If you’re not 100% sure how to write a blog post that clicks with readers, don’t sweat it.
The reality? Blogging is a major struggle for most businesses out there.
And hey, we totally understand why.
From coming up with ideas to actually putting pen to paper digitally, a worthwhile blog post requires some serious effort.
That said, the benefits of blogging for business are worth racking your brain for. The correlation between businesses that blog scoring more traffic, conversions and leads is well-documented.
The takeaway? Learning how to write a blog post is an invaluable skill no matter what you’re selling.
That’s why we put together this guide breaking down the anatomy of a good blog post and how to write one yourself.
What makes a good blog post, anyway?
Before we get knee-deep into how to write a blog post, let’s talk about what the best blog posts have in common.
Although blogging is certainly a skill, you don’t need to be Shakespeare to start writing ’em.
Instead, simply consider the common threads between blog posts that actually get read and shared.
They solve a problem
Listen: people don’t wind up on blogs by accident.
When we seek out content, it’s because we have a problem that needs to be solved or a question that needs to be answered.
Perhaps you’re looking for the perfect ramen recipe. Maybe you’re looking for marketing tips.
Either way, we’re often hunting for content that provides a solution.
Heck, the Sprout Social blog is a shining example of what we’re talking about. We’ve put together hundreds of posts dedicated to solving problems and answering questions on behalf of marketers.
But solving a problem or answering a question is only half the battle.
After all, there are dozens (or hundreds) of blog posts out there covering any given topic.
So not only should your blog post solve a problem, but also do so in a meaningful way.
This might mean breaking down a complex topic with a more digestible approach or going in-depth on a topic that needs addressing in detail.
Considering that most high-performing blog posts around over 1,000 words according to Orbit Media, conventional wisdom tells us that top-tier posts go beyond basic information and dig into specifics.
Sprout’s own “Best Times to Post on Social Media” is a great example, brimming with original data and graphs. That’s exactly why it’s one of our top-performing posts.
They’re easy to read
This might seem like a no-brainer, but readability is easy to overlook.
Spoiler alert: most readers have microscopic attention spans.
If your post puts ’em to sleep within the first few seconds, chances are they’ll look elsewhere for information. This is especially true in a day and age where people can simply watch a video in lieu of reading a blog post.
As a writer, it’s your job to find a balance between relaying in-depth information and keeping your audience’s attention.
You can’t expect folks to slog through a wall of text. Instead, you should make a point to avoid jargon and present your content in a style that doesn’t make you sound like a robot.
For example, The Verge‘s “How to Choose a Fitness Tracker” is a fairly straightforward example of a simple post that gets the job done. Written at a 9th-grade level and broken up by subheaders and images, the post is easy to scan and understand for just about anyone.
Meanwhile, this post from marketing expert Brittany Berger manages to deliver a valuable lesson in marketing with a simple sentence structure and conversational tone. Presented as playful with a distinct voice and plenty of visuals to break up the text, readers naturally move from line to line wondering what comes next.
Developing a writing style comes with practice. The beauty of blogging is that you aren’t typically tied to strict formatting guidelines of traditional writing “rules” that might make your content sound stuffy.
They’re optimized (but not too optimized!)
Given the fierce competition among marketers and search engines alike, optimizing your content for SEO (and social!) is a must-do.
Optimization is yet another balancing act, though. From keyword stuffing to clickbait and beyond, writers can’t afford to sacrifice readability and quality for the sake of trying to score clicks.
But as proven by tons of bloggers out there, it’s possible to find that balance between writing for humans and search engines. For example, posts like “How to Build Your Social Media Marketing Strategy” are able to hit on crucial keywords in a way that’s natural and doesn’t distract the reader at all.
If you keep these three principles in mind each time you sit down to write a post, you’re already way ahead of the curve.
How to write better blog posts: Our foolproof framework
Okay, so how do you take these tips and put them into action when it comes time to write?
Good question!
Staring at the proverbial blank page is one of the worst feelings in the world for blog writers.
That’s why we recommend having some sort of framework in place when it comes time to write a blog post. This rings true whether you’re starting a post from scratch or are revising older content. Below is our list of tactics and tools to help get you going.
Choose a blog post format before you start writing
Instead of relying on a cut-and-paste blog post template that might come off as cookie-cutter to readers, we recommend simply picking a blog post format before you start writing a post.
Doing so will make it much easier to organize your ideas and actually start writing.
Below are three types of blog posts that typically get shared around. Although these certainly aren’t the only types of blog posts, they’re can be adapted to just about any topic with ease.
- How-to’s, which live up to their namesake by explaining how to tackle a certain task or problem (ex: “How to Get a Customer to Edit Their Negative Review“)
- Listicles, which is simply a blog post formatted as a list (ex: “The Business of DIY: 10 Things to Make and Sell Online“)
- Question-based posts, which respond to or pose a question with Who, What, When, or Where? (ex: “Why Netflix Cancelled Your Favorite Show” or ex: “When is the Best Time to Send Emails?“)
Let’s briefly break down each of these types of blog posts and why they work so well.
How-to blog posts
The concept of a how-to post is self-explanatory. Such posts provide an opportunity to take a deep dive into a specific topic. How-to posts have very specific search-intent and allow you to target niche audiences looking for expertise.
Given that many Google searches are centered around “how to” queries, it’s no surprise that many businesses use them as the foundation for their blogs. For example, brands like Campaign Monitor put together tons of how-to guides covering specific topics for their audience of email marketers.
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