How To Write A Blog Post [Free Tools, Tips, and More]

Written by Shelby Stone

January 24, 2018

Blogging is a valuable tool for any business. Not only does it help your website’s search engine optimization (SEO), it provides you with content to share on social media. A well-written post can help educate readers and create leads for your business. Blogging is a pretty straightforward process that can do wonders for you. To help get you started, check out this simple process that will allow you to easily plan and execute blog posts.

Creating A Blog Outline

The first step for writing any successful blog post is to create an outline to organize your thoughts. Doing so means you can save time and create stronger arguments. A detailed blog outline helps you define your thought process logically and persuasively. Not only that, but you can save time in the process.

Before you begin to organize your outline, ask yourself these questions.

What is the big idea I want to convey?
Who is the audience that will be reading this?
What keywords do my article need to include?
List the key points I want to include
What arguments do I have to support these points?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you can begin to organize your blog outline. The majority of blogs follow a similar framework that looks something like this.

Introduction

Main Point 1

1-2 supporting arguments

Main Point 2

1-2 supporting arguments

Main Point 3

1-2 supporting arguments

Conclusion

*Pro Tip*

Create a sheet that looks something like the outline above. Once that’s complete, organize your keywords and create names for each section of the post. Try to include some of your keywords within these headings.

Writing A Blog Post

Once you have constructed your blog’s outline, you can begin to write your content. You’ll hear ten different responses if you ask ten different writers what their process is.

Some might prefer to write their blog in a logical order, starting from the introduction and finishing with the conclusion. Others focus on the arguments first and then write the intro and concluding paragraphs. Some writers edit as they go. And others wait until hours or days later to come back and tweak it.

The point is, finding a process that works will take some trial and error.

When writing the blog post, make sure your arguments follow this simple structure. Introduce your thought, provide evidence to support it, and offer your own opinion.

When I’m writing my blogs, here are the six steps I like to follow.

Review my outline

Before I write a blog post, I like to take a few minutes to review my outline. This lets me make sure I know my keywords, can locate sources I might want to include, and understand the arguments I’m trying to make.

Start Writing

Now that I’m ready to write, I put on my headphones and start writing away. As I said earlier, everyone’s process is different. Me, I like to start with my arguments and then write my introduction and conclusion.

Insert A Call To Action

After I have finished writing the blog post, I’ll insert a call-to-action and any anchor text I need to include. Anchor text will help redirect readers to other interesting posts related to your topic. Your call to action indicates what you want the reader to do next.

This could include:

asking a question to answer in the comment section
downloading an eBook
registering for an event
subscribing to your blog

Proofread and Edit Your Content

After you have completed your post, it’s time to proofread and edit it. There are many different ways you can do this. Websites like Grammarly or Hemingway Editor are two useful online tools. They will show you spelling mistakes, offer alternative words and phrases, and ensure you write with an active voice. If you have a trusted friend that excels in writing, ask them if they can proofread it for you.

If you want to do it yourself, double-space your lines so you can focus on the words. Take your time, and don’t rush through the content, or you’ll miss things. After your first edit, take some time and come back for a second proofread. If you want some more editing tips, check out this helpful article from The Write Life.

Optimize For SEO

Now that your post is written and edited, it’s time to optimize the page for SEO. These are the final steps to ensuring your page ranks well and is easily found by your readers. The following elements are things you want to pay attention to when optimizing your page.

Meta Description

A meta description is the text block under a page’s title on Google’s search result pages. They provide the reader with a brief description of what to expect from the page. Ideally, between 150-160 characters, they help improve the click-through rate by persuading the reader to click on the page.

Page Titles and Headings

The page title and the headings in your post are some of the most important parts of your SEO. These are places where you should try to incorporate keywords to help the post rank better on search engines. Don’t try to use as many keywords as possible; make sure they naturally belong there. Make sure to keep your headlines short as well. If they are more than 65 characters long, they’ll get truncated in search engine results.

Anchor Text

Anchor text is the words or phrases that link to other pages, whether on your website or another. Be careful with what words you select as your anchor text. These affect what keywords you rank for on search engines. Also, ensure that the website you are linking to ranks well for a certain keyword. This can, in turn, help your page rank better as well.

Select A Title

Last but not least, it’s time to create a title. Don’t just go with the first thing that comes to mind. Start with a working title but refine it to make it attention-grabbing and intriguing. Remember, a title should be accurate and clear. If you can include an SEO keyword, do so if you can make it work naturally.

You’re All Set!

There you go. Following the steps above, you should have a complete blog post to share with your readers. If you want even more help writing blog posts, check out Hubspot’s free blogging template pack. They’ve compiled a pack of five easy-to-follow templates for different types of blog posts.

If you want your business to start reaching more consumers and help improve your website’s ranking on search engines, we can help you build a blog. Learn more about our content marketing services or contact us.