How to Write a Blog Post: A Step-by-Step Guide [+ Fr... [Link]

com/marketing/how-to-start-a-blog

How to Write a Blog Post: A Step-by-

Step Guide [+ Free Blog Post
Templates]
Review a step-by-step guide plus useful templates to learn how to write an
e�ective blog post for your target audience and customers.

Written by: Rachel Leist

6 FREE BLOG POST TEMPLATES

Save time creating blog posts with these free templates.

Get Free Blog Post Templates

Updated: 04/03/24 Published: 04/03/24

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If you’ve ever read a blog post, you’ve consumed content from a thought
leader that is an expert in their industry. Chances are if the blog post was
written e�ectively, you came away with helpful knowledge and a positive
opinion about the writer or brand that produced the content.

→ Download Now: 6 Free Blog Post Templates

Anyone can connect with their audience through blogging and enjoy the
myriad bene�ts that blogging provides: organic tra�c from search engines,
promotional content for social media, and recognition from a new audience
you haven’t tapped into yet.

If you’ve heard about blogging but are a beginner and don’t know where to
start, the time for excuses is over. Not only can you create an SEO-friendly
blog, but I’ll cover how to write and manage your business's blog as well as
provide helpful templates to simplify your blogging e�orts.

Chapters

1 2

What is a blog How to Start a Blog

post?

Let's get started with an important question.

Blogging may mean di�erent things depending on your niche — so let’s begin
with this de�nition.

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What is a blog post?

A blog post is any article, news piece, or guide that's published in the blog
section of a website. A blog post typically covers a speci�c topic or query, is
educational in nature, ranges from 600 to 2,000+ words, and contains other
media types such as images, videos, infographics, and interactive charts.

Blog posts allow you and your business to publish insights, thoughts, and
stories on your website about any topic. They can help you boost brand
awareness, credibility, conversions, and revenue. Most importantly, they can
help you drive tra�c to your website.

But in order to begin making posts for a blog — you have to learn how to
start one, �rst. Let’s dive in.

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How to Start a Blog

1. Understand your audience.

2. Check out your competition.

3. Determine what topics you'll cover.

4. Identify your unique angle.

5. Name your blog.

6. Create your blog domain.

7. Choose a CMS and set up your blog.

8. Customize the look of your blog.

9. Write your �rst blog post.

1. Understand your audience.

Before you start writing your blog post, make sure you have a clear
understanding of your target audience. To do so, take the following steps.

Ask yourself exploratory questions.

To discover your audience, ask questions like: Who are they? Are they like me,
or do I know someone like them? What do they want to know about? What
will resonate with them?

Jot down your notes in a notepad or a document. This is the time to

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brainstorm audience attributes from scratch, no matter how out of left �eld
they may feel. You should also think about your audience's age, background,
goals, and challenges at this stage.

6 Free Blog Post Templates

Save time creating blog posts with these free templates.

"How-to" Post

"What is" Post

Listicle Post

And More!

Get Your Free Templates

Learn more

Carry out market research.

Doing market research sounds like a big task, but in truth, it can be as
simple as accessing a social media platform and browsing user and blog
pro�les that match with your potential audience.

Use market research tools to begin uncovering more speci�c information

about your audience — or to con�rm a hunch or a piece of information you
already knew. For instance, if you wanted to create a blog about work-from-
home hacks, you can make the reasonable assumption that your audience
will be mostly Gen Zers and Millennials. But it’s important to con�rm this

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information through research.

Create formal buyer personas.

Once you’ve brainstormed and carried out market research, it’s time to
create formal buyer personas. It’s important because what you know about
your buyer personas and their interests will inform the brainstorming process
for blog posts.

"Buyer personas aren’t just for direct marketing. They can be a handy way to
keep a human in mind while you’re writing. If you’ve got other marketing or
sales teams handy, coordinate your personas," says Curtis del Principe, user
acquisition manager at HubSpot. "Chances are that your existing customers
are exactly the kind of people you want to attract with your writing in the �rst
place. Your sales and service teams can also have great insight into these
people’s needs and pain points."

For instance, if your readers are Millennials looking to start a business, you
probably don't need to provide them with information about getting started
on social media — most of them already have that down.

You might, however, want to give them information about how to adjust their
social media approach (for example — from what may be a casual, personal
approach to a more business-savvy, networking-focused approach). That
kind of tweak is what helps you publish content about the topics your
audience really wants and needs.

Don't have buyer personas in place for your business? Here are a few
resources to help you get started:

Create Buyer Personas for Your Business [Free Template]

Guide: How to Create Detailed Buyer Personas for Your Business

[Free Tool] Make My Persona: Buyer Persona Generator

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2. Check out your competition.

What better way to draw inspiration than to look at your well-established
competition?

It’s worth taking a look at popular, highly reviewed blogs because their
strategy and execution is what got them to grow in credibility. The purpose of
doing this isn’t to copy these elements, but to gain better insight into what
readers appreciate in a quality blog.

When you �nd a competitor’s blog, take the following steps:

Determine whether they’re actually a direct competitor.

A blog’s audience, niche, and speci�c slant determine whether they're

actually your competitor. But the most important of these is their audience. If
they serve a completely di�erent public than you, then they’re likely not a
competitor. That is why it’s important to de�ne your buyer personas before
taking other steps in the blog creation process.

Look at the blog’s branding, color palette, and theme.

Once you determine that they’re your competitor, it’s time to take note of
their techniques so that you can capture a similar readership. Colors and
themes play a huge role in whether you seem like part of a niche — for
instance, a blog about eco-friendly products should likely use earthy tones
instead of bright, unnatural colors such as neon yellow or pink.

Analyze the tone and writing style of the competition.

Take note of your competition’s copywriting. Is it something you feel like you
can successfully emulate? Does it ring true to the type of blog you’d like to
create? What do readers most respond to? For most, creating a tech blog
might be an excellent idea, but if journalistic, review-based writing doesn’t
work for you, then that might not be a good �t. Be aware of what you can
feasibly execute or hire freelance writers.

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3. Determine what topics you’ll cover.

Before you write anything, pick a topic you’d like to write about. The topic
can be pretty general to start as you �nd your desired niche in blogging.

Here are some ways to choose topics to cover.

Find out which topics your competitors often cover.

One easy way to choose topics for your blog is to simply learn what other
blogs are writing about. After you determine your competitors, go through
their archive and category pages, and try to �nd out which topics they most
often publish content about. From there, you can create a tentative list to
explore further. You might �nd, for instance, that a competitor only covers
surface-level information about a subject. In your blog, you can dive more
deeply and o�er more value to readers.

