With the opening of 2023 everyone has level upped their game, in each and every field. Blogging is also not what it was when it first started. It is more complex, intricate and refreshing now. Even with all the changings, the basics of how you write a good blog post hasn’t changed much.
Let us start with defining, “what exactly is a blog?”. A blog is short form for the term “weblog” where an individual or a small group choose a niche to write about regularly. Anyone can start a blog, if given the required information. Creating a weblog is one thing and writing is another. In this article we will mainly focus on how to write a good blog.
We will discuss 5 basic steps in writing a blog. Each and every step is simple yet intricate in its own way. Let’s go through the steps one by one:
Step:1 Choosing a niche
To begin a blog, it is quite important to know the direction you will be going in. If its even slightly unclear in the beginning it will cause troubles in the latter stages. Thus, it is necessary to have a clear idea of what you are doing.
- You should have adequate information about your topic and must get creative with it. No one likes a basic blog whose contents are all over the internet, thus it is important you have your unique spin on it.
- The title must be compelling. If you have chosen a topic it is necessary that you put some thought into it and make it catchy. Don’t make it dull or too basic. Spend some time and collect ideas that can help you into selling your title to your targeted audience. With new trends arising everyday it could help you if you tried to incorporate those into your title. This will attract more people. But don’t try to drag out a trend just for the sake of “being trendy”, sometimes it’s the overuse of fun things that make them boring. So always make sure to analyze these things when trying to attract user’s attention.
Step:2 How to start a blog post?
Once you have finalized the title you should start thinking about how you are going to begin the introduction of your blog. If your title is good, your audience will be expecting a compelling introduction. Catchy title is important, but it’s the content that that will make the reader stay.
- Its good to start by briefly explaining what you are writing about. Rather than just diving into definitions and things that someone may easily get off the internet, try to add catchy phrases.
- Be extremely careful while wrapping up the introduction because you don’t want any loose ends, meaning every part of the intro must be complete, if its dependent on any other portion it might create a confusion.
- It is better if you use bold and italics in some portions or while highlighting a specific sentence.
- Everyone loves sentences that catch your eye, so try to enjoy while writing and don’t stress too much. A stressful mind will end up writing something that a person might nitpick on, thus always relax your mind before you write anything.
The introduction is a little tricky because it sets the tone of the entire blog. So take your time with it and don’t rush anything.
Step:3 Know your audience
This rule is something that isn’t specific to blogging only. Every type of article, blog, essay etc. writer must always know their audience. To know your audience basically means you have to analyze the mental caliper of your readers.
- After understanding your reader, you set your tone in terms of technicality and language you will use. For example, if your audience is mostly teenagers you should try to talk in a slightly informal manner. If it’s a technical blog and your audience is from the same background, you can use technical terms without explaining each and every word. This isn’t a difficult thing but its important to know your audience.
- Misjudging your reader can be a huge mistake and you should avoid it all costs.
Step:4 build-up of the blog
The title must not be the only thing that gives the idea of your content. Each and every paragraph must also depict the idea and inspiration behind the blog.
- It must not look like a cluster of words, rather it should show some emotions. The reader must be able to relate and understand the writer’s feeling thus, the words must give away some meaning.
- It is really important that user try to experience or understand the writer, whether it be a travel blog or a diet food blog, if the reader feels like they experienced the same journey as the writer only then the blog must be considered as an exceptional one.
- All in all, the blog must be cohesive and not something that would not fluster a reader’s mind. The write up should be like a smooth flow of water stream rather than an agitated one. It is for the nourishment and enjoyment of reader and thus it must not create commotion in their mind.
- Another key aspect is to build up some kind of hype at some point. For instance, if it’s a travel blog you need to build some portion of the blog that would foreshadow an exciting incident. This will keep the reader’s interest and keenness in the upcoming events of the blog. But it is important to know what incident demands what kind of hype. If you keep glorifying a basic incident, the readers will start predicting the outcomes and never really be excited for anything. A basic example to understand this would be prank channels. Its fun and games to watch someone be pranked but when it becomes a routine, people start losing interest. Therefore, it is crucial to know which event requires what type of hype.
After following these rules, the reader would want a satisfying ending, in which all lose ends are tied. The ending must be suitable to the blog. If it’s a travel blog, either it should be mentioned that there will more adventure stories in next one or the conclusion of the current day. Similarly, if it’s a healthy diet blog, some promising results or motivation must be present.
To sum it up, the contents must be summarized to some extent in the blog’s ending too and there must be something that would make the reader look forward to next blog.
Step:5 proofreading
After completion of your blog, it is necessary that you proof read it. find errors in it and add or remove things. One way to go is to buy subscriptions to some kind of software for this. They don’t cost a lot but will point out the obvious flaws in grammar and spellings and other stuff. It is also a good idea to ask a friend to read it for you, this would give you a fresh perspective of the blog and you will be able to focus better on your mistakes.
These 5 are the basic steps everyone should follow if they want a successful blog. But there are a few more things that must be kept in check, for instance:
- Always check for plagiarism, even if your entire blog is original. Use any plagiarism checking website, most of them are free unless you buy premium subscription, and check thoroughly for any mistakes.
- Prefer to use personally captured images in the blog and not ones copied from the internet, this will give originality to the blog.
- Add maximum headings, sub headings and bullets so the text is easy on the eyes.
- Double check your facts. Sometimes the internet doesn’t provide the absolute truth, so in order to avoid any controversy either add citations for the fact or double check its authenticity.
- Strictly avoid racial slurs or anything that can be offensive to a particular community. The world wide web is a vocal community and will call you out.
Blogging may sound easy but it is no child’s play. You will have to learn from your mistakes and people’s opinions about your blog. Learn to take constructive criticism, but avoid clashing with people that spread negativity.
Just believe in yourself and always learn new things, you will go quite long way.
