sessions between 2011 and 2017 through content.
So whether you are learning how to write a blog for yourself to kickstart your blogging career or want to set up a blog for your business, follow these steps.
1. Find your target audience
The first step in learning how to write a blog post is understanding who you are really writing blog posts for.
What is a target audience?
A target audience is the specific group of individuals a business or blog tries to reach with its content, products, or services.
This group is usually defined based on various factors, including demographic information, interests, location, and needs.
When you understand the needs of your target audience, you create more relevant and valuable content that generates higher engagement and conversion rates.
To identify who they are, here are some questions to ask yourself:
- What is their age group?
- What is their location?
- What is their job title?
- What are their pain points?
- What are their hobbies?
- What do they care about most?
- What kind of content would they like to consume?
For example, let’s assume you run a business with a social media listening tool.
Your ideal customer is a social media manager who handles multiple accounts for a brand, is creative, looks for a fun approach to content, and needs a tool to keep track of online conversations.
By analyzing such information for your brand, you will know what kind of content you should create and what pain points to address.
2. Brainstorm blog post ideas
Once you figure out who your audience is, brainstorming ideas for blog topics is the next step in understanding how to write a blog post. Here are some steps to help you find the right ones:
Find out your most successful blogs
Look at your company’s/competitor’s most successful blogs; you can access this data using SEO tools like Ahrefs. These blog posts are successful because they resonate with your target audience or provide a solution. These blogs contain content about the customer’s perspective instead of bragging about the product.
Use Google search console to find relevant topics
In the Performance section of the search console, look at the data on user queries, impressions, and click-through rates. Identify long-tail keywords with niche potential and analyze the performance of your blog pages to discover successful topics.
You can also stay updated on emerging search trends through the Search Analytics section to find topics that engage your audience.
Check out discussion platforms like Quora and Reddit
Look at the popular questions and discussions relevant to your industry and product on Quora and Reddit. Observe how users engage with questions relevant to your niche, noting which questions/comments receive the most upvotes or likes.
Check out social media and look at relevant hashtags
Social media is essential in finding suitable topics for blog posts. Make a list of potential hashtags in your industry related to your brand – now look them up on social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn. After sifting through some noise to find the right content, you will understand the content for the hashtag used when your target audience potentially uses it.
Google Trends
Utilizing Google Trends can help you discover highly engaging blog topics currently trending and relevant to your target audience.
To effectively use Google Trends, enter keywords or topics related to your blog's niche. Analyze the search interest over time, explore related queries and topics, and identify recurring or seasonal patterns. Pay attention to the regions and subregions where the topic is most popular to tailor your content accordingly.
Use AI for blog topic ideas
Chatsonic is a generative AI tool that can be your buddy while finding blog topics. You have to ask the questions on your mind, and you will get answers that might surprise you.
Viola! Isn’t this a great starting point to identify your blog topics?
3. Refine your topic with keyword research
Keyword research is crucial in creating blog posts that resonate with your target audience and gain visibility. To do this well, use keyword research tools such as Answer the Public, Ubersuggest , or Google Keyword Planner to find relevant keywords specific to your blog's topic.
Strike a balance between search volume and user intent, considering broad keywords with higher search volumes and specific phrases that align closely with your audience's needs.
Once you have a list of keywords, explore successful articles that have targeted similar keywords. Then analyze these top-ranking articles to gather insights on what to include in the title tag of your post and how to structure it effectively. You can use long-tail keywords and low-competition phrases that target niche topics — they might have fewer monthly searches but reach a highly engaged audience.
As your blogging journey progresses, you can use advanced keyword research tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs for more comprehensive insights and competitor analysis.
But remember that keyword research is an ongoing process. Stay updated on search trends and regularly evaluate the performance of your blog posts using tools like Google Analytics.
4. Understand the search intent for your topic
“At its very core, marketing is storytelling. The best advertising campaigns take us on an emotional journey — appealing to our wants, needs, and desires — while at the same time telling us about a product or service.” — Melinda Partin, Senior Director of Marketing & Digital Strategy, UW Medicine.
Storytelling is essential to blog writing. The narrative of how to write a blog post is incomplete without understanding the customer’s intent. With this, you gain insights into what they are looking for to craft the perfect story using your products and services.
Tips to understand search intent:
Start by analyzing search queries and identifying common themes and patterns by reviewing search engine results pages (SERPs) to see the types of content that rank highly for your target keywords and understand the preferred content format, whether they are how-to posts, guides or listicles, as they are popular blog formats.
