Step by Step Guide to Writing Your First Blog Post
Step by Step Guide to Writing Your First Blog Post
Writing your first blog post can be very intimidating. There are too many scary questions. What if no one reads it? What is no one likes it? How do I even write a blog post? We have all been there and I think all blogger would give the same advice. Just do it!
Even if it isn’t perfect. Even if no one does read it. Just do it! The only way to get better is to just give it a shot and learn from each blog post!
I do have some good news for you though, I am going to help you so you aren’t jumping in blind.
First, you aren’t always going to be able to write a perfect blog post in my opinion. Of course, there are going to be great ones and not so great ones but I don’t think any are perfect.
I say that because everyone is different. What one reader may find it as amazing advice and another won’t. But still, there is a guide to go by to get pretty darn close to perfect!
Step by Step Guide
There are certain checkpoints you want to cross off with each blog post to ensure that you are doing everything you can to make that the best blog post for your readers and for your blog.
For Your Readers
You want to create a blog post that is interesting and educational. Something that grabs your readers attention and takes them on a journey to the answer.
Some blog posts it will be easy to grab their attention and keep it throughout the post. Others that don’t have a personal attention-grabbing story behind it (like this one) may be harder to do that.
But my goal is just to help you solve the blog you are looking to solve! And for this post, it is writing your first blog post!
For You
Each post should also have the goal to do well with SEO and be easy to read. If your blog post checks off all the tips to do well with SEO then it will do better in the blogging world.
Google will share your post, Pinterest will share your post, and readers will share your post.
How to Use WordPress
(Already know how to use WordPress? Just skip on down to the good stuff!)
I like to share even the basics in my blog posts because it was hard for me to find these details when I first started blogging.
That is why I decided I wanted to teach others how to blog. So I could help them skip the trouble I had!
Once you log into your WordPress site on the left side you will see Posts and the Add New Post. Click on that and it will take you to the next screen.
Title and URL
Now on this screen is where you are going to write your first blog post. At the top, you will add your blog post title. It will automatically generate a URL for your blog post.
You have the option to edit it. If you want to edit it do that right away. After you share your blog post you won’t be able to edit it or then everywhere else you shared it won’t link back to this post anymore.
Publish Draft
On the right side, you can see there are options to edit when your blog post goes public. Right now as you write it, it will only be a draft. Make sure to save your blog post periodically as you write it.
WordPress will automatically save it for you but I have unfortunately lost a lot of work when I lost connection once and it didn’t save. Now regardless I will save the draft as I write my blog post.
Once you are completely done with the blog post you can publish it immediately or schedule it out.
The next set of drop-down menus is the format of your blog post, the categories you want this post in, tags you want to be added to this post and a feature image for this post.
Format
The format should stay the same. It is only changed if you want to create a video post or other options besides just a blog post so just leave that.
Categories
The categories tab is where you will check the categories you want this blog post to go in. If you have categories about healthy eating and parenting tips and your blog post pertains to both of those then you would check off both of those.
It is a way to organize your blog posts to make them easy to find for you and your readers.
Tags
The tags section is where you can add keywords you want to be associated with this blog post.
Again, if your blog post relates to healthy eating and parenting then you can use those keywords plus healthy recipes, parenting hacks, healthy food, etc.
Anything that you think people will search for regarding your post.
Feature Image
The feature image is the smaller thumbnail image that will pop up on the other pages of your blog.
When your readers click on the blog section of your blog (depending on exactly how you have it set up) then they will be taken to a page where it will display all of your recent blog posts with the feature images.
I use the Divi Theme and it has an option to remove this image from the blog post itself. If a reader clicks on the feature image and is taken to that blog post, I don’t want the feature image at the top of the blog post.
I already have a pin image at the top of my blog post so I don’t want the feature image there as well. So keep in mind you probably have that option with your theme as well.
A great resource to have to ensure that your blog post checks off all the SEO points is to install the Yoast SEO Plugin.
It will tell you if your blog post needs improvement with SEO and Readability. When both turn green then you are good to go!
Just click on the different sections and it will tell you where you need to improve to get the green lights.
