The Things You Need to Check Before Writing Your Next Blog Post
TL;DR
- It is difficult to sit down and draft your first blog post.
- There is a checklist that will guide your writing.
- Follow these steps to write excellent articles.
The writing process is the most important part of the blogging experience. As a new blogger, you may not know where to start. I have a blog post checklist that puts me in the right mindset when I’m working on my drafts. Following these ten steps should ensure your blogging success!
The 10 steps
- Pick a keyword phrase
- Write your meta description
- Craft your blog title
- Describe the intent of your blog post
- Define who you are writing for
- Identify the problem your audience is facing
- Explain the solution to that pain point
- Write your introductory paragraph
- Write a paragraph for your conclusion
- Articulate the action you want your readers to take next
Performing Keyword Research
This should always be your first step because everything derives from this. It will hone your writing and help you fill out this checklist. Think about it as you are going through this process. You need to start with a blog idea.
Once you have an idea for a blog you need to plug it into a Google search. Using a spreadsheet and a keyword density checker you can find related phrases. Ones that would make good keywords for an article. Choose the best one that describes your idea,
Formulating a Meta Description
Writing a meta description is part of the search engine optimization process. It is a brief two to three-sentence summary of your blog post that may appear in search results. Authoring a thoughtful description is important. Because it will encourage people to click on your article.
Despite what you may read there is no word count limit for this. SEO professionals suggest a particular length because long meta descriptions get truncated. I wouldn’t worry about this. To avoid confusion, place your keyword phrase at the beginning of your description. This will let people know quickly what your blog post is about.
Spend Time on Your Blog Title
The headline of your blog post is the most important thing you will write. This is because it will appear exactly as you have written in the search results. In a few seconds after seeing that title people will decide if they want to read more. Entice their curiosity with your blog headline.
There is no SEO penalty for having a long title. Recommendations come from the way lengthy headlines get truncated. Make sure your keyword is in the front of your title so that it always appears in search results. This brings clarity to what your article is about.
Formalize Your Intent
Intent is about your purpose for writing your blog post. Identify what interests you the most about this topic. Write down any specifics about how this article will help your audience. This will help you narrow your focus for the writing process.
You might be broadly thinking about your topic. The truth is, you can probably drill down and write a more informed article. Focus on something specific. You can write many posts on the same topic that cover different points. You want to settle on something singular.
Choose Your Audience
You should always have a person in mind when you are writing a blog post. You can define who this person is and what they look like. Describe their wants and needs. Even think about their personality. We call these personas.
For example, I write for people who are starting a blog for the first time. I’m careful with my word choice because of that. I don’t want to introduce jargon to people. Explain terms in simple language. I choose topics that answer their most common questions. For each article, I write one sentence about what the person I’m writing for is experiencing. Defining what has caused them to read my post.
Articulating People’s Problems
Think about what problem you are solving before you start writing. People performing searches are seeking information to resolve an issue. People feeling bored might look for a video for entertainment. A person may want to find a review before they make a purchase. They might want more information about how to do something. You need to address this in your blog post.
Taking the time to write this down focuses your attention even more. It helps you feel more empathy for your potential readers. Which will come out in your blog post and make it more relatable. You will want to mention this issue somewhere in your introductory paragraph. As well as how you will solve it.
Resolving Reader’s Pain Points
In copywriting, we refer to our reader’s problems as pain points. This is what we want our writing to address. By providing the solution to these issues for them. Ultimately, that is why we are writing in the first place. Because we recognize that our audience is trying to achieve something and we want to help them.
Keep the problem and solution in your mind as you craft your blog post. You want to refer to them to keep your article relevant to your target audience. The persona that you created as part of this blog post checklist. This keeps who you are writing for at the forefront of your mind.
Write Your First Paragraph
Craft your introduction paragraph before drafting your blog post. People scan articles before they read them fully. Your introduction needs to grab their attention. It offers them a promise of what to expect.
This is where our previous work comes into play. We will use our work from our keyword research and created personas. As well as what we know from defining our problem and solution. Addressing all of these in that opening paragraph. We want our audience to feel like we are writing to them.
Finalize Your Conclusion
We now know how our article begins. But we should also figure out how it ends. It should be the fulfillment of the promise that we offered in the opening paragraph. Showing how the reader went from zero to hero. What they have achieved from reading your blog post. The conclusion flows from the introduction. Writing them together is beneficial.
Joseph Campbell wrote about the hero’s journey. Identifying elements of stories shared among all myths. These archetypes aid us in our storytelling. This is also the path that our readers are on. They should feel like they have gone on an adventure by the time they have finished your article.
Give Your Audience Homework
Finish your blog posts with a call to action. Write a sentence that tells your audience what you want them to do next. You can ask them to subscribe, read another article, or contact you. Most of mine ask people to leave comments. This is because I’m most interested in getting people’s feedback. I want to know if I’m reaching people and providing value. It might also give me ideas of what to write about next.
Conclusion
This blog post checklist will help those writing for the first time. Getting into the right headspace makes drafting articles easier. You will know where to begin and where to end. Which will allow you to focus your attention. And consequently the attention of your audience. As time progresses, the process will go faster. Because you will have a better understanding of your own writing style.
Have you written your first blog post yet? Tell us about it in the comments.