Choose topics you understand well.

No matter what type of blog you start, you want to ensure you know the
topic well enough to write authoritatively about it. Rather than choosing a
topic you’ll need to research as you write, think about those that come most
naturally to you. What has your professional experience been like so far?
What are your hobbies? What did you study in college? These can all give rise
to potential topics you can cover in depth.

Ensure the topics are relevant to your readership.

You may �nd that you hold deep expertise in various topics, but how relevant
are they to the audience you understood back in step one?

Del Principe suggests checking in with sales and service teams as well. "What
kinds of things do they wish customers already knew? What kinds of
questions do they get asked a thousand times? What kind of objections
come up from potential customers, and how do they address them?"

If you’re not serving their needs, then you’d be shouting into a void — or,

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worse, attracting the wrong readership. For that reason, after identifying the
topics you can feasibly write about, ask yourself whether those are subjects
your audience would like to explore.

Do preliminary keyword research.

Keyword research is the process of searching for topics using a keyword

research tool, then determining whether there is demand by looking at each
topic’s (or keyword’s) search volume. If you found the perfect topics that are
the perfect cross between your expertise and your reader’s needs, you’ve
struck gold — but the gold will have no value unless people are searching for
those terms. Only then can you capture the audience that is waiting out
there.

6 Free Blog Post Templates

Save time creating blog posts with these free templates.

"How-to" Post

"What is" Post

Listicle Post

And More!

Get Your Free Templates

Learn more

Pro tip: If you need help brainstorming ideas or lack inspiration, you can use

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HubSpot’s blog topic generator. It can generate title ideas and even outlines
based on a brief description of what you want to write about or a speci�c
keyword.

4. Identify your unique angle.

What perspective do you bring that makes you stand out from the crowd?
This is key to determining the trajectory of your blog’s future, and there are
many avenues to choose in the process.

Here’s how you can �nd your unique selling proposition in crowded blogging
niches:

Write a professional and personal bio.

Knowing your own history and experience is essential to determine your

unique slant. To get started, write a professional bio that explains, at length,
who you are and which experiences most inform your blogging e�orts. While
I could write a lengthy exposition about my childhood, that history isn’t
essential unless I’m launching a blog about raising children.

What unique experience makes you a trusted expert or thought leader on the
topic? You can use your answers to that question to �nd your angle. Use this
information to populate your “About me” page on your blog and share more
about yourself.

Determine the special problem you will solve for readers.

Your readers won’t trust you or return to you unless you actively help them
solve a problem. As you try to �nd your angle, think about ways you can help
your audience surmount challenges typically associated with the topics
you’ve chosen for your blog. For instance, if you’re creating a blog about
sustainability, then you might help readers learn how they can compost
organic materials in their home.

Choose an editorial approach.

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Will you share your opinions on trending debates? Teach your readers how to
do something? Compare or share original research? The editorial approach
you choose will in part be informed by the topics you cover on your blog and
the problems you’re helping your readers solve. If your blog is about
marketing trends and your goal is to keep marketers up-to-date on the latest
changes, then your editorial approach should be journalistic in nature. This is
only one example of how to choose a technique.

5. Name your blog.

This is your opportunity to get creative and make a name that gives readers
an idea of what to expect from your blog. Some tips on how to choose your
blog name include:

Keep your blog name easy to say and spell.

No need to get complicated at all with your name, though it might be

tempting, since there are so many blogs out there. While choosing a unique
name is essential, it’s also important to choose one that is easy to memorize
for readers. It should also be simple to remember as an URL (which will come
into play in the next step).

Link your blog name to your brand message.

The more related your blog’s name is to the topics you cover, the better. For
instance, DIY MFA is all about writers doing their own Master of Fine Arts in
writing at home. The brand’s message is all about delving deep into one’s
writing practice without needing a formal degree. Try to do something similar
for your own blog name: Alluding to your blog’s message, value proposition,
and covered topics in one sweep.

Consider what your target audience is looking for.

Your blog name should tie directly into what your readers want to achieve,
learn, or solve. DIY MFA is about writers who don’t have the money for
graduate school, but who still want to develop their writing skills. The

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HubSpot Marketing blog is — you guessed it — about marketing trends and

tips.

It’s okay if your blog name feels “too straightforward.” Straightforward

names accurately communicate what you’re about and e�ectively attract the
right audience.

If you still need more assistance, try using a blog name generator. One last
tip: Make sure the name you come up with isn’t already taken, as it could
lessen your visibility and confuse readers looking for your content.

6. Create your blog domain.

A domain is a part of the web address nomenclature someone would use to
�nd your website or a page of your website online.

Your blog‘s domain will look like this: [Link]. The name between
the two periods is up to you, as long as this domain name doesn’t yet exist
on the internet.

Want to create a subdomain for your blog? If you already own a cooking
business at [Link], you might create a blog that looks like
this: [Link]. In other words, your blog's subdomain will live in
its own section of [Link].

Some CMS platforms o�er subdomains as a free service, where your blog
lives on the CMS, rather than your business's website. For example, it might
look like this: [Link]. However, to create a
subdomain that belongs to your company website, register the subdomain
with a website host.

Most website hosting services charge very little to host an original domain
— in fact, website costs can be as inexpensive as $3 per month when you
commit to a 36-month term.

Pro Tip: You can connect your custom domain to free hosting with

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HubSpot’s free CMS or in premium editions of Content Hub. This includes

access to built-in security features and a content delivery network.

Here are �ve other popular web hosting services to choose from:

GoDaddy

HostGator

DreamHost

Bluehost

iPage

HubSpot's Free Website Builder

Create and customize your own business website with an easy drag-and-
drop website builder.

Build a website without any coding skills.

Pre-built themes and templates.

Built-in marketing tools and features.

And more!

Get Started for Free

7. Choose a CMS and set up your blog.

A CMS (content management system) is a software application that allows

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users to build and maintain a website without having to code it from

scratch. CMS platforms can manage domains (where you create your
website) and subdomains (where you create a webpage that connects to an
existing website).

HubSpot customers host web content via Content Hub. Another popular
option is a self-hosted WordPress website on a hosting site such as WP
Engine. Whether you create a domain or a subdomain to start your blog,
you'll need to choose a web hosting service after you pick a CMS.

Pro Tip: You can get started for free with HubSpot’s free blog maker. Our
free CMS o�ers everything you need to get started– including hosting, a
visual editor, and hundreds of free and paid themes to choose from.

Start using HubSpot's Free Blog Making tool to publish blog posts.

