Want to write great blog posts?
I’ve been blogging at mother.wife.me for just over a year. Given I read somewhere a while back that a good number of blogs don’t make it past the six months mark, my year plus of blogging makes me a bit of a veteran!
So, I thought I’d start running the odd ‘how to’ post on mother.wife.me to try and impart some of the stuff wot I’ve learnt in my time at the keyboard to those who are maybe just starting their blogging odyssey.
First up, here’s a few thoughts on writing blog posts. Please note, this is a post that is almost purely about writing skills rather than SEO skills, because ultimately it is producing brilliant content that will win the hearts and minds of your readers. I’ll cover off my thoughts on how best to SEO your posts separately.
The mother.wife.me guide to writing great blog posts
- Keep an ideas notebook - especially in the honeymoon period, when you love your blog more than anything or anyone else in all the world, you will find ideas bubbling out of your brain at all times of the day. Capture them all in a notebook before they are gone forever.
- Plan your more in-depth posts – if you have a major point or issue you want to discuss or a great story you want to share, it really is worth planning it, even if it is just in your head. Think back to your school days and remember that thing that every English teacher will have told you about essay writing - stories should have a beginning, middle and end.
- Have a killer headline – draw readers in with a headline that has them falling over themselves to read your post. Make sure it isn’t confusing or misleading. Think about what would draw your eye. Don’t forget that if you are self-hosted and using an SEO plugin, you can adapt your headline for Google Search results, which gives you more freedom to be creative on-page.
- Grab your reader in the opening paragraph – this doesn’t mean you have to stick your main point in right up front, but there should at least be a flavour of it, to ensure you grab the reader’s attention and make them want to keep on reading.
- Know your readers’ limits – with the best will in the world, none of us has a great attention span online. I aim to keep my posts to a max of 800 words. This gives me enough room to get a point across and illustrate it, or tell a story, without asking the reader to hang around for too long. The SEO rule of thumb seems to be that posts should be no less than 250 words and no more than 1000 words.
- Keep paragraphs short and punchy – reading online isn’t the same as reading something on paper. Short, sharp paragraphs make for a much easier reader. The easier the read, the more likely you are to keep a reader’s attention.
- Be succinct – set yourself a challenge of shaving a 100 words off a long post. It is amazing how you can whittle a post down if you put your mind to it, just by changing how you say things or thinking about whether something needs to be said at all.
- Get it right – check spelling and grammar. Even the best editors let the odd thing slip through the net, but alongside your readers appreciating a clear and simple read, Google also appreciates it, so getting into good habits could be good for your SEO!
- Put yourself in the mindset of a reader and always read a post before you hit ‘publish’:
- Does the post keep you engaged?
- How easy it is to read and understand?
- How well does it flow?
- Mix n Match your posts – if you are going for longevity with your blog, you need to ensure that alongside keeping any potential readers engaged, you are also able to keep yourself engaged with blogging. I do this by mixing up the kind of blog posts I write. Some are long and in-depth, some are micro posts and shoot straight from the hip, some are image led… it keeps things fresh and keeps your writing skills well exercised.
So there you go. A few tips that I hope will be of use and help you write great blog posts. If you are a new blogger reading this, please do leave a comment below so I can hop over to your blog and say hello.
Disclosure: This is a featured post brought to you by UK Essay.
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