How to Write a Good Blog Post [Expert Tips]

Are you curious about how to write a good blog post that makes an impact? Writing excellent blog posts is a difficult task. But it isn’t rocket science either!

In this article, we’ll explain what makes a good blog and share some expert tips on how to write a good blog post that will bring in a lot of traffic.

So, let’s get started!

What Makes a Good Blog Post?

If you think that writing a good blog post only involves using the right words, you’re wrong.

Your blog post’s success will also depend on a number of other elements as well.

In fact, it is possible to be a good writer but not so great at blogging.

How is it even possible? Assume you wrote a post that is thoroughly researched and informative, and it has all of the information your readers are searching for.

However, it is so well-researched and comprehensive that your paragraphs are quite lengthy and difficult to read. Maybe you ignored to include images or other media resources for fear of breaking the flow of your post. Since it looks like a large wall of text, people are more likely to click the “back” button than to stay and read the whole thing.

Do you think that would be considered a good post?

No. To make it a good blog post, you also need to consider:

• How easy is it to read?
• Is the post visually engaging?
• How effectively does it answer your readers’ questions?
• How will it continue to drive more traffic?

To help you publish an amazing piece, we’ll show you how to answer all of these questions with our expert blog writing tips.

How Long Does It Take to Write a Great Blog Post?

The amount of time it takes to write a great blog post depends on a number of factors, including:

• Length of the post
• Topic complexity
• Research requirements
• Your writing speed and experience

According to Orbit Media, writing a blog post of 1300+ words takes an average of four hours and ten minutes.

However, if you’re a beginner blogger, it may take you longer to write a great blog post. As you gain experience, you’ll get faster and more efficient at writing.

Expert Tips for Writing a Blog Post

Being a good writer is a difficult task. But with a little practice and research, you’ll be able to join the ranks of other great bloggers in no time.

So, let’s look at how you can write a blog post that you’ve always wanted to create since starting a blog.

1. Choose the Right Topic

The first step in writing a blog post is to choose the right topic.

You’ll need to figure out what your followers want to know and read about so that your post continues to get traffic after it’s published.

Use platforms like BuzzSumo to find content ideas that are trending.

Also, check out our list of the best SEO tools for more ideas on how to come up with search-engine-optimized blog post ideas.

2. Do Your Research

Once you’ve decided on a blog post topic, examine the first page of Google and your main competitors to figure out how you can improve on what’s already out there. Don’t bother if you can’t create a high-quality post that’s better than theirs!

You don’t have to be an expert on the topic, but you should do some research to ensure you’re adding value.

You can use SEO tools like Semrush or Ahrefs to do your competitor research.

3. Choose the Type of Blog Post You’ll Write About

With your topic in hand, it’s time to decide how you’ll show it. Some popular blog post categories include:

How-to Posts

A how-to post offers a set of detailed step-by-step instructions on how to do something. They’re popular because they are helpful and informative.

For example, this post is titled “How to Start a WordPress Blog” and shows you how to start it through a six-step process:

1. Choose Bluehost for hosting and domain
2. Install WordPress.
3. Choose a WordPress theme
4. Create your first blog post
5. Add WordPress plugins
6. Make money from blogging

Listicles or List Posts

Listicles, also known as list posts, organize information into a list with headings naming each item. They often come in the form of numbered lists with a title featuring the number of items, such as “9 Best Free Blogging Sites“.

Checklist

A checklist blog post gives a checklist for readers to follow in order to perform a task. These posts often provide a simplified checklist to follow and then provide more details for each item, like our ultimate on-page SEO checklist.

Product Review or Comparison

These posts provide an overview of a product, service, or experience. They can be helpful for readers who are considering making a purchase or trying something new. For example, “Elementor vs. Beaver Builder“.

Case study

These posts describe how a particular product, service, or strategy was used to achieve a specific goal. They can be helpful for readers who are looking for ideas or inspiration. For example, check out this Semrush case study, how an SEO agency helped an artisan bakery increase mobile organic traffic by 460%.