8. Customize the look of your blog.

Once you have your domain name set up, customize the appearance of your
blog to re�ect the theme of the content you plan on creating and your brand.

For example, if you're writing about sustainability and the environment, green
might be a color to keep in mind while designing your blog.

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Image Source

If you already manage a website and are writing the �rst post for that
existing website, ensure the article is consistent with the website in
appearance and subject matter. Two ways to do this are including your:

Logo: This can be your business‘s name and logo — it will remind blog
readers of who’s publishing the content. (How heavily you want to brand
your blog, however, is up to you.)

“About” Page: You might already have an “About” blurb describing

yourself or your business. Your blog‘s "About" section is an extension of
this higher-level statement. Think of it as your blog’s mission statement,
which serves to support your company's goals.

9. Write your �rst blog post.

Once you have your blog set up, the only thing missing is the content. While
the design and layout are fun and functionally necessary, it's the content that
will draw your readers in and keep them coming back. So how do you
actually go about writing one of these engaging and informational pieces?

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Writing Your First Blog Post

You’ve got the technical and practical tidbits down — now it’s time to write
your very �rst blog post. And nope, this isn’t the space to introduce yourself
and your new blog (i.e. “Welcome to my blog! This is the topic I’ll be covering.
Here are my social media handles. Will you please follow?”).

Start with “low-hanging fruit,” writing about a highly speci�c topic that
serves a small segment of your target audience.

That seems unintuitive, right? If more people are searching for a term or a
topic, that should mean more readers for you.

But that’s not true. If you choose a general and highly searched topic that’s
been covered by major competitors or more established brands, it’s unlikely
that your post will rank on the �rst page of search engine results pages
(SERPs). Give your newly born blog a chance by choosing a topic that few
bloggers have written about.

If you need help, you can also use AI to help you create a blog post quickly.

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1. Choose a topic you’re passionate and knowledgeable

about.
Before you write anything, pick a topic for your blog post. The topic can be
pretty general to start. For example, if you're a company that sells a CRM for
small-to-enterprise businesses, your post might be about the importance of
using a single software to keep your marketing, sales, and service teams
aligned.

Pro tip: You may not want to jump into a “how-to” article for your �rst blog
post.

Why?

Your credibility hasn’t been established yet. Before teaching others how to do
something, you’ll �rst want to show that you’re a leader in your �eld and an
authoritative source.

For instance, if you‘re a plumber writing your �rst post, you won’t yet write a
post titled “How to Replace the Piping System in your Bathroom.” First, you’d
write about modern faucet setups, or tell a particular success story you had
rescuing a faucet before it �ooded a customer's house.

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Here are four other types of blog posts you could start with:

List (“Listicle”): 5 ways to �x a leaky faucet

Curated Collection: 10 faucet and sink brands to consider today

SlideShare Presentation: 5 types of faucets to replace your old one

(with pictures)

News Piece: New study shows X% of people don't replace their faucet
frequently enough

If you're having trouble coming up with topic ideas, a good topic

brainstorming session should help. In the post I’ve linked, my colleague
walks you through a helpful process for turning one idea into many. Similar to
the “leaky faucet” examples above, you would “iterate o� old topics to come
up with unique and compelling new topics.”

This can be done by:

Changing the topic scope

Adjusting your time frame

Choosing a new audience

Taking a positive/negative approach

Introducing a new format

And if you’re still stuck, let’s take a look at some �rst blog post idea
examples.

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6 Free Blog Post Templates

Save time creating blog posts with these free templates.

"How-to" Post

"What is" Post

Listicle Post

And More!

Get Your Free Templates

Learn more

First Blog Post Ideas

The Di�erence Between [Niche Topic] and [Niche Topic], Explained by a
[Niche Expert]

The Di�erence Between SEM and SEO, Explained by a Marketing Expert

The Di�erence Between Sedans and Coupes, Explained by a Car

Mechanic

The Di�erence Between Baking and Broiling, Explained by a Professional

Baker

The 10 Best and Worst [Niche Tools] for [Niche Activity]

The 10 Best and Worst Writing Software for Fiction Writing

The 10 Best and Worst CRMs for Nurturing Prospects

The 10 Best and Worst Family Cars for Cross-Country Roadtrips

8 [Niche Activity] Common Mistakes (+ Ways to Fix Them)

8 Non-Fiction Writing Common Mistakes (+ Ways to Fix Them)

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8 Salmon Broiling Common Mistakes (+ Ways to Fix Them)

8 Car Maintenance Common Mistakes (+ Ways to Fix Them)

9 Proven Tips for [Niche Activity]

9 Proven Tips for Checking Plumbing Problems under Your Kitchen Sink

9 Proven Tips for Writing a Non-Fiction Bestseller

9 Proven Tips for Doing DIY Car Maintenance

Why We/I Switched from [Niche Tool] to [Niche Tool] (Comparison)

Why We Switched from Pipedrive to HubSpot (Comparison)

Why I Switched from Microsoft Word to Scrivener (Comparison)

Why We Switched from iMacs to Surface Studio (Comparison)

[Niche Tool] vs [Niche Tool]: Which [Tool] is Best for You?

Zendesk vs Freshcaller: Which Call Software is Best for You?

Air Fryer vs Convection Oven: Which One is Best for You?

Mazda Miata vs Toyota Supra: Which Sports Car is Best for You?

The Ultimate Roundup of [Niche Activity] Tips and Tricks

The Ultimate Roundup of Novel Writing Tips and Tricks

The Ultimate Roundup of Macaroon Baking Tips and Tricks

The Ultimate Roundup of Solo Traveling Tips and Tricks

Want some real examples of blog posts? See what your �rst blog post can
look like based on the topic you choose and the audience you're targeting.

2. Target a low-volume keyword to optimize around.

Finding a keyword with low searches in Google (I recommend sticking to

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about 10 to 150 monthly searches). These topics o�er less competition and
should therefore allow your new blog post to rank more easily.

To choose a topic, you can either do a traditional brainstorming session or

carry out keyword research. I suggest the latter because you can actually see
how many people are looking for that topic.

Now, don’t be intimidated by the term “keyword research.” It’s not just for
marketers, but for new bloggers, too. And it’s really easy to do.

To jumpstart your keyword research, �rst begin by identifying the general

topic of your blog.

Say you’re a plumber. Your general, high-level topic might be “plumbing” (67K
monthly searches).

Next, put this term into a keyword research tool such as:

Ahrefs

Moz

Ubersuggest

Wordtracker

When you run this term through the tool, a list of related keywords will
appear. Scan the list and choose one with a lower search volume. For this
example, we’ll use “under sink plumbing” (1.4K monthly searches).

