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8 Tips on How to Plan and Write Your First Blog Post
September 13, 2022

If you’re new to blogging, you probably have a ton of questions about how to write your first-ever blog post. Where do you start? What should you write about? How do you make sure it’s successful? Well, luckily – we’ve got you covered. In this post, we’ll share 8 tips on how to plan and write your first blog post and set you up for success!

Assuming you’ve just started a blog and have already chosen your blog platform like WordPress, Squarespace or Wix, you’re ready to start writing your first blog post and getting your content out there. But, before you start typing away, it’s important to take a moment to plan out your post. What is the purpose of your blog post? What do you want your readers to take away from it? Once you have a clear idea of your goals, you can start crafting your post.

When writing your blog post, be sure to keep your audience in mind. Write in a clear, concise and easy-to-read style. Most importantly create content that engages your readers. And most importantly, make sure your content is relevant and helpful to your readers.

If you want to be successful at blogging, put in the time and effort to plan your posts. Get started today and see where your blogging journey takes you!

how to write and plan your first blog post

What Is A Blog Post?

A blog post is essentially a piece of writing that is published on a blog. A blog is a website that is made up of a series of entries, or posts, that are typically written by an individual or a small group of people.

As a new blogger, you might find it difficult to think of topics to write about. Think about what you’re passionate about. A good place to start is by thinking about your hobbies and interests. For example, if you like to cook, you could write a blog post about your favourite recipes. Or, if you enjoy travelling, you could write a blog post about your trips and experiences. By writing about topics that you are passionate about, you will be able to produce high-quality content that your readers will enjoy. This is when niching down can really be to your benefit.

How Long Should Your Blog Post Be?

You might be thinking, well How long should your blog post be? Honestly, there are some mixed answers from experts. Some confirm 500 – 1000 whereas other well-established leaders believe well over 1 500 is what Google likes. There isn’t an exact answer, but a good rule of thumb is to aim for at least 1 000 words. This will give you enough content to work with to ensure your post is ranked on search engines.

8 Tips on Writing Your First Blog Post

There are quite a few steps that go into creating your first blog post. When you’re writing your first article, these tips will help guide you.

 
Here are the 8 tips on writing your first blog post to get you started:

1. Planning Your Blog Ideas

The first step is to come up with blog post ideas on what to write about. It can be helpful to come up with a list of potential blog topics before you start writing. This will give you something to refer back to when you’re feeling stuck.

There are a few different ways to come up with ideas for your blog. One way is to think about the topics you are passionate about. If you’re passionate about something, you’re more likely to be able to write about it in a compelling way. Another way to come up with ideas is to think about the problems you have faced in your industry or the problems of people you know. You can offer advice or support on these topics.

There are also tools like Answer the public to help you come up with blog content. This blog tool will give you what people are searching for depending on what keyword you enter. This is a great way to write a post that people are actually wanting to know about and are searching for. Once you have a list of potential blog post topics, it’s time to start thinking about the next steps in your blog post process.

Related post: 7 Places to Find Content Ideas

2. Creating a Captivating Headline

Your headline is like a first impression – so make it count! You want people to read your blog post, so make sure your headline is interesting and engaging and grabs their attention.

Here are a few tips to get you started:
  • Make it interesting. A headline should be interesting and make readers want to learn more.
  • Use keywords. Use keywords that people will be searching for when looking for a blog post on your topic.
  • Use numbers. List-style headlines are attention-grabbing and can make your post seem more helpful.
  • Be creative. Don’t be afraid to experiment with your writing style and voice. The more unique your voice, the more likely readers are to become engaged with your content.
  • Be concise. While you want your content to be informative, it’s important to keep your blog posts short and to the point. Readers have short attention spans, so make sure you get your point across quickly and efficiently.
  • Use strong headlines. Your headline should be attention-grabbing and should accurately reflect the content of your blog post. A strong headline will entice readers to click through to your post.

3. Do Your SEO & Keyword Research

This is important whether you’re a small business or a blogger. You need to find the right keywords that people are searching for, and then use those keywords in your blog post. If you don’t do your keyword research, then your blog post will be lost in the sea of other content that’s out there.