- Consider the stage of the buying journey your target audience is in and tailor your content accordingly. If a topic is in the awareness phase, you don’t want to provide product-heavy information and stray away from the content.
- You can use a generative AI tool like Chatsonic to find the search intent of your keyword. Use a prompt like “Provide 10 long tail keywords related to 'writing a blog.’ Match each keyword with any of the 4 types of search intent.”
You should provide as much information to your audience in your blog post regarding what they are looking for before plugging your product. However, if they are in the consideration stage, you can be more direct and talk about how your product can make a difference.
Here are some types of search intent:
- Navigation search intent: These are simple queries to find out something. Such keywords are usually in the awareness section and have a higher traffic volume.
- Learning search intent: These queries are to understand something specific. When you address them, you want to provide helpful and relevant content to your audience in your blog post.
- Consideration search intent: These are more specific to your products or services and might have lower traffic than just ‘email marketing,’ but this long-tail keyword can generate leads for your business.
- Transactional search intent: This is the final query to go ahead and make the purchase—for example, discount codes for email marketing tools or free email marketing tool trials.
As you can see in each image above, the search results change based on the search query, and the top results are the ones that meet the search intent.
5. A great blog post is fueled by research
Professional bloggers have a secret: they only sometimes possess prior knowledge about the topics they write on. However, they still maintain their authenticity and expertise.
Their success is in their ability to conduct thorough research before writing a great blog post, which can also be the key to your own success story.
When researching and writing a blog post, it's essential to go beyond Wikipedia and rely on authoritative sources such as official associations, government websites, reputable research papers, and industry experts. Go through as many relevant sources as possible and note everything you find relevant. You can also rely on AI tools for research and get results from various sources on the internet.
However, for blog writing, you should approach every source critically and verify the information for accuracy. And whenever possible, interview industry experts and participate in online communities to get firsthand knowledge.
6. Create an organized blog post outline
Once you have collected all the information you need to write your blog post, develop a well-organized outline with your blog post's main sections and critical points.
This will provide a clear structure and roadmap for your writing process. It gives you a visual representation of how to write your blog instead of diving into it headfirst with no structure or blog writing format.
A good blog post outline guides your writing and ensures your blog post has a clear flow.
Here is an example of an outline created using the tool Chatsonic. Of course, you could make an outline based on your research, but such answers and tools will also help you create a better blog post format.
7. Identify your brand voice
Think about who you're speaking to with your blogs. Get to know their values, preferences, and interests. Imagine conversing with them and thinking about how you would tailor your language and tone to resonate with them. Are they younger or older? Do they prefer a more formal or casual tone? Which would make them relate to your content the most?
Crafting an engaging and impactful brand voice for your blog post is the secret sauce that adds personality to your writing and sets successful bloggers apart.
How do you identify your brand voice?
- Think about the brand’s core qualities - are you a forward thinker, an innovator, a trusted authority, or a friend?
- Consider the words and phrases that describe your business
- Observe the conversations on social media by your target audience; notice their vocabulary, slang, and communication style
Take the help of an AI tool like Chatsonic to help you define it
Step 1: Go to the Prompts Library section of Chatsonic and search for the word ‘brand.’ You will find a well-structured prompt on how to Discover your Brand Voice. Now click on the Use Template button.
Step 2: Now enter the relevant details of your brand, as shown below.
Step 3: You now have a detailed description of how your brand voice should sound, who your target audience is, and much more.
Brand voice examples
Look to other successful brands that have mastered their voices for inspiration. For example, Slack balances professionalism and a friendly, helpful approach. They provide valuable resources and maintain a lighthearted tone, making their content informative and enjoyable.
Dollar Shave Club stands out with its witty and sharp voice, injecting humor into its content while remaining true to its brand identity.
From their famous video in 2012 until now - wit has been a consistent part of their brand voice.
Staying consistent with brand voice for your blog post can be daunting
We understand that this can be a complex process. Especially if your company has multiple writers or you are new to writing blog posts. Brand voice is learned over time, but what if we tell you our Brand Voice tool can help you set the tone for your brand?
Use Writesoninc to create content with a consistent brand voice
In the Brand Voice feature of the Writesonic app, you have to add the link to a blog post title that follows the brand voice you want or add related text.