Run that keyword in the keyword research tool again. Look at the related
keywords. Find one with a lower search volume. Do that again.

For this example, we’ll settle on “plumbing problems under kitchen sink” (10
monthly searches). That’s the topic for our �rst post.

TLDR; Choose a low-volume, low-competition keyword that will ensure your

�rst post ranks.

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For more help on keyword research, here are more resources you can use:

How to Do Keyword Research for SEO: A Beginner's Guide

How to Perform Keyword Research and Rank

Top Tools For Finding Long-Tail Keywords

3. Google the term to understand your audience’s

search intent.
You’ve got your topic — now, you need to check that the user’s search intent
would be ful�lled by a blog post.

What does that mean?

If someone is looking for “plumbing problems under a kitchen sink,” they

might be looking for a tutorial, a diagram, an article, or a product that can �x
the issue. If they’re looking for the �rst three, you’re good — that can be
covered in a blog post. A product, however, is di�erent, and your blog post
won’t rank.

How do you double-check search intent?

Google the term and look at the results. If other articles and blog posts rank
for that term, you’re good to go. If you only �nd product pages or listicles
from major publications, then �nd a new topic to cover in your �rst post.

Consider the term “under sink plumbing bathroom” (30 monthly searches). It
seemed like a perfect �t because it had low monthly searches.

Upon Googling the term, I found product carousels, product pages from
Home Depot and Lowes, and guides written by major publications. (You’ll
also want to avoid topics that have been covered by major publications, at
least for now.)

TLDR; Before writing your �rst blog post about a low-volume topic, double-

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check the user intent by Googling the keyword. Also, don’t forget to take a
look at who’s written about that topic so far. If you see a major brand,
consider writing about another topic.

6 Free Blog Post Templates

Save time creating blog posts with these free templates.

"How-to" Post

"What is" Post

Listicle Post

And More!

Get Your Free Templates

Learn more

4. Find questions and terms related to that topic.

You’ve got a highly unique topic that’s been covered by just a few people so
far. It’s time to �esh it out by covering related or adjacent topics.

Use the following tools:

Answer the Public: When you place your keyword into this tool, it will
give you a list of questions related to that term.

Google: Google is your best friend. Search for the term and look under
“People also ask” and “People also search for.” Be sure to touch upon

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those topics in the post.

You can also use these keyword research tools we mentioned above in step
one.

5. Come up with a working title.

You might come up with a few di�erent working titles — in other words,
iterations of approaching that topic to help you focus your writing.

For example, you may decide to narrow your topic to “Tools for Fixing Leaky
Faucets” or “Common Causes of Leaky Faucets.” A working title is speci�c
and will guide your post so you can start writing.

Let's take a real post as an example: "How to Choose a Solid Topic for Your
Next Blog Post."

Appropriate, right? The topic, in this case, was probably “blogging.” Then the
working title may have been something like, “The Process for Selecting a Blog
Post Topic.” And the �nal title ended up being “How to Choose a Solid Topic
for Your Next Blog Post.”

See that evolution from topic, to working title, to �nal title? Even though the
working title may not end up being the �nal title (more on that in a moment),
it still provides enough information so you can focus your blog post on
something more speci�c than a generic, overwhelming topic.

6. Create an outline.
Sometimes, blog posts can have an overwhelming amount of information —
for the reader and the writer. The trick is to organize the info in a way so
readers aren‘t intimidated by length or amount of content. This organization
can take multiple forms — sections, lists, tips — whatever’s most appropriate.
But it must be organized!

Featured Resource: 6 Free Blog Post Templates

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Download These Templates for Free

Let's take a look at the post, "How to Use Snapchat: A Detailed Look Into
HubSpot’s Snapchat Strategy." There‘s a lot of content in the piece, so it’s
broken up into a few sections using descriptive headers. The major sections
are separated into subsections that go into more detail, making the content
easier to read.

To complete this step, all you really need to do is outline your post. This way,
before you start writing, you'll know which points you want to cover and the
best order to do so. And to make things even easier, you can download and
use our free blog post templates, which are pre-organized for six of the
most common blogs. Just �ll in the blanks!

7. Write an intro (and make it captivating).

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We've written more speci�cally about writing captivating introductions in the

post "How to Write an Introduction," but let's review, shall we?

First, grab the reader‘s attention. If you lose the reader in the �rst few
paragraphs — or even sentences — of the introduction, they’ll stop reading
(even before they've given your post a fair shake). You can do this in a
number of ways: tell a story or a joke, be empathetic, or grip the reader with
an interesting fact or statistic.

Then, describe the purpose of your post and explain how it will address a
problem the reader may be experiencing. This will give the reader a reason to
continue reading and show them how the post will help them improve their
work or lives.

Here‘s an example of an intro I think does a good job of attracting a reader’s

attention right away:

“Blink. Blink. Blink. It's the dreaded cursor-on-a-blank-screen experience that

all writers — amateur or professional, aspiring or experienced — know and
dread. And of all times for it to occur, it seems to plague us the most when
trying to write an introduction.”

8. Build out each section of your outline.

The next step — but not the last — is actually writing the content. We can't
forget about that, of course.

Now that you have your outline or template, you're ready to �ll in the blanks.
Use your outline as a guide and expand on all points as needed. Write about
what you already know, and if necessary, conduct additional research to
gather more information, examples, and data to back up your points, while
providing proper attribution when incorporating external sources. When you
do, always try to �nd accurate and compelling data to use in your post.

If you‘re having trouble stringing sentences together, you’re not alone.

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Finding your “�ow” can be challenging for a lot of folks. Luckily, there are a
ton of tools you can lean on to help you improve your writing. Here are a few
to get you started:

HubSpot's AI Blog Writer: Tools like HubSpot's AI Blog Writer can be a

valuable asset for beginners and seasoned bloggers alike. It simpli�es
the process of creating SEO-friendly and engaging blog content, which is
crucial for connecting with your audience and enjoying the bene�ts of
blogging.

Power Thesaurus: Stuck on a word? Power Thesaurus is a crowdsourced

tool that provides users with a number of alternative word choices from
a community of writers.

ZenPen: If you're having trouble staying focused, check out this

distraction-free writing tool. ZenPen creates a minimalist “writing zone”
designed to help you get words down without having to fuss with
formatting right away.

Cliché Finder: Feeling like your writing might be coming o� a little

cheesy? Identify instances where you can be more speci�c using this
handy cliché tool.