There are a few different ways to do keyword research. The first is to use Google’s Keyword Planner. This is a free tool that allows you to research keywords and see how much traffic they get. Another way to do keyword research is to use a paid tool like SEMrush or Ahrefs. These tools give you more data than the Keyword Planner, but they’re also rather expensive and if you’re a new blogger this might not be something you’d want to invest in as yet.

When you’ve found a few good keywords, it’s time to start writing your blog post. Remember to keep your keywords in mind as you write, but don’t force them in if they don’t make sense with the content you’re writing. The goal is to write a great blog post that will naturally attract traffic from your target keywords.

If you’re not sure where to start, try Googling your keywords and reading a few of the top results. See what others have done with your keywords and try to improve upon them. With a little practice, you’ll be writing great blog posts in no time!

Lastly, you want to be mindful not to keyword stuff your content, don’t overuse keywords in an attempt to rank higher in search engines to drive more traffic to your blog. A couple of strategically placed keywords will do the trick. If you’re using WordPress there are also WordPress plugins like Yoast and Rankmath that will give you guidelines you can follow when writing your post. These tips will help you create a good post optimising your blog for SEO.

4. Create an Outline

Before you begin writing your blog post, it is important to create an outline of what you would like to include. This will help you stay on track and ensure that your final product is cohesive and flows well.

Some things you may want to consider adding to your outline are:
  • A catchy title
  • An introduction
  • A step-by-step guide
  • Tips and tricks
  • Concluding thoughts

Once you have your outline created, you can start filling in the details and fleshing out your blog post. Write in a clear, concise, and easy-to-read style. Use short paragraphs and break up your text with subheadings to make your blog post easier to scan. And don’t forget to proofread your work before you hit publish!

5. Write Your Blog Post

Once you’ve got your headline and outline ready it’s time for you to write your actual first blog post.

Here are a few final tips to keep in mind:

  • Use short, easy-to-read sentences.
  • Be personal.
  • Use images, infographics and videos.
  • Use helpful external links.

Keep these tips in mind and you’ll be well on your way to writing a great first blog post!

6. Add Your Blog Post Visuals

Adding visuals to your blog post can make it more engaging and interesting for your readers. Try to include at least one image or graphic, and make sure it is relevant to the topic of your post. You can also add videos, infographics, or other types of media to help get your point across.

7. Edit and Review Your Blog Post

After you write your blog post, it is important to edit and review your new blog post. Every blog post you write needs to be clear, concise, and free of errors at least as best as you can. We’re all human right?!

Here are a few tips on how to edit and review your blog post:

  • Read your blog post out loud to catch any errors or awkward phrasing.
  • Get someone else to read your blog post and provide feedback.
  • Check your grammar and punctuation.
  • Make sure your blog post flows smoothly and is easy to read.
  • Edit your blog post for any typos or mistakes.

By following these tips, you can be sure that your blog post is of the highest quality before you publish your first blog post.

8. Schedule and Promote Your Blog Post

Now that you have written your first blog post, it is time to promote it! There are a few ways to share your post and get more eyes on it.

First, make sure to share your blog post on social media. This is a great way to get more people to read your blog post. You can share your blog post on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to get more reach to your content.

Finally, you can also promote your blog post by emailing your list. This is a great way to get the word out about your new blog post and can help you increase your traffic. The truth is people are not checking your website every day to see what new content you created.

This is why promoting them is key to gaining new readers. You can do this by creating social media accounts and sharing your content there or by emailing people you think might be interested. You can also try paid advertising, but make sure you have a plan and know your target audience before doing so. Creating content is only half the battle, the other half is making sure people see it. Running a blog takes work, and scheduling your future posts will help you save time.

Don’t sweat it, writing your first blog post is a piece of cake. Just follow these simple tips and you’ll have ’em cranking ’em out in no time. Content batching is key – that way you can have a few posts ready to go at all times. And don’t forget, the more you write, the easier it becomes. So get to it!

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4 Comments

  1. Siobhán

    Great tips! I’m sure there any so many people who think it’s too late to start a blog but that’s not true! x

    Beautylymin

    Reply
    • Candice Sandler

      Thanks so much! So glad you find these tips useful. SEO can definitely be tricky.

      Reply

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