Writing a blog post is a skill anyone can learn. Although it seems pretty easy to write an article, you need to know how to present your ideas in a readable manner.
A proper blog post is not just about grammar, structure, and ideas. Instead, writers must think in terms of several different viewpoints, which we will discuss in this post.
If you are an aspiring blogger who is confused about how to write a perfect article, this post will help you. Similarly, if you are already a writer but want to improve your writing, this is for you.
What is a blog post?
A blog is where creators share their work with an audience. It might not just be about writing articles. Instead, some creators start a blog to share their skills in photography, videography, designing, app development, etc.
However, here we will consider a blog as a platform to write articles and share them with others. Blog posts are articles on different topics that provide information to readers. Usually, they give value to a specific group of people, also known as an audience.
Sometimes, a blog post includes a writer’s experience, thoughts, opinions, and lessons.
How to write a blog post like a pro?
Every writer has their own style of writing. However, the following steps are general ideas that anyone can use to write a blog post like a pro.
1. Know your intention
Why do you want to write a blog post? Is it to provide valuable information to your readers? Is it to share your ideas, opinions, and lessons?
Know your intention before you start writing a blog post. This step usually happens in your mind. There could be several reasons for you to write a blog post. For example;
- To share your ideas and lessons with an audience
- To improve your skills
- For a client
If you are writing for an audience, you must know who they are. That’s the most essential step you must not ignore.
Some writers write to rank their blog posts on search engines. In that case, they must use SEO optimization strategies when writing the posts.
Moreover, some write for clients as freelance writers, so they must do it according to the clients’ requirements rather than how they want.
Be clear about your intention as a writer. This is the first step to writing a perfect blog post.
2. Idea generation
In this step, you decide on the topic of your blog post. If you are writing for a client, you usually already have the topic. However, if you are writing on a personal blog, you must brainstorm some ideas.
You might need some research to develop the idea for your blog post. Watching Youtube videos, reading, thinking, and communicating with others are the best ways to generate new ideas.
It is best to keep an idea journal where you can store all the ideas you find. Inspiration can come at any moment. So, it is best to capture them as they arrive. You can write them down in your journal or notes app on your smartphone.
If you are a consistent writer, you must think of at least five to ten ideas every day to not have to seek them before you sit down to write. You will always have a collection of the best ideas ready for you.
3. Research
Once you have the idea, start collecting information about it. Read other people’s work on similar topics. Find data, pictures, videos, or anything that can support your writing.
If you have written a well-researched post, your readers will trust you.
Never copy or plagiarize the work of others. If you want to use someone else’s work, always credit the original creator.
The goal of the research is to provide valuable information to your readers. It increases your credibility as a writer/blogger, and people will trust your writing. Further, it will help you to grow your audience.
4. Outline
You have the idea for the post, and you have done the research. Now, you create an outline for your blog post.
Start with the headline (title) of your article. You can use external tools to write better headlines for your blog posts. Remember, your audience first sees the headline. So, make sure it’s well-written and click-worthy. Don’t spam the readers by writing click bates.
Create a document where you write the heading, subheading, content structure, and more. Use bullet points to note down all the things you will be including in each section of the article.
An outline will clarify what you will be writing in your article. Further, it will also help you write faster.
5. Write
It’s time to do the writing. If you have created a good outline, you will not have difficulty writing the article.
Write without worrying about spelling errors, grammatical mistakes, and editing the post. Write without interruption.
Get in the zone. Make sure nobody disturbs you when writing.
A few writing tips:
- Write short paragraphs (three to five sentences per paragraph).
- Use subheadings.
- Use images, links, gifs, videos, bullet points, numbering, quotes, etc. (Remember, readers read with their eyes too.)
You must complete the post in one stay. Don’t take long breaks when writing. Instead, you can take short breaks (not exceeding 5 minutes).
Don’t leave your article incomplete thinking that you will complete it the next day. This will interrupt your flow state.
Stop only when you have finished writing the whole thing.
6. Take a break
Most writers are unaware of this crucial step. You must take an extended break after you have completed the writing.
Don’t start editing as soon as you finish writing because your brain is still thinking as a writer. When you take a break, you become an editor; you are not a writer anymore.
Leave your writing as it is. Do something else that will keep your mind off what you just wrote.
Take a break of at least an hour. You can even leave it for the day and return to it the next day. Don’t be in a hurry to publish your article. If you do so, there will be more chances of unidentified errors.
So, go outside, talk to a human, watch a movie, drink tea, listen to music, take a nap, and do whatever you can to keep your mind busy before you start editing your work.
7. Edit, edit, edit.
The final and most crucial step of writing a perfect blog post is editing.
This is where you show no mercy on yourself. As I said before, you are an editor now, not a writer. Edit everything.
- Check the grammar. Use Grammarly for that.
- Ensure that the structure is intact and that you have followed the tips mentioned above in point number 5.
- Spelling errors are unacceptable.
- Add new sentences if necessary.
- Remove unnecessary/irrelevant elements.
Once you complete the editing, edit again. This time, read the article out loud. Don’t skip it.
Edit multiple times. You can also take breaks in between editing. This will help you find errors that you missed previously.
Bonus Tip: Simplicity is key
Most writers believe that their writing will be good if they use big words and literary sentences. That is not true, at least not in article writing.
Keep your writing as simple as possible. It should be understandable by anyone who knows basic English (or whatever language you are using). You must ensure that a kid from Grade 5 can understand your writing.
A perfect blog post is simple and on point. Don’t share unnecessary stories just to make it long. Long articles aren’t always the best.
Sometimes even a tweet of 250 characters is easier to understand than an in-depth article with 2500 words. In other words, if you know something well enough, you should be able to explain it in the simplest manner.
Follow the above steps, and you will be able to write a blog post like a pro.
Thanks for reading!
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