27th January 2016

Nine things to think about when writing a blog post

Cartoon artwork showing a person typing on a typewriter surrounded by a smart phone, coffee, notebook, glasses and a pencil

We’ve all had it… you sit down to write a blog post and the blank page just hits you. Writer’s block! Here are nine things that you should think about when writing your post to get those creative juices flowing:

Purpose of the post

It’s important to not start writing your post until you have a clear idea of why you’re writing it. Is it’s purpose to position your business as an industry professional and therefore build your brand? Or maybe you want to write a post that will draw in a whole new audience? It could even be as simple as wanting to spread a positive message. Get the idea straight in your head so that you don’t stray.

Who’s it for?

This point links to the first; you really need to know who your audience is before you write your blog post. Ask yourself these simple four questions:

  • What are their interests?
  • What do they already know about the topic?
  • Does your audience change your tone of voice?
  • Will your post offer something/be useful to them?

Once you know the answers to all these questions, you’ll be able to work out how you’re going to write your post. Even write down your answers if you want to so that you can refer back to them later on.

Really, what’s your point?

We don’t mean to badger on, but it’s a really  good idea to get a clear grasp on these things before you start! There’s a difference between working out your purpose for writing a blog post and the point of a blog post. Your purpose may be to spread a positive message to “xyz” whereas your point is the actual message. Make sense?

Grasp what your point is and stick to it. It’s so easy to sit down and blabber on about a topic and that might not actually be very useful for your readers! Here at BritWeb we love a good list. Make a bullet point list of the point’s you want to push in your post; there may be just three and equally you might have nine or ten. Just make sure you know exactly how your post will flow before you tap away at your keyboard.

Don’t limit yourself!

A bit of a twist on our point above; make sure not to limit your word count too much. Of course no one wants to read a three page essay on the importance of copy writing but they also didn’t click on your blog just to read 100 words. Google loves a good chunky piece of written content!

Just for a markup, it’s suggested that a blog post be around 600 words so that your readers don’t lose interest. Attention span is a delicate thing. BUT if you lay out your post properly, you can get away with making it a bit longer; which brings us on to our next point….

Looks really do count…

This might sound a bit silly to some people, but the way you lay out your words really dictates how much of it people read. We suggest getting a grasp of your different headings when you work out what your point’s are.

Also you can work out at this stage how image based your post needs to be to get your point across. For example, your post may need a lot of examples if you’re talking about how to do something. Whereas some of your posts may just need one image at the top that links to the title, like this one.

Check and check again

So you’ve written your blog, now it’s time to read it through. This might seem like a really simple point but it’s one you don’t want to miss. First give a brief read through and check all the different sections make sense and see if it flows well. Then check again for grammar and spelling mistakes. Even get someone else to check it for you – there’s no harm in asking for a fresh pair of eyes! They might spot something that you haven’t.

The tech-y bits

Now it’s time to do all the necessary bits that are good for SEO and generally make your blog post look more professional. Here’s our little check list:

  • Make sure to compress your images before uploading (we suggest using compressor.io)
  • Add a featured image
  • Pop your blog post in one of your blog categories
  • Make sure the URL makes sense
  • Write an original meta-description (this is the bit people see in Google search results)

Name your creation

Now you may find it a bit strange that we’ve left this point to almost last. In fact we’ve done it on purpose. There are times when a title for your blog post may just come to you straight away but sometimes it’s a bit of a struggle. We find that if you’re having a mental block it’s best to write your whole post first and then look back to your title.

As you write your blog post, new points will pop up that may change your mind about what you want to title it. Make it catchy but not overly click-baity.

Be social!

Once your post has gone live it’s time to promote it. Choose the social media platforms that you promote it on based on the audience that you’re trying to target. Use appropriate hashtags and imagery to draw people in. And then when people begin to comment on your post, be a nice human and make sure to reply. Simples!

Still struggling with your blog post writing? Don’t worry -BritWeb are here to save the day! Our content team have years of blog-writing experience and create engaging content for a wide range of industries so get in touch today on 01403 261491 or email [email protected] to see how we can help.

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