How To Create A Blog Post

Let’s get started…

Here at LMH, we consider ourselves to be experts when it comes to the written content on social media (we hope you agree). What better way to explain the steps of writing your own blog, than on ours! Writing a blog post is like learning how to ride a bike for the first time. You can watch tutorials (or read articles about how to write an awesome blog post) but nothing prepares you quite like getting on the bike and pedaling. You get the analogy. 

Blogs are a great way to drive more traffic to your business. They also give your business a platform to show your stuff and gain credibility. You know that blog posts are key to growing your business, but you don’t know how. In this post, I will show you how to create content that your readers actually want. Let’s get started. 

First Steps

The first step to creating a great blog is research. Be prepared to spend a couple of hours researching, and then a couple more. Put your thinking cap on and let the ideas come to you when you least expect them to (yes, thinking counts as research). Writing an outline with your research is a great way to save some time down the road because your blog will turn out organized and easy to follow. Using keywords and refining the search term based on date allows you to find relevant articles quickly. Writing on topics that interest you is a plus, but bloggers should strive to take any topic and make it interesting. While I talk about research, I think it’s important to emphasize credibility. Don’t forget to check your facts! Wikipedia was never a reputable source in high school, and it most certainly isn’t now. 

It is also important to know your audience, and what they want from your blog. Most readers decide in the first 2-3  seconds whether they will stay on the page, so first impressions are everything. Different industries have certain keywords and questions that members are asking. Will you answer those questions? There are many free resources available to gain insight into your audiences, such as Quora or Twitter’s advanced search engines.

Show-Stopping Headlines

Creating a show-stopping headline should be a high priority. Your headline determines the amount of traffic that visits your page, therefore it should be top-tier. Interesting headlines are the “clickbait” of journalism, just make sure they still make sense with your article. Instead of “How to ride a bike”, you could write, “How to conquer the scariest thing on two wheels”. Which one would you pick?  Point made. Here are a couple of examples of our favorite headlines to date:

• “Cows lose their jobs as milk prices drop”
• “Safety meeting ends in accident”
• “City unsure why the sewer smells”
• “Murderer says detective ruined his reputation”

Although these headlines are comical, they do their job. Readers are drawn to the articles that pique their interest. Sometimes, an outlandish headline is exactly what you need to get eyes on your blog. 

Don’t Forget the Word Count

Now you’ve made it to the third step, writing your post! A successful blog should be long enough to get your point across, but not an essay. In my case, a blog post should be long enough to avoid an angry message from my boss (nervous laughter). Feel free to “brain dump” or let your brain flow with ideas from your head onto your paper. 2,000 terrible words are better than no words. Then, you can go back and delete the nonsense, leaving a myriad of perfect sentences. Looking back, I often find sentences that can combine to make perfect pairings and sound awesome together. Not everyone views your perfect sentences on a computer though. In the twenty-first century, it is important to remember that most content is consumed through cell phones. Knowing this information, you might want to bold important ideas so you make sure they are seen. This brings us to our next point. 

Enhance Your Post

A blog with only words is a boring blog. In order to WOW your readers, there are many elements that can be added to your post. Use images to add visual understanding and clarity. This will also allow the reader to picture steps in their head, thus increasing the chances of them remembering your post. You can add graphs, photographs, drawings, and even videos. Different fonts, colors, underlines, and elements such as arrows make your blog interactive. 

Your blog should be a call to action, with defined steps on how to get to an end goal. Explain complex topics clearly and make sure your message is clearly conveyed. This is not the time to leave things to the imagination. After researching your topic, you should cover a lot of ground with your new knowledge! Creating subheadings to break up your page makes the information more manageable for your reader. Most people will only skim for specific information, and that ok, as long as they can find it quickly.

Sprinkle In Some Humor

On top of artistic elements, add humor to your blog. After writing, you can go back and add *quirky* bursts of comedy to your blog. Subtle, yet appreciated is the way to go when it comes to blog humor. You can even make running jokes throughout the piece. I could have made another bike joke to wrap up this paragraph, but I chose to save my readers from the pain of reading another one of my analogies. 

You’ve written your blog, now what? 

Congratulations on your work of art, or literature in this case. Before posting for the world to see, make sure you proofread your work. Typos decrease credibility and just look plain stupid. It also helps to read your post aloud to check how it all flows together. Having a team of editors review your work is a great way to receive feedback. Sometimes, moms and colleagues make the best editor in chief. Don’t be afraid to change things at the last minute if you want to. Blogging is not about perfection, but about creating (WOW that was deep). 

Still need help? Get in touch with our professionals at LMH Agency! 

Happy Blogging.