The anatomy of a great blog post: A step-by-step guide

Blogging is a crucial piece of your online marketing strategy.

Blogging provides an inexpensive platform to help your audience connect with your brand; build brand identity and credibility; and also helps you rank higher on search engines.

However, blogging can be intimidating when you first start out, so here is our step-by-step guide to help you create an engaging blog article for your readers:

Step one: Know your audience

Understanding your audience takes a bit of research. Sometimes you think you know what content they want and it just falls flat, while other times you’ll be surprised by what they love. A great starting point for understanding your audience is to create a “buyer persona.” Hubspot has a great tutorial to help you draft your buyer persona so you can begin to understand the wants and needs of your intended audience (Hubspot).

Step two: Write a catchy headline

Writing a catchy headline is essential. You can have the best content in the world but if you don’t immediately grab your reader’s attention with a great headline, they won’t engage. If you are looking for some great tips, here is our list of three easy ways to make your blog headline stand out.

Step three: Write an engaging first paragraph

Beyond your headline, your first paragraph is the most important piece of your blog for engaging with your readers. Make it conversational; informative; and fun. Also, include your key article points right away. If you can catch your reader’s attention in the first couple sentences, then they are much more likely to engage in the body of your content rather than moving onto the next thing that catches their interest. 

Step four: Make it easy to skim

Readability is everything when writing blog content. So structure your content so it’s easy for anyone to skim over. Make your paragraphs short and sweet. You can also consider use subheadings, bullet points, and numbering to help readers to consume your content more easily. 

Step five: Write, revise, and proofread

Now it’s time to write. If you need, use an outline to organise your ideas. Also, if you are struggling to make it all flow, just get your ideas down. You can always go back and revise the article to make it smoother. Then last but not least, make sure you proof the article for any grammar or spelling mistakes. Read it the article aloud to see how it flows. If you can read it without stumbling and sounding unnatural, then you’ve got a great piece.

Step six:  Include a call to action

Finally, since blogging is part of your marketing strategy, at the end of your document include a call to action. A call to action can be anything from reading more about your products to checking out your services, you just want to make sure your readers know what to do next with the information you’ve provided them.

This simple step-by-step guide will help get you started writing your first blog. If you’ve written some content and want to measure its effectiveness, need revision and proofreading services, or just need some topic ideas, check out the services at ALHAUS. Our content management experts can help at every step of the way from blog ideation to publishing. Check out our custom-tailored blogging solutions today!