You can also refer to our complete list of tools for improving your writing
skills. And if you're looking for more direction, the following resources are
chock-full of valuable writing advice:

Copywriting 101: 6 Traits of Excellent Copy Readers Will Remember

How to Write Compelling Copy: 7 Tips for Writing Content That

Converts

How to Write With Clarity: 9 Tips for Simplifying Your Message

The Kurt Vonnegut Guide to Great Copywriting: 8 Rules That Apply to

Anyone

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Your Blog Posts Are Boring: 9 Tips for Making Your Writing More
Interesting

9. Publish and promote your �rst post any way you

can.
As a new blogger, you likely don’t have a social media following yet.
Thankfully, you don’t need a huge following before you can create a
promotion strategy.

A promotion strategy is your master plan for how you create, post, and
engage with your social media content. One quick but e�ective way to build
up your online presence is by simply repurposing your blog posts.

You can turn a blog post into bite-sized snippets of engaging information to
share on socials, or into an audio �le perfect for audio streaming services.
HubSpot’s content marketing tools let you do just that, as well as handle
SEO and even record videos and podcasts.

It helps you take advantage of social and digital technologies to share your
business, or in this case, your content. Having a solid promotional strategy
o�ers your audience from di�erent marketing channels more ways to �nd

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your blog posts.

Here are more blog post promotion resources:

12 Tried-and-True Ways to Promote Your Blog Posts

10 Sites You Can Use for Free Blog Promotion

9 Link Building Email Outreach Templates That Actually Work

Inbound Link Building 101: 34 Ways to Build Backlinks for SEO

11 Creative (But 100% White Hat!) Ways to Earn Backlinks

10. Track content performance to optimize future

posts.
Keyword research, informative content, and having a promotion strategy in
place won’t get you anywhere if you don’t know whether you’re doing it right.
Analytics should play a key role in your overall content strategy.

For example, you can track a page’s total views and average session
duration with HubSpot’s marketing analytics software to gauge whether
your target audience found the blog post engaging or informative while
monitoring your tra�c sources helps pinpoint the marketing channels that
might be worth doubling down on.

You can also identify your top-performing posts to see which topics yield the
best results in terms of views conversions, for example.

What makes a good blog post?

Before you write a blog, make sure you know the answers to questions like,
“Why would someone keep reading this entire blog post?” and “What makes
our audience come back for more?”

To start, a good blog post is interesting and educational. Blogs should answer
questions and help readers resolve a challenge they're experiencing — and

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you have to do so in an interesting way.

It‘s not enough just to answer someone’s questions — you also have to
provide actionable steps while being engaging. For instance, your
introduction should hook the reader and make them want to continue
reading your post. Then, use examples to keep your readers interested in
what you have to say.

Remember, a good blog post is interesting to read and provides educational

content to audience members.

Want to learn how to apply blogging and other forms of content marketing to
your business?

Check out HubSpot Academy's free content marketing course.

Now, let's dive into some formatting guidelines to use before you publish your
blog posts.

Blog Format Guidelines

1. Include H2s to arrange ideas.

2. Center your Images.

3. Add alt text.

4. Keep your sentences clear and concise.

5. Use media with purpose.

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1. Include H2s to arrange ideas.

When you begin typing your blog content, it’s important that you divide
paragraphs into sections that make it easier for the reader to �nd what they
need.

If you’re just starting out, then focus on the overarching H2s you want to talk
about, and you’ll be able to branch o� into subheaders and more naturally as
you continue.

2. Center your images.

This is a simple practice that can help your content look more professional
with little e�ort. Centering your images keeps the reader’s attention drawn to
the subject — not searching for elsewhere.

Centering also looks better when translating from PC to mobile devices. As

formatting transitions to small screens or windows, a centered image will
remain the focal point.

3. Add alt text.

So those images you centered earlier, make sure you have descriptive alt text
for them, too.

Image alt text allows search engines, like Google, to crawl and rank your
blog post better than pages lacking the element. It also leads readers to your
blog post if the keywords included are what they searched for in the �rst
place.

Besides SERP features, image alt text is bene�cial to readers by providing

more accessibility. Image alt text allows people to better visualize images
when they can’t see them, and with assistive technology, can be auditorily
read aloud for people to enjoy.

4. Keep your sentences short and concise.

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When you begin working on the body of your blog post, make sure readers
can clearly understand what you’re trying to accomplish.

You shouldn’t feel pressure to elongate your post with unnecessary details,
and chances are that if you keep it concise, readers will derive more value
from your work.

5. Use media with a purpose.

Break up the monotony of your blog post with some multimedia content
where seen �t.

Your reader will enjoy visiting a blog page with images, videos, polls, audio or
slideshows as opposed to a page of black and white text.

It also makes it more interactive and improves your on-page search engine
optimization (SEO).

Now, do you want some real examples of blog posts? See what your �rst blog
post can look like based on the topic you choose and the audience you're
targeting.

Blog Post Examples

1. List-Based Post

2. Thought Leadership Post

3. Curated Collection Post

4. SlideShare Presentation

5. Newsjacking Post

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6. Infographic Post

7. How-to Post

8. Guest Post

1. List-Based Blog Post

List-Based Post Example: 17 Blogging Mistakes to Avoid in
2021, According to HubSpot Bloggers

List-based posts are sometimes called “listicles,” a mix of the words “list” and
“article.” These are articles that deliver information in the form of a list. A
listicle uses sub-headers to break down the blog post into individual pieces,
helping readers skim and digest your content more easily.

As you can see in the example from our blog, listicles can o�er various tips
and methods for solving a problem.

2. Thought Leadership Post

Example: How HubSpot's Customers Are Shaping the Next
Normal

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Thought leadership posts allow you to share your expertise on a particular

subject matter and share �rsthand knowledge with your readers.

These pieces — which can be written in the �rst person, like the post shown
above — help you build trust with your audience so people take your blog
seriously as you continue to write for it.

3. Curated Collection Post

Example: 8 Examples of Evolution in Action

Curated collections are a special type of listicle blog post. Rather than
sharing tips or methods for doing something, this type of blog post shares a
list of real examples that all have something in common in order to prove a

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larger point.

In the example post above, Listverse shares eight real examples of evolution
in action among eight di�erent animals — starting with the peppered moth.

4. Slide Presentation
Example: The HubSpot Culture Code

HubSpot Slides is a presentation tool that helps publishers package a lot of

information into easily shareable slides. Think of it like a PowerPoint, but for
the web. With this in mind, SlideShare blog posts help you promote your
SlideShare so that it can generate a steady stream of visitors.