Content Hubs

A content hub is an interconnected collection of content about a specific topic.

You may have many posts on your website regarding a specific topic—say, SEO—but they aren’t all in one place. That is where a content hub comes in: It’s strategically built to improve your site structure for increased traffic, links, and topical authority.

For example, check out this Ahrefs beginner guide to SEO.

4. Create an Outline

Many individuals skip or speed through this process, even though it is just as vital as the actual writing. A detailed blog post outline offers your article structure and allows you to examine your overall thesis before writing the whole content.

It also helps with writer’s block. At the outline stage, you simply need to write a basic idea, removing the burden of writing a whole idea. When you come to the writing stage, you’ll have an outline to reference when you don’t know what sentence to write next.

5. Start Drafting Your Blog Post

Now that you have the outline, start writing your post. We generally like drafting it directly into the WordPress dashboard. It saves us a lot of time and extra effort since we don’t have to copy and paste it from somewhere else later.

6. Hook Your Readers With a Great Introduction

If you can hook your readers with a good introduction, consider half your work to be done. Because if your introduction is boring, readers will not bother reading the rest of your piece.

Many writers prefer to write the body of the blog article first and the introduction last.

A good way to write a good introduction is to ask a question that addresses the reader’s problem. Then, you may explain how reading your post can help them deal with it.

This is a terrific way to get your readers’ attention, and they’ll want to read it all the way through in the hopes of finding the solution.

This is how BloggersPassion writes a great introduction for her post on “How to Create Content That’s 10 Times Better Than the Rest“.

7. Write Like You Talk

Don’t forget about the style and tone of your writing. Both of these factors can make a significant impact.

Writing like you’re talking to your readers might make them feel like they’re having a discussion with someone rather than reading a post.

Your readers will feel like you are talking to them one-on-one, helping them in solving a problem to which you can relate. This is excellent for increasing your readership.

8. Make Your Blog Post Scannable

People do not usually read blog posts word for word. They instead scan them for the information they want.

That’s why it’s critical to format your posts such that they’re easy to scan. It will help your readers easily find the information they want, increasing the likelihood that they will stick around to your blog.

Here are some tips on how to make your blog posts scannable:

• Use Subheadings: Break up your content into sections with clear and descriptive subheadings. Subheadings help readers quickly identify the main topics or key points in your post.
• Write Short Sentences: Write in a clear, straightforward manner. Short sentences are easier to scan and read quickly.
• Keep Paragraphs Short: Keep your paragraphs concise and to the point. Aim for 2-4 sentences per paragraph. Short paragraphs are less intimidating to readers.
• Use Lists: Use bullet points or numbered lists to present information, steps, or key points.
• Use Bold and Italics: Use formatting such as bold and italics to highlight key words or phrases. This can help in drawing the reader’s attention to important information.
• Highlight Quotes: If you have notable quotes or important statistics, highlight them within your post using block quotes or formatting to make them stand out.
• Use Readable Fonts: Choose a readable font and font size. Avoid overly fancy or small fonts that may be difficult to read.
• Table of Contents: For longer posts, consider adding a table of contents at the beginning. This allows readers to jump to specific sections easily.

9. Use Images for Visual Engagement

A simple image has the potential to make a boring post much more interesting and engaging.

What you couldn’t communicate in words may be done with a single image or snapshot. Furthermore, it breaks up the monotony of words and provides the reader with a pleasant visual break, keeping them interested for longer.

For example, that is how Backlinko uses 80+ images in its SEO audit checklist post.

10. Add a Compelling Call to Action

Your post will not be considered a successful one unless you can persuade your readers to take action on the website.

What should your call to action (CTA) be? You might ask your readers to:

• Sign up for your email newsletter.
• Leave a comment.
• Share your post on social media.
• Buy your product.