Once you enter this data, click on ‘Analyze.’
The tool will show you how the content that you provided sounds. As you can see below, our example sounded informative and engaging, so we named the brand voice the same. Then click on ‘Create Voice.’
Once you have created the brand voice, you can find it in Writesonic under the Brand Voice section. Now whenever you make content, you can select the desired brand voice.
We will show you how to use it further in the next blog post sections.
8. Create a great headline for your topic
Crafting a great headline for your blog post is crucial to grab readers' attention and make them click. It's a delicate balance between art and science. You don’t want to sound clickbaity or lure readers into your blog with deceiving information, but at the same time, you don’t want to be boring.
Here are some key points to help you while writing headlines:
1. Be Clear and Specific
Make your headline direct without misleading them or using vague headlines. Your readers should know what to expect, or else they will leave your blog page immediately, and your bounce rate will increase – you don’t want that.
2. Promise Value and Benefits
Highlight the value readers will gain from your content by offering a solution, valuable insights, or practical tips. Headlines like five tips to improve your lead conversion rate and shows the reader exactly what they can expect and are informative.
3. Use Power Words and Emotional Triggers
Incorporate strong, persuasive words that evoke emotions and curiosity in the headline of your blog post. You can choose words that create a sense of urgency or excitement to entice readers. Words like free, immediately, guaranteed, and ultimate are all powerful words that positively impact your readers.
4. Keep it Concise and Attention-Grabbing
Shorter headlines are more effective, but you can also grab attention by using numbers, asking questions, or making bold statements. For example, 5X your productivity with these ten tips – this headline is concise yet powerful enough to get the reader’s attention.
5. Understand Your Audience
Tailor your headline to resonate with your specific target audience by considering their interests, aspirations, and pain points.
6. Test and Optimize
Experiment with different headline variations and analyze their performance. You must consistently monitor click-through rates and engagement metrics to understand what resonates best with your audience.
By implementing these strategies, you can craft great headlines that captivate readers, increase clicks, draw readers, and drive more traffic to your blog post.
9. Pick the right images
When it comes to creating quality blog posts, incorporating captivating images is a game-changer. These images go beyond mere placeholders; they bring your content to life and captivate your audience.
Pay special attention to the featured image, as it visually represents your blog post on your site's homepage, enticing readers to click and explore further, like the example below from Writesonic’s blog page.
You can use platforms like Wix, Shutterstock, and Unsplash directly within the site's editor, ensuring access to high-quality visuals that enhance your blog's appeal.
Images make your content more readable
Additionally, it is essential to remember that writing for the web requires a different approach. Your readers have smaller attention spans, and overloading them with lengthy blocks of text can be overwhelming, causing readers to lose interest quickly. Break up the text and create a visually engaging experience to avoid this.
Images provide visual cues, guiding readers through your content and making it more digestible.
The example below is from a Writesonic Blog; you can see how adding the image breaks the text, adds a surprising element with an appealing image, and supports the content visually.
They make your blog posts more engaging
Images add personality and humor to blog posts on dry or complex topics. They can also simplify difficult subjects with diagrams, charts, infographics, and other visual aids, making complex concepts more accessible and easier to understand for your audience.
10. Optimize your blog for links
While writing blog posts, incorporating well-placed and relevant links is essential for search engine optimization, visibility, and engaging your loyal readers further.
#External links
These links don’t belong to your website but are from reliable sources to external links. With external links, it's essential to focus on quality over quantity. Aim for around 2-5 external links in longer blog posts. You can check the domain authority of the site you want to include as an external link and choose the ones above 60.
The example below is from a Writesonic Blog on real-world brand voice examples. Harvard Business Review is a reputable site, and we have used it in the blog to show an example of an authoritative brand voice.
Internal links
Internal links are links from your site and offer a great opportunity to enhance the user experience and boost your website's SEO. Be intentional and thoughtful in selecting which internal pages to link to. Including several internal links within your blog post is generally acceptable.
However, ensure these links are relevant and add value to the reader's journey.
The example below is from a whole post a Writesonic Blog about the 10 content creation tools. We have added several internal links that will be helpful to the reader to understand Writesonic further better.
Best practices in managing links for your blog posts
- Conduct regular audits for the links and ensure no broken links (links that are no longer active). This can give the impression that your site needs updates and isn’t trustworthy.
- It's vital to link to reputable sources that enhance your credibility when including external links.
