How to Write a Blog Post (That People Actually Want to Read) in 9 Steps

Type a mates of 100 words and people them somewhere—poof, you person a blog post. Or do you?

If a blog station is published and nary 1 reads it, is it inactive a blog post?

Anyone tin constitute a blog post. But not everyone tin make 1 that radical privation to read.

In this post, you’ll larn however to constitute blog posts that actually get readers.

Let’s get started.

A proven taxable is simply a taxable that radical privation to read about. 

If you’re acquainted with the niche, past this shouldn’t beryllium a biggie. You astir apt already person a batch of ideas you privation to cover. Open Google Docs and constitute each of them down (use a notepad if you similar analog).

Otherwise, there’s nary amended mode to find proven topics than to constitute astir topics radical are searching for. After all, if determination are galore radical searching for the aforesaid taxable period aft month, past it’s very apt it’s thing they privation to read about. 

Here’s however to find these topics:

1. Go to Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer
2. Enter a word applicable to your tract or niche
3. Go to the Matching presumption report
4. Switch the tab to Questions

Shop astir a small and look for the topics that involvement you. Make a list—5 to 10 should beryllium capable to start with. 

Ideally, they should person immoderate postulation imaginable too. Our metric, Traffic Potential, is the estimated magnitude of hunt postulation you tin perchance summation if you fertile #1 for that topic. You tin spot if a taxable has Traffic Potential by looking astatine the TP column. 

With much than 4.4 cardinal caller blog posts published each day, your blog station has to basal out. Otherwise, it won’t get discovered and nary 1 volition read it. 

The cardinal constituent present is novelty.

According to Julian Shapiro, determination are 5 novelty categories:

1. Counter-intuitive – “Oh, I ne'er realized the satellite worked that way.”
2. Counter-narrative – “Wow, that’s not however I was told the satellite worked!”
3. Shock and awe – “That’s crazy. I would person ne'er believed it.”
4. Elegant articulations – “Beautiful. I couldn’t person said it amended myself.”
5. Make idiosyncratic consciousness seen – “Yes! That’s precisely however I feel!”

For example, cheque retired this blog post by concern writer Morgan Housel: 

He states thing that is counter-intuitive to what astir radical cognize and think. The champion thought oregon “truth” doesn’t win—instead, the champion communicative does. This is incredibly compelling to radical successful his tract of finance. Indeed, it stands retired from the different news-based, fact-driven benignant of articles they read. 

Morgan does this each the time. He seldom writes astir concern directly—instead, he’s ever looking astatine the taxable from the lenses of history, biology, anthropology, psychology, and more. It makes his posts unique, and the space of his articles ever stands out. 

It’s what you indispensable do. So instrumentality your clip and deliberation of an space that is unsocial and caller to your people audience. Use these questions to get started:

• Do you person idiosyncratic acquisition with this topic? For example, if you’ve successfully implemented the keto diet, you tin constitute astir your acquisition and however you did it. 
• Can you interrogation experts? For example, you tin interrogation an adept astir the latest probe and findings successful the keto world. 
• Can you crowdsource opinions and ideas? For example, if you’re penning astir making keto-friendly crystal cream, you tin crowdsource recipes. 
• Can you supply information oregon backmost your station with science? Consider moving a survey (if possible) oregon looking done technological probe papers. 
• Can you beryllium contrarian? Don’t beryllium the devil’s advocator conscionable for the involvement of it. But if you genuinely person an sentiment that’s other to everyone else’s, it tin beryllium a great angle.

Editor’s Note

If you’re blogging with SEO successful mind, past you’ll apt person to lucifer hunt intent. Search intent is the why behind a hunt query. We tin look astatine the existent top-ranking pages to fig it out. 

Specifically, we privation to recognize the 3 Cs of hunt intent:

• Content type – Is determination a ascendant benignant of contented connected the SERP, specified arsenic blog posts, merchandise pages, videos, oregon landing pages? If you followed measurement #1, this is astir apt a blog post. 
• Content format – Is determination a ascendant contented format connected the SERP, specified arsenic guides, listicles, quality articles, sentiment pieces, oregon reviews?
• Content angle – Is determination a ascendant space connected the SERP, specified arsenic freshly updated contented oregon contented aimed astatine beginners?

For example, let’s look astatine the taxable of “date ideas”:

• Content type – They’re each blog posts.
• Content format – They’re each listicles.
• Content angle – A imaginable space is “fun date ideas.” 

If you’re penning astir this topic, you whitethorn person to make thing similar. 

But enactment that this is not a regularisation but a guideline. Even if your station is ranking precocious connected Google, it still has to basal retired from the remainder of the ranking articles. So it goes backmost to uncovering a caller and unsocial space for your article. If you tin make 1 that’s amended than the different top-ranking articles, spell for it.

The hardest portion of penning is facing the blank page. It is imaginable to beryllium successful beforehand of your machine for six hours and churn thing out. It happens to the champion of us. 

Creating an outline “solves” this problem. When you person an outline, you’re not penning from scratch. Instead, you’re filling the “gaps” in it. 

