The blog post world is a competitive arena. To make your blog posts stand out, you’ll need to focus on creating content that will be engaging and informative for your readers. These eight elements are essential to any successful blog post:
Headline
A good headline can draw people in before they’ve even read the first sentence of your post! Make sure it’s creative and intriguing enough to capture attention.
Introduction
The introduction to your post should give readers the background information they need before diving into the main topic. Get them hooked by starting with a story or question piques their interest!
Subheadings
Keeping your content easy to follow is important for any blog, especially if you’re writing on an advanced level about complicated topics. Use subheadings to break your content into smaller, more manageable chunks – this will also help readers stay engaged!
Engaging Content
Don’t just tell them what you’re going to say; tell them now! This is a great place to discuss the problem you’re going to solve.
A) Sub-points – Now, take your argument/thesis statement and break it into three parts that will help readers understand exactly what they’ll be learning from this post. Don’t forget to delve deeper into each of those points as well!
B) Supporting points – Now that you’ve introduced your sub-points, it’s time to back them up with evidence! This is the perfect place to quote any research or studies found in support of all three sub-points.
C) Quotes/interviews – Who better than an expert to discuss the problem you’re discussing? This is a great opportunity to reach out and bring in new voices.
D) Closing thoughts – If you’ve written blog posts before, you know they don’t always wrap up as nicely as we’d like! Use this section to provide your readers with any information that might be useful after reading the post, such as an interesting fact, a helpful link, or even another post that might help them understand the topic in more detail.
Appealing graphics
It’s 2021, and we live in a visual world, so if you want your post to be read – it better look great!
A) Custom images/photos – If possible, create custom graphics that fit the style of the blog. This will immediately add credibility to your post’s content.
B) Infographics – These can be very helpful if you have much-complicated information to share or want to represent something in your post visually.
C) Video – Consider adding videos that are related to the topic at hand, can provide real-life examples, or might be helpful for viewers who prefer watching over reading.
D) Charts/graphs – These work great when you want to present a lot of information in a small space.
E) Diagrams – These can be great for illustrating difficult concepts and processes.
F) Screenshots/pictures – If you’re writing about something that readers might not have access to or are interested in seeing, screenshots work well as visual aids!
Include Relevant Links
Both internal & external links can be a great way to provide your readers with more information on the topic.
A) Internal links – These are helpful if you want to direct readers to another post or page that might give them more information about something mentioned in this blog post.
B) External Links – If relevant, consider linking to other sites as long as they provide additional information related to the topic or might be helpful for readers.
C) Avoid over-linking – This can make your blog post look unorganized and decrease appeal.
D) Don’t include too many links – While it’s important to link out, don’t overwhelm your readers with a long list of links at the end!
E) Don’t include any broken or incorrect links – If your readers click one and it doesn’t work, they’ll probably get frustrated and leave.
F) Make sure to use anchor text correctly when linking out – It’s not enough to simply say “click here” because search engine bots will recognize this as an attempt to spam their rankings!
G) Use keywords in your links – This is another way for search engine bots to know what the page you’re linking out to discusses. Make sure they match up with the text on that post, or it won’t be seen by anyone searching online!
H) Avoid over-optimized links – If search engine bots see you’re trying to manipulate their results, they might penalize your site.
I) Don’t use too many external links either – While it’s important to link out or direct readers back to other sources that can provide them with more information on the topic, don’t overdo it!
J) Don’t stuff your links – It’s important to include relevant links, but don’t just throw them in there for the sake of it.
Optimize Title & Description for SEO
You’ll increase your search engine visibility by using relevant keywords and phrases in your blog post title, description, and throughout the body of your content.
A) Use specific keywords – This will help people find what they’re looking for! You can use a keyword density tool like Wordstream to see how often certain words should be used on an individual page.
B) Use long-tail keywords – Don’t waste your time with general words and phrases that probably have many other posts also using them! Go for something more specific to help you stand out from the crowd.
C) Include synonyms – This can be an easy way to increase keyword density without going overboard.
D) Make sure to include your main keyword several times throughout the body of your content – This will help readers and search engine bots better understand what you’re talking about!
E) Don’t overuse keywords that don’t have much value – While it’s important for them to show up a few times, if they’re only included a few times throughout your entire blog post, it’s not going to do much for you.
Powerful Call to Action
At some point, you want your readers to take action! Maybe it’s signing up for your newsletter, checking out your product, or reading one of your other blog posts. Make sure you let them know how they can get involved.
A) Give them a guide to follow – If you’re looking for feedback on your post or want your readers to contribute ideas, this is the place.
B) Provide links and embed codes – This will make it easier for readers who might be interested in sharing what they’ve read with their viewers!
C) Ask questions – This is a great way to start a conversation with your readers.
D) Include an action item/prompt readers for interaction – Don’t just ask them to leave you their thoughts; tell them exactly what they should do!
E) Make sure the CTA isn’t too vague or confusing – If people don’t know what to do with it, they won’t take action.
F) Don’t forget the call-to-action at the end! – This is a great place to remind your readers what you’ve been talking about and ask them to provide feedback or share their thoughts on this topic.
Conclusion:
These elements will help you increase search engine visibility with relevant blog posts that readers not only want to read but share as well.
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