- Keep your anchor text concise and relevant, ensuring it reflects the topic of the linked page. Avoid vague or clickbait-like anchor text, as it may confuse readers or be spammy.
- For internal links, exact-match anchor text is generally acceptable if it remains relevant and avoids keyword stuffing.
- Be cautious regarding external links, as manipulating external anchor text violates Google's webmaster guidelines.
11. Optimize for SEO
Crafting a captivating blog post involves more than just great writing—it requires strategic optimization to enhance its visibility and impact with elements like meta description.
Conduct thorough keyword research, as mentioned earlier in the blog, to create an SEO-friendly blog post. Integrate these keywords organically throughout your content, including in your headline, subheadings, and body text.
Additionally, pay attention to your metadata.
Meta tags and meta descriptions are crucial elements of on-page SEO that help optimize your website's visibility in search engine results.
Here are some best practices for creating effective meta tags and meta descriptions:
1. Meta Title
- Limit your meta title to 50-60 characters to ensure it is fully displayed in search results.
- Incorporate relevant keywords into your meta title to improve its relevance and click-through rate.
2. Meta Description:
- Aim for a meta description of around 150-160 characters that accurately summarize the content of your page.
- Incorporate relevant keywords to highlight the relevance of your page to the search query.
- Communicate the unique value or benefit users can expect by clicking on your page.
- Encourage users to take action by using strong and compelling language.
Lastly, optimize your URL slug by including only relevant images and keywords that accurately reflect the essence of your article.
12. Edit your blog post
Crafting a compelling and highly optimized blog post requires careful attention to detail by editing it thoroughly.
Tips for editing your blog post:
Thoroughly review your article, checking for grammatical errors, repetition, and professionalism; use advanced grammar checkers like Grammarly to fix contextual mistakes.
- Ensure your ideas flow smoothly and coherently throughout each section, creating a clear and purposeful message for your readers.
- Seek feedback from a trusted friend or colleague to identify any discrepancies or areas needing improvement.
- Take a holistic view of your piece, sacrificing unnecessary words or phrases to enhance cohesion and readability.
- Avoid repetitive words or phrases that can disrupt the flow of your writing.
- Read your post aloud to identify awkward sentence structures
- Keep sentences concise and paragraphs shorter to make your content more digestible. Large blocks of text can deter readers, so break them up and use subheadings to enhance readability.
Editing goes beyond grammar and sentence structure — all these points will bring out the best in your content. Never shy away from editing your content – the more you self-edit and learn about cutting down parts that will not add value to your blog, the better writer you will be!
In the image below, you can see one of the editing tools you can use online: the Hemingway Editor. Such editing tools can help you understand how to structure your sentences better and avoid mistakes.
13. Publish and promote your blog
After going through the grueling 12 steps, congratulations, you will learn how to write a blog post!
Your efforts are commendable!
Now moving on to the next steps after writing your perfect blog post. You have to promote it strategically to reach the intended audience and gain the attention it deserves. Here are two ways to do this easily:
Email marketing builds a connection with readers, turning them into loyal followers. A good service can send newsletters that match your blog's voice, converting readers into fans.
- Social media is great for promoting blog posts. Use Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to reach a diverse audience. Engage with followers and create visually appealing content to build a thriving online community around the blog.
The example below shows how Canopy Collections use their emails as newsletters to promote their latest blog posts.
How to write a blog using AI in under 5 minutes
Writing is a skill that takes time to develop. Even if you are familiar with writing, doing it for a business, and finding the right tone, your voice has a learning curve.
So the first tip to remember is don’t be hard on yourself or riddle yourself with anxiety on how to write a blog post. Rely on the process and the right tools to help in this process.
Additionally, blog posts are the popular content format among marketers, and 9 out of 10 believe it helps them achieve marketing goals.
Therefore, you can always use the help around you to write blogs or their first drafts in 5 minutes to help your business.
1. Pick a first topic that is comfortable for you
When writing a blog for the first time, choose a topic that is an easy first step and then ease yourself into more complicated topics.
You can also take the help of others in the industry or your company to understand what should be included in the blog. They’ve all been there too, so they will gladly help you.
2. Start with a low-volume keyword
When starting a blog post, focus on low-volume keywords. These keywords may not have as much search volume as popular ones, but they offer an advantage – less competition. Use keyword tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to find valuable keywords.
