The single most important thing you can do to get ranked in the search engines is to write relevant, informative content. Communicating and building trust within your niche, with an emphasis on helping, rather than selling, will drive more readers to your site. If you want to be a successful content marketer, you must create engaging content. Check out the tips below to learn how to write a blog post for beginners.
Table of Contents
How To Write A Blog Post For Beginners
1. Choose A Writing Platform
Choosing a writing platform that is easy to use is your first step to creating amazing content. This is the platform I use, but there are many options available. Google Docs is one such option and it’s free. Or check out Grammarly, which offers both free and paid versions.
You can also use the editor within your website. WordPress, however, doesn’t have an autosave function, and trust me, you want autosave. This will prevent a lot of late-night headaches.When selecting a writing platform, choose one that will automatically save your content.
You’ll also want the capability to add images, videos, links, bulleted lists, while automatically publishing directly to your website. A grammar and spell checker are also indispensable. Once you’ve chosen a writing platform, begin choosing your keywords.
2. Finding Great Keywords
Why are keywords so important? Because this is how Google and other search engines find content that match what people are looking for. Keywords are words or phrases within your articles that help people find your content and eventually your website.
For example, say someone googles “how to write a quality blog post” into their search bar. Hopefully, because I’ve done my keyword research, content that matches that particular search will pop up. That content will then lead readers to my website where they can visit the various pages on my site to see what I’m offering.
Visitors may sign up for my newsletter, or click on one of my call-to-action buttons. Or they may watch one of my videos, which will improve my rankings because of the time spent on my site. Be sure and put your keyword or phrase in the title and first paragraph of your article, and keep in mind that a catchy title will increase the chances of someone clicking on your link.
See the importance of keywords? Find a great keyword research tool that enables you to find keywords that are competitive, but not too competitive. I use Jaaxy for my keyword selection. I also love Neil Patel’s Uber Suggest. You can use it for free or sign up for a paid plan.
3. Start Writing
You don’t have to be an expert writer to create great content. Find your own style of communication and stick to it. That way you’ll come off as being authentic, which is what readers want. Focus on providing useful information your readers can learn from.
First, determine the purpose behind your post, and then create an outline using headlines and bullet points. I find it helpful to set a timer for 30 minutes. after which I begin brainstorming and writing down every idea that pops into my mind. Don’t worry what your writing looks like at this point. You’ll be organizing and refining later. This is the rough draft.
The goal is to get your ideas down, which will then spur more ideas, and before you know it, you’ve got enough content to begin composing a coherent article that is organized and makes sense. For instance, let’s say you have 5 headlines. Write a couple of short paragraphs equaling approximately 250 words under each headline. You’ve now got a 1250 word count article
4. Keep Your Paragraphs Short
Make the reader experience more enjoyable by keeping your sentences and paragraphs short. This makes for easier reading and comprehension. We all have limited attention spans, and are bombarded by way more information than we can absorb. Make it easy on your readers. Long, wordy sentences and paragraphs are overwhelming.
Headings and subheadings break up content, and add to the overall feel of an article. People tend to scan headings to determine what the article is about so be sure to include headlines, lists, and bullet points so readers can get the gist of what your post is trying to convey without reading every single word.
Ideally, you’ll want your post to be around 1,000 words. A minimum of 300 words is required for SEO. Initially, this can be daunting, but as you get more adept at writing, you’ll find your flow. Remember, writing is a skill, the more you do it, the more comfortable you’ll become with the process. Overtime, not only will your writing skills improve, but the speed at which you create your posts will improve exponentially.
5. Add Images For Interest
Images add visual appeal to any post or article. This increases user interest, engagement, and time on content. Images break up the content in an article, making it easier to read and digest. There are sites online that allow you to use their images for free. Pixabay, Pexels, and Unsplash are three sites worth checking out. In addition to images, you’ll also want to add graphics, charts, and videos.
Images add to the overall appeal of your content, and may even be the reason someone clicks on your post. They’re also important for search engine optimization. Make sure your images are relevant to your content, and appear above the fold, meaning your image appears near the top of the page where your viewer can easily see it when the article loads.
Add an alt tag for each image. Search engines crawl for keywords contained within your image files. Alt tags also assist those who are blind and using screen readers.
6. Don’t Forget Internal And External Links
Adding internal and external links are important for optimizing your content for the search engines. Internal links direct readers to other content on your site, which can result in viewers staying on your site longer, which Google loves. Also, include external links to authority sites, such as Wikipedia, or popular blogs that have related content in regard to what you’re writing.
7. Add A Call-To-Action
Add a call-to-action (CTA) button on each of your articles. Examples include: “Click here for your free gift,” “Learn more here,” or “Sign up for my newsletter here.” Your CTA will depend on what you’re trying to accomplish. For example, if you’re goal is to build your email list, you’ll want to include a free giveaway in exchange for the reader’s name and email.
Or if you’re selling a product, you could have a call-to-action button that says, “Click here to claim your 10% off coupon.” Include your CTA twice in your post: once in the middle and then again at the end of the content. And don’t forget to remind people to do what you want them to do in your CTA.
If you’d like to learn more about content creation, keyword research, SEO, and email marketing, READ MY REVIEW or click the banner below. There has never been a better time to create and scale a business on the internet.
Key Points
There you have it: follow these steps to write a quality blog post for beginners. These tips will make your content more enjoyable to read, while improving your rankings. Don’t strive for perfection with your writing. Simply do your best rather than getting caught in the trap of paralysis by analysis. Done is better than perfect.
I find it helpful to step away from my writing for a while if I start getting agitated or have no clue what to write. Step away and go do something totally unrelated to writing. When you return, you’ll be able to view your post with new eyes. It’s a great feeling and an even great feeling when you hit the “Publish” button.
What writing tips have helped you? Let me know in the comments:)
I’ve always struggled with writing quality content, and I feel a lot of that has to do with my perception of it not being good enough… even if it really is. Something that I’ve found really helps is using the site content creator that you mention in your blog posts as it helps me keep a good flow to the content.
Something that I haven’t personally tried is setting a timer for 30 minutes which is a really good idea because currently I feel overwhelmed with no end in sight.
These are really good tips that I’m going to follow, and I definitely need to remember that my content DOES NOT need to be perfect!
Hi Josh,
Thanks for reading my post and taking the time to leave a comment. Some days writing is down right hard. It depends on were I’m at mentally. Site Content definitely makes it easier to streamline my writing. Setting a timer puts a hard stop on my work flow so that I get to take a much needed break. When I come back to my project, I see it in a new light. This is why I find it really helpful to set time limits on my writing. And yes, your content doesn’t have to be perfect, which is a shift in mindset we all need to make.