Unlike blogs, slide decks don't often rank well on search engines, so they need
a platform for getting their message out there to the people who are looking

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for it. By embedding and summarizing your SlideShare on a blog post, you
can share a great deal of information and give it a chance to rank on Google
at the same time.

Need some slideshow ideas? In the example above, we turned our company's
“Culture Code” into a slides presentation that anyone can look through and
take lessons from, and then promoted it in a blog post.

5. Newsjacking Post
Example: Ivy Goes Mobile With New App for Designers

“Newsjacking” is a nickname for “hijacking” your blog to break important

news related to your industry. Therefore, the newsjack post is a type of article
whose sole purpose is to garner consumers' attention and, while o�ering
them timeless professional advice, prove your blog is a trusted resource for
learning about the big things that happen in your industry.

The newsjack example above was published by Houzz, a home decor

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merchant and interior design resource, about a new mobile app that was
launched just for interior designers. Houzz didn‘t launch the app, but the news
of its launching is no less important to Houzz’s audience.

6. Infographic Post
Example: The Key Bene�ts of Studying Online [Infographic]

The infographic post serves a similar purpose as the SlideShare post — the
fourth example, explained above — in that it conveys information for which
plain blog copy might not be the best format.

For example, when you're looking to share a lot of statistical information

(without boring or confusing your readers), building this data into a well-
designed, even engaging infographic can keep your readers engaged with
your content. It also helps readers remember the information long after they
leave your website.

7. How-to Post
Example: How to Write a Blog Post: A Step-by-Step Guide

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For this example, you need not look any further than the blog post you‘re
reading right now! How-to guides like this one help solve a problem for your
readers. They’re like a cookbook for your industry, walking your audience
through a project step by step to improve their literacy on the subject.

The more posts like this you create, the more equipped your readers will be to
work with you and invest in the services you o�er.

8. Guest Post
Example: Your Bookmarkable Guide to Social Media Image
Sizes in 2021 [Infographic]

Guest posts are a type of blog post that you can use to include other voices
on your blog. For example, if you want to get an outside expert's opinion on a
topic, a guest post is perfect for that.

Additionally, these posts give your blog variety in topic and viewpoint. If your
customer has a problem you can't solve, a guest post is a great solution.

If you begin accepting guest posts, set up editorial guidelines to ensure

they're up to the same standards as your posts.

So we’ve gone through the di�erent types of blog posts you can make, but
how do you consistently make quality blog posts that your viewers will enjoy?

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How to Write a Blog Post

1. Draw from your buyer personas and what you know about your
audience.

2. Pull from your content strategy and/or brainstormed topics.

3. Identify what's missing from the existing discourse.

4. Choose what type of blog post you're writing.

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5. Generate a few di�erent titles and choose the best one.

6. Create your outline and designate keyword-rich H2s and H3s.

7. Write your blog post!

8. Proofread your post.

9. Add images and other media elements to support your ideas.

10. Upload your post into your CMS.

11. Determine a conversion path (what you want your audience to do next).

12. Add calls to action to guide your audience to take action.

13. Link to other relevant blog posts within your content.

14. Optimize for on-page SEO.

15. Publish and promote the blog post.

16. Track the performance of the blog post over time.

1. Draw from your buyer personas and what you know

about your audience.
Before you start writing your blog post, make sure you have a clear
understanding of your target audience.

Ask questions like: What do they want to know about? What will resonate
with them?

This is where the process of creating buyer personas comes in handy.

Consider what you know about your buyer personas and their interests while
you're coming up with a topic for your blog post.

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For instance, if your readers are millennials looking to start a business, you
probably don't need to provide them with information about getting started
in social media — most of them already have that down.

You might, however, want to give them information about how to adjust their
social media approach (for example — from what may be a casual, personal
approach to a more business-savvy, networking-focused approach). That
kind of tweak is what helps you publish content about the topics your
audience really wants and needs.

If you haven’t developed buyer personas yet, I’ve found that it’s easiest to
get started by gathering the information you already have about your
audience and looking for trends. Sending out feedback surveys and
interviewing followers can also be helpful.

Does your blog attract a speci�c age group? Does your audience live in a
certain region? How do readers typically discover your content? Finding
answers to these questions can help you get a better idea of who your buyer
persona is.

Don't have buyer personas in place for your business? Here are a few
resources to help you get started:

Create Buyer Personas for Your Business [Free Template]

Guide: How to Create Detailed Buyer Personas for Your Business

[Free Tool] Make My Persona: Buyer Persona Generator

2. Pull from your content strategy and/or brainstormed

topics.
If you already have a pre-existing portfolio to look back on, it would bene�t
you to pull from those brainstormed post ideas or previous content strategy.

One thing that’s been helpful for me is speci�cally looking at content

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performance data when brainstorming ideas. In doing this, I’ve discovered

which topics tend to resonate with my audience (and which ones don’t) and
created content around them.

By focusing on your core blog topics, or clusters, you can establish yourself
as a thought leader, gain the trust of your audience, rank better on search
engines, and attract new readers.

3. Identify what’s missing from the existing discourse.

Fill in the gaps of the existing discourse in the topic of your choosing.

You want to meet a need that hasn’t already been met in your topic cluster.
Otherwise, you run the risk of writing content for topics that are already over-
saturated.

It’s hard to beat saturated search queries when you’re trying to rank against
high authority publications — but not impossible if your content is answering
the queries the competition hasn’t.

To discover what’s missing within a topic, I conduct a competitive analysis

to see what my competitors o�er in their content and how I can make my
blog post better. Here are some things to look out for:

Unanswered user queries

Content depth

Content freshness

Media richness

User experience

If your competitors are lacking in any of these areas, you can use that to
your advantage and focus on them when writing your blog post.

Another way to di�erentiate your blog is by o�ering original data, quotes, or

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perspectives. Some of my best performing posts have come from getting a

unique quote from an industry expert.

4. Choose what type of blog post you’re writing.

There are several types of blog posts you can create, and they each have
di�erent formats to follow.

Six of the most common formats include:

The List-Based Post

The “What Is” Post

The Pillar Page Post (“Ultimate Guide”)

The Newsjacking Post

The Infographic Post

The “How-To” Post

Save time and download six blog post templates for free.

5. Generate a few di�erent titles and choose the best

one.
Your blog title should tell readers what to expect, yet it should leave them
wanting to know more — confusing, right?

This is why when you’re coming up with a blog post title that you should
brainstorm multiple ones instead of just one. I �nd it helpful to share these
titles with a couple coworkers to get their feedback and see which one is
most engaging to them.

