How to Create an Awesome Blog Post – A Step by Step Guide

Are your blog posts not converting as well as you would want them to?

Do you want to know the secret of writing a blog post that draws more traffic? Then, you have landed in the right place.

In this post, we will share with you a step-by-step guide to create an awesome blog post that gets clicks and sales!

When writing a blog, ask yourself a few questions, like:

• “Why would someone be interested in reading this article”
• “Why would someone read this entire blog post”
• “What will make the reader come back for more”

Remember, a converting blog post is interesting, engaging, and educational. But, being interesting or engaging alone isn’t enough. It should also answer questions in readers’ minds and provide actionable steps to resolve their issues.

Before moving on to the tips and tricks of writing a blog post that converts, let’s have a look at what a blog post is.

What Is A Blog Post

A blog post is a piece of writing published in the blog section of a website to share information, analysis, and insights about any topic. It typically discusses a specific topic or issue with the intent to boost brand awareness and conversions of a business. A blog post generally ranges from 600 to over 2000 words and drives traffic to your website. A survey found that 75% of people prefer reading articles under 1,000 words.

Besides content, a blog also contains interactive media, such as images, infographics, and video clips.

Blog Formats:

There are many popular blog formats used to boost the SEO quality of a website. The six most common blog formats include:

• The “How-To” Post.
• The List-Based Post.
• The “What Is” Post.
• The Checklist/Cheat Sheet Post.
• The Newsjacking Post.
• The Infographic Post.

No matter which format you use, you only have a few seconds to grab the reader’s attention, make them click the link, and actually read the blog post. A well-crafted, easy-to-read blog will help you draw more traffic to your website.

So how to craft a blog to ensure that your content marketing efforts are not going in vain?

Follow the steps listed below, and you will be instantly able to write engaging and informational blog posts that convert.

1. Understand Your Target Audience

Before you start writing a blog post, you must clearly understand who your target reader is. Ask yourself questions like

• What are they looking for?
• What will resonate with them?

Instead of making random guesses about the audience, try to do industry research and competitor analysis. This will help you make data-driven decisions. Based on your research, decide a topic for your blog post.

For example, if you are targeting millennials seeking ways to start a business, you probably don’t need to explain how to get started with social media accounts. Most of them already have social media accounts and clarity on how it works. Nevertheless, you can explain the difference between personal and business accounts and how they can adjust to the latter.

2. Build Your Content Strategy

A great blog post doesn’t just happen. It is crucial to have a content strategy in place before you write anything. A content strategy is a roadmap that plans the exact steps you must follow to achieve desired results.

Before you start writing the blog, ask yourself the following questions:

• What are you going to write about?
• What do you want to achieve through the blog post?
• What is the appropriate time to publish it?
• What optimization will you do on the blog post?
• Which platforms will you use to share it ?
• How will you measure the influence of your blog post?

Knowing answers to these questions will help you develop an effective content strategy. If you start writing a post without proper planning, it will become a time-consuming task, and the result won’t be worth all the effort.

3. Come Up With a Compelling Title

Once you have selected a topic, the next thing is to choose an informative and captivating title. Remember, if your blog post lacks a catchy headline, it is highly likely not to be read or shared. It is human nature to judge a book by its cover and an online article by its title.

Initially, you will have a few different working titles for the topic. Shortlist one title that is most compelling and engaging for your target audience. This will also be the headline of your blog post.

Also, several headline analyzer tools are available online to help you write a more clickable and SEO-friendly title. These tools rate your title and suggest words to use and the word count limit for an optimal headline. Download the headline analyzer tool today, and you will be able to create almost perfect headlines.

From selecting a topic to a few working titles to one final title, this evolution allows you to focus your blog post on something more specific and targeted.

4. Write a Captivating Intro

The introduction of a blog post is the first impression. That’s why it is essential to write a captivating introduction that hooks the reader. If your reader loses interest in the first few sentences of the introductory paragraph, you will lose the reader.

Address your readers from sentence one by talking directly to them, using the word “you.” You can also directly ask your readers a question related to their problem. You can grab readers’ attention in several ways. For example,

• Start your blog intro with an interesting fact.
• Ask a meaningful question.
• Use an anecdote.
• Promise something the reader wants.

After grabbing attention, briefly explain what this blog post is about and how it will help resolve the reader’s problem. This will compel the reader to continue reading.

5. Use Bullet Points

Readers skim through the content before they decide to read it. Therefore, you must highlight the best parts of your blog post using headings and subheadings. This way, they can quickly decide that your content is worth their time.

Besides headings and subheadings, you can also use bullet points, as they are easy to skim through. Here are some formatting tips for using bullet points appropriately and adequately.

• Keep your bullets symmetrical.
• Keep bullet points short and precise.
• Think of bullets as mini-headlines. They are not long sentences or paragraphs.

Though bullet points offer an excellent way to spoon-feed readers, make sure they contain specific information worth highlighting.

6. Add Images

According to one study, blogs with visual content get 94% more views as compared to text-only content. This is because the human brain processes visual content a lot faster than text-based content.

Adding captivating images and infographics can help engage your reader effectively. Wondering how?

• Your audience doesn’t have time to read paragraphs after paragraphs.
• Images, especially infographics, make information easy to understand and almost at a single glance.
• Visual content can lead to better retention, even if seen only for a few seconds.

It is always a great idea to take your own photos or create your images. But if you think this could be too much for you, here’s the hack! There are tons of awesome free resources where you can find high-quality royalty-free images.

7. Insert a Call-To-Action

Last but not least, add a clear call-to-action (CTA) in the concluding paragraph of the blog post. It could be anything: asking your readers to leave a comment, share your blog post, book an appointment or buy your product. Make sure you clearly mention what exactly you want the readers to do.

8. Proofread and Edit Your Post

Once you are done writing the blog post, make sure it is properly proofread prior to publication. Proofread the content carefully to find out any typos or formatting issues. You can also ask a friend or colleague to edit and proofread your post. Do not risk your blog’s reputation by skipping the proofreading part.

Use free grammar check tools like Grammarly to be sure that there aren’t any grammar issues in your content. Also, make sure formatting is consistent throughout the blog.

9. Organize Your Content in an Outline

Besides proofreading, organizing your content is also crucial. Blog posts typically have an overwhelming amount of information stuffed in. This can deter the reader. Organize your blog post carefully, so that the audience is not intimidated by the length of the content or the amount of information. This is where an outline comes in!

Write an outline to give readers a rough idea of what the blog post contains. An outline doesn’t need to be very much detailed and lengthy. It should just give readers a rough idea of what is in the blog post that they should not miss. It can take multiple forms – sections, lists, or tips – whatever suits the most to your content.

Final Words!

Remember, a good blog post is interesting to read and provides informative content to the audience. A well-crafted post can help you promote your brand, attract organic leads, and increase conversions.

Follow the steps listed above, and start writing blog posts that will earn you way more conversions than you had before. Good Luck!