What’s adjacent amended is that you don’t person to make the outline from scratch either. Spend capable clip online, and you’ll recognize that astir blog posts’ structures are beauteous overmuch the same. 

So don’t beryllium acrophobic to usage templates. For example, we usage this template for astir each our list-style posts:

Here are three much templates for different blog station styles you can use.

When you person the skeletal operation successful place, the adjacent measurement is to fig retired what you request to capable in, particularly the H2s, H3s, H4s, and more. Here are immoderate ideas to assistance you out:

A. Use your idiosyncratic acquisition and expertise

Nothing beats your ain acquisition and expertise. If you cognize there’s a close mode to bash something, usage that cognition to make your outline. 

For example, I’ve been breakdancing for much than 10 years now. If I had to make a blog station connected however to bash the six-step, I wouldn’t adjacent request to bash immoderate research—I tin simply determination the accusation straight from my brain. 

B. Run a contented spread analysis

If determination are subtopics that astir each the top-ranking pages cover, past it’s apt that they’re important to readers too. 

Here’s however to find these subtopics:

1. Paste a fewer top-ranking URLs for your main taxable into Ahrefs’ Content Gap tool
2. Leave the bottommost conception blank
3. Hit Show keywords
4. Set the Intersection filter to 3 and 4 targets

Here, you’ll spot that these pages are ranking for subtopics like:

• What is inbound marketing.
• Inbound selling strategies.
• Inbound selling examples.

And more. 

If you’re penning a blog station connected “inbound marketing,” they’ll apt marque good H2s.

Note that your extremity is not to transcript and rephrase the top-ranking pages. The internet’s afloat of that—cookie-cutter contented nary one’s funny in. 

Your extremity is simply to usage top-ranking pages arsenic inspiration. If they marque bully points, you tin see including them successful your post. If they’re stating thing that’s wholly wrong, past adjacent better—take the accidental to close the misconceptions. 

With your outline successful place, it’s clip to soma that skeleton retired into a rough draft. 

I constitute mostly successful Google Docs. An contiguous perk is that I tin crook the headings I’ve created into existent headings. I conscionable person to click the “Styles” dropdown connected the paper and alteration them:

You’ll beryllium capable to spot your outline connected the side too:

From here, usage your headers arsenic a usher and constitute your archetypal draft. This signifier is each astir “getting it out.” That means: 

• Avoiding immoderate interruptions to your writing.
• Not self-censoring arsenic you go along.
• Not repeatedly rearranging your outline to marque things travel better.
• Not rewriting the aforesaid condemnation 10 times conscionable due to the fact that it “doesn’t work quite right.” 😅

I know, I know. It’s easier said than done. Still, effort to minimize interruptions. There’s clip to edit for perfection later—this signifier is each astir getting everything down connected insubstantial (or screen) truthful you person thing tangible to enactment with. As writer Shannon Hale writes:

I’m penning a archetypal draught and reminding myself that I’m simply shoveling soil into a container truthful that aboriginal I tin physique castles.

One “trick” you tin see is to usage the Pomodoro Technique. It’s my go-to if I’m stuck, distracted, oregon procrastinating. 

The basal idea: Set a timer for 25 minutes, constitute arsenic overmuch arsenic you can, past instrumentality a interruption for 5 minutes. Rinse and repeat. You tin usage a Chrome hold similar Marinara to automate your Pomodoros. 

Recommendation

Struggling to enactment pen to insubstantial due to the fact that you can’t fig retired your intro? Use the PAS look to get started. Here’s however it works:

1. State the Problem
2. Agitate the occupation by digging much into the symptom (felt by the reader)
3. Offer a imaginable Solution

Here’s what it looks similar successful the wild:

“I person rewritten—often respective times—every connection I person ever published. My pencils outlast their erasers.” 

Here’s the surprise: Even though the enactment is known arsenic “writing,” the magic is not successful that. Rather, it’s successful the editing signifier wherever the existent blog station appears. 

This stage—after you’re done with your archetypal draft—is each astir editing, polishing, trimming, and rewriting. 

My proposal is to lone edit aft 1 oregon 2 days person passed. Why? Because you’re excessively emotionally invested erstwhile you’re archetypal done drafting. The clip spread volition beryllium adjuvant to region this attachment truthful you tin really edit with fresh eyes. 

Here’s what you tin bash during the editing process:

• Use Grammarly – Great for checking grammar mistakes.
• Read your draught retired loud – Catch wherever it doesn’t flow well.
• Break up agelong sentences – Turn sentences with endless “ands” and “thats” into short, punchier ones.
• Add formatting wherever applicable – Images, GIFs, bullets, numbered lists, bold, italics, and much marque your penning easier to read.
• Pepper successful “flow” – Wherever the accidental arises, see adding transition words and cliffhangers truthful that the bushed of your station is not static.

You should besides wage other attraction to your intro, arsenic that is however your scholar volition determine if they volition proceed reading. 

When you’re done with the self-editing, get feedback from idiosyncratic else. If you person an exertion to amusement your draught to, great. Otherwise, a person oregon workfellow works perfectly good as well.

What’s important present is to get an impartial brace of eyes connected your work.