I’ve also enlisted the help of ChatGPT to generate sample blog post titles by
inputting a prompt like, “Write a list of blog titles about [topic].” Even if it
doesn’t give you exactly what you want, it can still get ideas �owing.

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6. Create your outline and designate keyword-rich H2s

and H3s.
When outlining, you need to center your main ideas with keyword-rich H2s
and H3s. These are going to be your headers and subheaders that readers
typically search for, and the information that Google crawls when indexing
and ranking content.

I use keyword research tools, like Ahrefs and Semrush, to �nd the best
words for my blog post. To �nd the right keywords, I focus on the following
elements:

Relevance to topic and search intent

How authoritative my blog is on the topic

The amount of search tra�c my blog could gain

Remember, your outline should serve as a guide to make writing your blog
post easier, so make sure you include all the important points you want to
discuss and organize them in a logical �ow.

7. Write your blog post!

I already told you how to build out your outline earlier in the post, so we'll
quickly go over the main points once more.

You‘ve already outlined your main headings and subheadings, so now’s the
time to add the body.

Write about what you already know, and if necessary, conduct additional
research to gather more information, examples, and data to back up your
points, while providing proper attribution when incorporating external
sources. When you do, always try to �nd accurate and compelling data to
use in your post.

This is also your opportunity to show personality in your writing. Blog posts

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don‘t have to be strictly informational, they can be �lled with interesting

anecdotes and even humor if it serves a purpose in expressing your ideas. It
also factors into creating and maintaining your blog’s brand voice.

Don‘t be discouraged if you’re having trouble stringing sentences together,

you're not alone. Finding your “�ow” can be challenging, but there are many
tools to ease the process. Software such as HubSpot's Free AI Blog Writer
can help you generate copy for your blog post. You can even use it to outline
and generate title ideas.

6 Free Blog Post Templates

Save time creating blog posts with these free templates.

"How-to" Post

"What is" Post

Listicle Post

And More!

Get Your Free Templates

Learn more

8. Proofread your post.

The editing process is an important part of blogging — don't overlook it. I
tend to self-edit while I write, but it’s essential to get a second pair of eyes on
your post before publishing.

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Consider enlisting the help of The Ultimate Editing Checklist and ask a
grammar-conscious co-worker to copy edit and proofread your post. I also
really enjoy free grammar checkers, like Grammarly, to help proofread while
I’m writing.

If you're looking to brush up on your self-editing skills, turn to these helpful

posts for some tips and tricks to get you started:

How to Become a (Better) Editor: 13 Editorial Tips

How to Become a More E�cient Editor: 12 Ways to Speed Up the

Editorial Process

10 Simple Edits That'll Instantly Improve Any Piece of Writing

9. Add images and other media elements to support

your ideas.
When you're �nished checking for grammar, shift your focus to adding other
elements to the blog post than text. There’s much more to making a good
blog post than copy, here’s some following elements to add in support of
your ideas:

Featured Image

Choose a visually appealing and relevant image for your post. As social
networks treat content with images more prominently, visuals are more
responsible than ever for the success of your blog content.

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For help selecting an image for your post, read "How to Select the Perfect
Image for Your Next Blog Post" and pay close attention to the section
about copyright law.

Visual Appearance

No one likes an unattractive blog post. And it‘s not just pictures that make a
post visually appealing — it’s the formatting and organization of the post,
too.

In a well-formatted and visually-appealing blog post, you'll notice that

header and sub-headers are used to break up large blocks of text — and
those headers are styled consistently.

Here's an example of what that looks like:

Screenshots should always have a similar, de�ned border so they don‘t

appear as if they’re �oating in space — that style should stay consistent from
post to post.

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Maintaining this consistency makes your content look more professional and
easier on the eyes.

Topics and Tags

Tags are speci�c, public-facing keywords that describe a post. They also
allow readers to browse for more content in the same category on your blog.
Refrain from adding a laundry list of tags to each post. Instead, put some
thought into a blog tagging strategy.

Think of tags as “topics” or “categories,” and choose 10-20 tags that

represent all the main topics you want to cover on your blog. Then stick to
those.

10. Upload your post into your CMS.

You �lled out your blog post with all the optimized content you can, now is
the time to publish it in your content management system.

I also use this step as an opportunity to double check my post for any errors
that were potentially missed during the proofreading process. It’s especially
important to preview your post before publishing to make sure there aren’t
any formatting issues.

You can opt to post your content immediately, save it as a draft, or schedule
when you want it to be posted live in case you adhere to a posting schedule.

11. Determine a conversion path (what you want your

audience to do next).
A conversion path is a process by which an anonymous website visitor
becomes a known lead. It sounds simple enough, but creating an e�ective
conversion path requires a clear understanding of your target audience and
their needs.

Having a conversion path is important because when you share your content

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on the web, you should have an idea of what your audience should do next,
or in other words, provide them with a path forward.

The HubSpot Flywheel model is a great example of this as it shows how our
organization gains and maintains leads.

12. Add calls to action to guide your audience to take

action.
Call to action (CTA) are a part of a webpage, advertisement, or piece of
content that encourages the audience to do something. You can add them to
your blog post to guide your reader with “next steps” or a conversion path.

Di�erent types of call to actions include asking readers to:

Subscribe to your newsletter to see when you publish more content.

Join an online community in your blog domain.

Learn more about a topic with downloadable content.

Try something for free or discount to convert readers to customers.

To get a better idea of how to make a CTA that readers want to click, we have

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a whole list of e�ective call to action examples for you to check out.

13. Link to other relevant blog posts within your

content.
When you’re completing your blog post, you should link relevant content
throughout it. An e�ective way to do this is to link within the same content
cluster.

One thing I do to make �nding relevant links easier is going to my search

browser and typing “site:[Link]: keyword.” By doing this, you can �nd
all the posts you have published on that topic.

Keeping relevant content throughout your post can provide your readers with
more helpful information, and potentially boost search engine rankings with
corresponding longtail keywords.

But we’ll talk more about how to improve your ranking in the next step.

14. Optimize for on-page SEO.

After you �nish writing, go back and optimize the on-page elements of your
post.

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Don‘t obsess over how many keywords to include. If there are opportunities
to incorporate keywords you’re targeting, and it won‘t impact reader
experience, do it. If you can make your URL shorter and more keyword-
friendly, go for it. But don’t cram keywords or shoot for some arbitrary
keyword density — Google's smarter than that!

Here's a little blog SEO reminder about what you should review and optimize:

Write your meta description.