For more, check out these blog CTA examples to boost your conversion rate.

It’s ideal to keep your CTA to one so your readers aren’t distracted.

Put yourself in the readers’ place and discuss the benefits of taking action to make your CTA more engaging. What is the benefit to them?

11. Add an Eye-Catching Featured Image

Believe it or not, your readers will not take more than 2 seconds to decide whether or not to click on your post. If you want a positive response, you must have a plan.

Including an eye-catching featured image in your post is a terrific way to get more clicks, shares, and engagement.

Shutterstock and Unsplash are great platforms to help you find an appealing image to use.

12. Edit and Proofread Your Content

Every blog post needs editing to shine, no matter how well you wrote it.

You can use an online tool like Grammarly or Hemingway for this. While Grammarly does an advanced spelling and grammatical scan, Hemingway checks sentence structure as follows:

After you perform these checks, you should still proofread your writing manually. Your human eyes will spot errors that the computer missed. Furthermore, your editing should focus as much on the quality of your ideas as it does on your spelling and grammar.

13. Optimize Your Blog Post for SEO

If you know how to write a good blog post, but it does not get any traffic, you are missing a step!

For your post to get a lot of readers, you need to optimize it for SEO. And, if you are using WordPress as your blogging platform, then simply using an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO can do half of the work for you.

Here’s how Yoast can help improve your SEO:

• Focus Keywords: Yoast allows you to set a focus keyword or keyphrase for each piece of content. It then evaluates how well you’ve optimized your content around that keyword and provides suggestions for improvement.
• Meta Tags Optimization: You can easily customize meta titles and descriptions for each post.
• XML Sitemaps: The plugin creates XML sitemaps for your website, allowing search engines to crawl and index your content more easily.
• Readability Analysis: In addition to SEO, Yoast also checks the readability of your content and provides suggestions to make it more user-friendly.
• Schema Markup: Yoast helps you to add structured data (schema markup) to your content, which improves how search engines see and display it in search results.
• Internal Linking Suggestions: The plugin offers suggestions for internal linking, helping you create a well-structured website.
• Social Media Integration: Yoast allows you to customize how your content is shown when shared on social media platforms.

For more, check out our ultimate WordPress SEO checklist.

14. Publish and Promote Your Blog

After you’ve finished writing the blog post, it’s time to publish it on your website.

Once the content is published, start promoting it to attract readers. Nowadays, blogging is highly competitive. Your content, no matter how great it is, will not be discovered on its own. You must go out and let others know about it.

Here are some excellent ways to promote your blog for free:

• Use Social Media: Share your blog on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You can also join niche-related groups and communities and share your content there.
• Build a Mailing List: It is an efficient way to notify your email subscribers about new blog posts. To build an email list, consider offering readers a free course or eBook in return for their email address. Check out the best free email marketing services to start building an email list for free.
• Guest Blog on Other Blogs: This is a great way to get your content in front of a new audience. When you guest blog, be sure to link back to your own blog so that people can learn more about you.

Conclusion on How to Write a Good Blog Post

There are many things to consider when writing a good blog post. By following the above-mentioned expert tips, you can write blog posts that are informative, engaging, and well-written.

Here are some key points to remember:

• Choose a topic that you are passionate about.
• Do your research and gather all of the information you need to write a comprehensive and informative post.
• Write in a way that is easy to read and understand.
• Use strong visuals to break up your text and make your post more visually appealing.
• Edit and proofread your post carefully before publishing it.
• Promote your post to get it in front of as many people as possible.

We hope this article helped you learn how to write a good blog post.

For more, check out these other helpful resources:

• How to Make Money Blogging
• 15 Actionable Blogging Tips for Bloggers
• 23 Proven Ways to Increase Your Blog Traffic for Free
• 20 Common Blogging Mistakes to Avoid for Better Results

Lastly, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated on the latest WordPress and blogging-related articles.