Chances are that a 3rd enactment volition beryllium capable to constituent retired things similar logical loopholes and mediocre travel that you won’t beryllium capable to spot connected your own. 

We bash this for each blog station astatine Ahrefs. We adjacent “call out” the contributors:

When they’re done, incorporated their feedback wherever relevant. Build disconnected their ideas and opinions to nutrient the champion portion of enactment possible.

Take the clip to deliberation astir each constituent that was made. Set speech your ego and truly effort to spot things from a 3rd party’s perspective: Which points bash you hold with, which are you unsure about, and which bash you decidedly not agree with?

Make edits based connected the suggestions you judge successful and permission retired the things you consciousness powerfully against (but beryllium definite to person a logical mentation for doing this). If you’re connected the fence, it each comes down to however overmuch you spot the idiosyncratic giving you feedback.

Also, beryllium cautious not to accidentally follow the penning benignant of a 3rd party, particularly if they springiness feedback successful agelong signifier oregon if you’re incorporating galore of their suggestions. Again, if possible, instrumentality a interruption from drafting and enactment connected thing else. Then, erstwhile you travel backmost to it, effort and rewrite the conception successful your ain dependable and style.

Now is the clip to rewrite sentences until they “sound right” oregon rearrange your points implicit and implicit again until they travel the champion they can.

Keep getting feedback and revising your draught until you’re blessed with the last product.

“On the average, 5 times arsenic galore radical work the header arsenic work the body copy.”

Your header is 1 of the astir important aspects of your blog post. It determines whether idiosyncratic decides to click done and read. So you should instrumentality the clip and polish it until it is compelling.

Don’t halt connected the archetypal header you create. Come up with a fewer and spot which 1 looks best. Viral tract Upworthy notoriously created 25 headlines for each nonfiction it published. 

I’m not asking you to make clickbait headlines similar it. But the workout tin beryllium a fruitful one. As singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran puts it, and I paraphrase, “It helps to wide the wastewater from the faucet.”

That said, present are immoderate tips for penning amended headlines:

• Use “power words” – Words similar “remarkable” and “noteworthy” assistance trigger an affectional response. Sprinkling 1 oregon 2 tin marque your headlines much compelling. 
• Add parentheses – Parentheses fortify your rubric tag by adding the “icing connected the cake.”

Even if you’re not blogging with SEO successful mind, you’ll privation hunt engines similar Google to find your station and fertile it. After all, Googling is inactive 1 of the large ways radical observe caller contented to work online. 

It’s a bully thought to travel elemental SEO champion practices for each blog station you’re publishing. At the basal level, you should:

• Include the taxable successful the title – You’ve astir apt people included this portion you were brainstorming your headlines. After all, if you’re penning astir intermittent fasting, it’s hard to not mention it. Don’t interest if you haven’t, though; a adjacent saltation works too.
• Write a compelling meta description – This is not a Google ranking factor, but it helps to “sell” your nonfiction successful the hunt results. 
• Use short, descriptive URLs – This benignant of URLs makes it casual for searchers to recognize what your station is about. The simplest mode is to marque the slug your topic. 
• Add alt substance to your images – Google uses alt substance to recognize images. Create a concise but close 1 for each representation you use. 
• Link to internal and outer resources – Cite different radical wherever relevant. It’s besides adjuvant for readers who privation to learn more. 

If you’re utilizing a contented absorption strategy (CMS) similar WordPress, installing plugins similar Yoast oregon RankMath tin marque doing each of this a cinch. 

Recommended reading: On-Page SEO: The Beginner’s Guide

You’re yet acceptable to people your post! 

Upload your station into your CMS. Or if you’re utilizing WordPress and person immoderate budget, see utilizing Wordable. This allows you to bash a one-click upload from Google Docs into WordPress. Really easy. 

Then springiness it different speedy look to marque definite all’s looking good. Finally, deed “publish”!

It’s the truth—blogging is highly competitory today. Your content, nary substance however good, volition not beryllium discovered by itself. You request to spell retired and fto radical cognize it exists. 

Consider utilizing immoderate of these tactics to beforehand your content:

• Share it with your audience – You whitethorn deliberation you don’t person an “audience,” particularly if you’re conscionable starting out. But you person friends, family, colleagues, and followers connected existing societal media accounts. Share it with them! They’ll beryllium your biggest supporters. Then, implicit time, arsenic you physique up your assemblage (e.g., an email list), you tin stock your articles with them too. 
• Email radical you mentioned successful your content – Find the emails of those radical you’ve cited oregon linked to and scope retired to them. They’ll beryllium blessed to cognize they’ve been featured. 
• Share your contented successful applicable communities – Facebook groups, Slack communities, Discord, Reddit, and forums—if you are a subordinate of immoderate communities, you tin see sharing your contented there. But remember, don’t spam! 

Recommended reading: 13 Content Promotion Tactics to Get More Eyeballs connected Your Content 

Final thoughts

Hopefully, this station has shown you penning a blog station that radical privation to work is not a hard process. You tin bash it too. 

Now, spell connected and get started—that blog station isn’t going to constitute itself.

Any questions oregon comments? Let maine cognize on Twitter.