How to Write The Perfect Blog Post

Not too long ago, I wanted to write my very first real blog post. I had tried to write one in the past and it was kind of crappy. Someone once told me that my first few posts would definitely suck so I shouldn’t beat myself up too badly. He was right too. I wanted to write a blog post that will be liked, shared, and will be memorable.

Only problem was how to start. The very first step I learnt was to write the post like a story. So, it really wouldn’t be corny if the first four words on your post were “Once Upon A Time.”

Writing a Great Headline

Before I could write the post, I needed to come up with the best headline ever. There’s a science to writing the title of your post, and ignoring best practices will ensure your post gets largely ignored. According to Salesforce, Canada, “your traffic can vary by as much as 500% based on your headline”. Readers tend to only absorb the first 3 and the last 3 words of a title so I had to keep that in mind. Including numbers is a good idea. And strong adjectives and trigger words and keywords. Including a promise is a good idea, too.

Numbers + Adjective + Target Keyword + Rationale + Promise

So here goes:

10 Infallible Social Media Hacks That Will Allow You to Write Best Blog Post Ever

Hmm. How about this instead?

How to Write a Perfect Blog Post

I’m going to try that one, I think.

Answer Readers Questions Upfront

Readers want to know what a post is about, if they should read it and what they will get out of it. And they want to know those things early in a blog post, so don’t beat around the bush. Using lists and bullet points is a good idea too.

·         This post follows my quest to write a perfect blog post.

·         You should read it.

·         The hope is that by witnessing my blunders, you may learn from my mistakes and write a better blog post than I have.

Use Subheads in Social Media Marketing Blog Posts

Subheads help guide your reader through your text. Sometimes people will just skip through your blog post and only read the text under the subhead that interests them or answers their question. Subheads are also a great opportunity to include keywords.

Keep Your Main Text Short and Sweet

Chances are most readers will only read about a third of the article. An article of 1500 words is considered a good length and takes about 7 minutes to read. Break up the text as much as you can with things such as lists.

6 things to include in your post to break up the text:

1.        Lists

2.        Subheads

3.        Charts

4.       Bullet points

5.        Pull quotes

6.       Visuals

Include Great Visuals

We remember visuals 6 times more easily than text. Blog posts with more images attract more backlinks, which is important for search engine optimization. Images should be beautiful, relevant and you should include information about where you got them.

Include a Call-to-Action

Why are we writing these blog posts anyway if not to inspire people to action? Include one in the sidebar, head or footer. Don’t ask for too much. Let me see, what do I want you to do? I want you to write a great blog post. Do it! Do it now!