Look for keywords with modest search volumes (typically tens to a few hundred monthly searches). Don't worry about the low numbers; these keywords can help you stand out.
Make sure also to evaluate the competition in your niche. Analyze their content quality and strategy.
As your blog grows, you can target high-volume keywords to reach new heights.
3. Use Writesonic Article Writer
What if I told you you don’t have to write your first blog post alone? You can have a tool to write a draft for you and use it as a starting point. This tool can be your writing buddy, advisor, and mentor, ensuring you are never alone in your blogging journey.
Here is the ultimate guide on how you use the article writing tool.
Step 1: Sign up to Writesonic using social login or using your email address.
Step 2: You will be redirected to the homepage to choose from the various feature offerings. For this instance, you can select Article AI Writer 5.0.
Step 3: Choose the topic and click on ‘Search Articles’
Step 4: The tool will give you several options; you can choose one or many.
Step 5: Once you pick the blog post title that is relevant to you, enter any additional information as guidelines for your blog, add keywords from your research, choose the brand voice as discussed earlier, the quality type of your blog, and the language.
Step 6: Generate Article!
As you can see, in just a few minutes and with minimal information, you now have an article that can serve as a starting point with AI-generated content for your blog post.
Step 6: Writesonic also has an inbuilt editor called the Sonic Editor. You can choose to edit on the tool, and now with a draft ready to make the blogging process simple, you can go ahead and make changes, add more insights, change information you don’t need, and more.
Now that you know your blogs can have a full-fledged first draft, doesn’t that make the process much easier? And this tool is entirely free to use for your first article.
3. Write a good hook and a compelling CTA
A blog introduction and conclusion are essential for a good blog post. But what makes them good? A hook in the introduction and a CTA in the conclusion is like the last bow on your final draft.
While writing a hook, remember that it has to catch your readers' attention and encourage them to stay and read your blog post after you bring them in through the well-written headline.
This hook can have a good metaphor, a statistic, a quote, or even simply state the customer’s problems in a relatable way. Whatever it is, as long as it evokes an emotion in the reader – you are good to go.
When it concludes, if you don’t have a well-thought-out CTA, all your blogging efforts will be in vain. The Call to Action (CTA) gives your readers direction about what to do after reading your blog post.
Your CTA can be to sign up for your newsletter, give a free product trial, make a demo request, download a content resource, and so much more. Utilize it well for higher conversion rates.
4. Have fun with blog writing!
The pioneer Ann Handley herself once said, “If you aren’t having fun creating content, you’re doing it wrong!”. We couldn’t agree more.
Writing can be a tiring process. Often blog writers face burnout and writer's block. Therefore, to keep going and make it enjoyable, ensure you are having fun with it. Remember why you started writing in the first place. What got you into blogging? What factors encouraged you to take this path?
Such reasons can help you in your writing journey and help you scale your career.
Now you know how to write a blog post!
If you follow the 13 steps mentioned above, along with ways to write a blog quickly, your blogging journey will become easier with some practice.
Once you write a few blogs, everything mentioned in this blog will come naturally to you. You won’t have to worry about missing out on steps. Until you get the hang of it, we have created a checklist to help you remember all the steps and make blogging easier.
All the best in your blogging journey; we can’t wait to see what you create!
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I start writing a blog?
To start writing a blog, choose a niche or topic you're passionate about, create a website, a blog domain, or choose a blogging platform. Then, brainstorm blog post topic ideas, outline your posts, and craft engaging content for your readers.
What is a good blog format?
A good blog post format includes clear headings and subheadings, concise paragraphs, and a visually appealing layout. Additionally, incorporating multimedia elements such as images, videos, and infographics can enhance the reader's experience.
What is the basic structure of a blog?
The basic structure of a blog post typically includes an introduction to hook readers, a body with informative or engaging content, and a conclusion that summarizes key points or encourages further discussion. Incorporating headings, subheadings, and bullet points can enhance readability and organization.
What is a high-quality blog?
A high-quality blog post provides valuable and well-researched content, is engaging to read, and offers a unique perspective or expertise on a specific topic. It also maintains consistent writing style, grammar, and visual presentation quality.
What is the ideal blog post size?
The ideal blog post size varies depending on the topic and audience, but generally, a length of 1,000 to 2,000 words strikes a balance between providing comprehensive information and maintaining the reader's attention and engagement. However, you can create informative, in-depth articles with a higher word count for the topic.