Meta descriptions are the descriptions below the post‘s page title on Google’s
search results pages. They provide searchers with a short summary of the
post before clicking into it. They are ideally between 150-160 characters and
start with a verb, such as “Learn,” “Read,” or “Discover.”

While meta descriptions no longer factor into Google‘s keyword ranking

algorithm, they give searchers a snapshot of what they’ll get from reading
the post and help improve your clickthrough rate from search.

Optimize your page title and headers.

Most blogging software uses your post title as your page title, which is the
most important on-page SEO element at your disposal. But if you've followed
our formula so far, you should already have a working title that will naturally
include keywords or phrases your target audience is interested in.

Don‘t over-complicate your title by trying to �t in keywords where they don’t

naturally belong. With that said, if there are clear opportunities to add
keywords you‘re targeting to your post title and headers, feel free to take
them. Also, try to keep your headlines short — ideally, under 65 characters —
so they don’t get truncated in the search engine results.

"The �rst component of a good title is that it needs to be scannable. People

aren’t reading every word of your thoughtfully crafted headline. If you’re
following a search-focused strategy, make sure to include the keyword at the
beginning," Del Principe says.

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Consider anchor text best practices as you interlink to other

pages.

Anchor text is the word or words that link to another page — either on your
website or on another website. Carefully select which keywords you want to
link to other pages on your site because search engines take that into
consideration when ranking your page for certain keywords.

It‘s also important to consider which pages you link to. Consider linking
pages that you want to rank for a speci�c keyword. You could end up getting
it to rank on Google’s �rst page of results instead of its second page — and
that isn’t small potatoes!

Write alt text for all of your images.

Alt text conveys the “why” of an image as it relates to the content of your
blog post to Google. By adding alt text correlating to the topic clusters and
keywords of the post, Google can better direct users’ searches to you.

Check that all images are compressed for page speed.

When Google crawls di�erent websites, a page’s load speed holds weight in
page ranking. Make sure the images you include throughout the page aren’t
unnecessarily large to shorten the duration it takes to load.

Use apps like Squoosh to minimize the size of your images without losing the
quality.

Ensure that your blog post is mobile friendly.

More than 60% of organic visits are carried out on a mobile device. As such,
having a website with a responsive design is critical. In addition to making
sure your website‘s visitors (including your blog’s visitors) have the best
experience possible, optimizing for mobile will score your website some SEO
points.

15. Publish and promote the blog post.

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Share your post across all the marketing channels in your repertoire. The
further the reach, the more of a possibility that readers will �nd it.

Channels to expand your blog post promotion strategy include:

Social Media Marketing: Sharing your content on the most popular

social media networks like Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, etc.

Email Marketing: Sharing the newest post with your email subscribers to
�nd.

Boosted Posts or Paid Ads: Allocating budget toward advertisement on

search engines inorganically.

Word of Mouth Marketing: Actively in�uencing people to read your

content organically.

16. Track the performance of the blog post over time.

Your post is published for the world to see, make sure you’re keeping an eye
on its performance over time so you can see if your blog post strategy is
working well enough for your goals.

Here are some blog KPIs I like to keep track of:

Total tra�c per post

Average CTR

Average SERP position

Tra�c source breakdown

Number of search queries per post

Average comments per post

Social shares per post

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New blog leads

Conversion rate

There’s a plethora of website tra�c analysis tools that you can take
advantage of to better understand your audience’s behavior on your blog
posts.

Quick Blog Writing Tips

If you’re feeling stuck as a new writer, don’t give up. It gets easier with
practice. Whether you’re struggling with writer's block or wanting some ways
to add depth to your content, here are some quick tips I compiled to help
take your blog writing to the next level:

If you don’t know where to start, start by telling a

story.
When you’re facing writer’s block, start with what you know. Not only will
sharing personal anecdotes help you get ideas �owing, but it can also keep
your readers engaged with what you’re saying.

Stories can simplify complex concepts and make your content more
relatable. Plus, they add a human touch and help set the tone for the rest of
your blog post.

Include interesting quotes or facts for emphasis on the

subject.
When you back up your ideas with unique, expert quotes or share facts from
reliable sources, it shows that your blog post is well-researched and
trustworthy.

If you don’t know where to start with �nding quotes, think about the people
you know and their expertise. For example, I’m lucky enough to have
incredibly knowledgeable coworkers here at HubSpot that I can reach out to

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if I need a quote.

I’ve also reached out to connections on LinkedIn to see if they can provide a
quote or know someone who can. HARO can also be a great resource if you
need a quote in a pinch.

Make your content skimmable; break it into digestible

chunks.
There’s nothing that turns readers o� more than opening an article and
seeing a large wall of text. Think about it: most internet users have a short
attention span and tend to skim through content rather than reading every
word.

That’s why I recommend breaking up your blog post into smaller chunks to
make it more digestible. You can do this by utilizing subheadings (H2s, H3s,
H4s, etc.), bullet points, and short paragraphs.

Not only does breaking up your content make your blog post more visually
appealing, it also helps readers quickly �nd the information they’re looking
for without getting lost in a sea of text.

Paint a full picture with images, graphics or video.

Aside from aesthetic appeal, visuals can help convey complex ideas in an
easier way and help readers remember the information you share.

I recommend reading through your blog post and putting yourself in your
reader’s shoes. Is there anything you wrote about that would be better
explained with the support of an image or graphic?

For instance, whenever I write about the pros and cons of something, I like to
create a graphic that shows those pros and cons in a side-by-side
comparison.

I also look at search engines results when determining what images to add to

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my post. Does the SERP for the keyword you’re targeting have an image
pack? See if you can add in images and optimize them with alt text to
increase the chances of appearing in those results.

Each sentence should convey a single idea.

Keep it simple, stupid. There’s no reason to write overly complex sentences
that confuse your readers. Instead, opt to convey your message in a simple
and accessible manner. At the end of the day, readers just want to �nd the
answers they’re looking for, and writing in a straightforward manner can
e�ectively meet this need.

I like to use the Hemingway App to make sure that my writing doesn’t get
too dense.

Use active voice.

Although your writing should captivate the reader, you should avoid
overwhelming them with �u�. Using active voice can help keep your writing
clear, concise, and energetic while still getting your point across.

For example, instead of saying something like “the product was loved by
customers,” write “customers loved the product.”

Ready to blog?
Blogging can help you build brand awareness, become a thought-leader and
expert in your industry, attract quali�ed leads, and boost conversions. Follow
the steps and tips we covered above to begin publishing and enhancing your
blog today.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in October 2013 and has been
updated for comprehensiveness.

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Topics: How to Write a Blog Post

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