The Blog Post Checklist
Now let’s move on to the good stuff, the blog post itself!
You now know how to write the blog post in WordPress but let’s talk about actually writing the blog post itself. What all makes a great blog post?
Great blog posts contain:
- Keywords
- Have great content
- Follow a structure
- Have inbound and outbound links
The best course (and at the best price) for mastering writing the perfect blog post is Suzi’s course Post by Number. It is currently only $9 and if you know anything about Suzi she only provides the absolute best.
The best part about this course (besides all of this for only $9) is that at the end of the course you get to submit a blog post to her blog!
It is worth $9 to get the exposure and traffic you will get from posting on her blog! It is geared towards moms so keep that in mind regarding the guest posting part.
But the course is packed full of useful information on writing the perfect blog post for any niche!
Keywords
Every post should have keywords to make it easy for readers to find your post when searching for relevant information.
If someone types into Google “how to bake a cake” and your blog post is about “how to bake a cake” then you should have those keywords in your blog post.
However, if you are just using any keywords that no one is searching for then you will have a hard time getting SEO love.
In Post by Number Suzi walks through how to find keywords and what makes them good keywords.
Here are some of the tools that I use to find keywords.
Or you can check out my post 7 surefire ways to come up with blog posts where I talk more about finding keywords!
Great Content
Each blog post should be knowledgeable and full of great content. You don’t want to have a short 500-word blog post that doesn’t give the reader much information and is just packed with keywords.
That won’t work.
You need to answer a problem or provide value to your reader on the subject. Give them useful and helpful information to help them solve their problem.
I have heard that highlighting or bolding your keywords throughout your content is also a great way to help your SEO. I just recently started trying it to see if it helps!
I actually like it so far because it has helped me make sure I am using keywords throughout my post as well as using the Yoast SEO Plugin.
Grammarly
Another great tool to use to make sure that your content is easy to read and make sense in the Grammarly extension. This tool is my best friend!
When I write I do it as if I’m talking to a friend. So when I do that it is too easy to have long sentences and misspelled words.
I talk a lot and so, therefore, I type a lot.
If I get to going too fast then I have many grammar errors. This extension underlines the errors in red for me. This saves me so much time.
I just start typing and Grammarly will tell me what to fix! Of course, I always go back and reread my posts too.
Yoast SEO also tells me when I have used the same word too much, when my sentences are too long, and when I have too much text and not enough headings.
Follow a Structure
Suzi goes more in-depth in this section but you should make sure that each blog post follows a structure.
No one wants to read a sea of text.
You need to make sure there are headings throughout your blog post. Only have a few sentences between breaking them up.
There should be images throughout your post to also help break up the text and even give examples on what you’re trying to teach your readers.
Like I said before, you should bold keywords or important information you want to grab your readers attention.
Each blog post should be at least 1,000 words and people love bullet points or a numbered list.
This really helps show them exactly what they are looking for. If they are in a hurry and scrolling through your post these bullet points will show them this information is important.
Inbound and Outbound Links
Lastly, you want to make sure that your blog posts contain inbound and outbound links. What that means is there are links in your blog post that link back to other blog posts on your blog and links that link out of your blog.
You may worry about outbound links sending your readers away. Well, if your content was good they will be back! Outbound links are great for SEO so make sure that you are linking helpful links for your readers.
When I come across a blog post that is full of great content I will bookmark it to come back later. I may click out and read the other post they suggested from another blogger but I don’t want to lose that post so I will save it to come back to.
Or that is exactly why you need to have beautiful pin images for each blog post. Then your reader can pin your blog post to come back to later!
Pinterest Perfect Images
If you are writing your first blog post then odds are you aren’t very familiar with creating Pinterest images either.
Each blog post should have a beautiful eye-catching image that makes your reader a) save it to Pinterest and b) entices others on Pinterest that see that pin to click through and read your blog post!
I created a Free Pinterest Image Course where I share how to create images for your blog and for Pinterest.
Sign Up Here!In this course it covers:
- What makes a good pin
- The different types of pins
- Where to get stock images
- 5 different programs you can use to create images
- How to reuse on image multiple ways
- How to add your new image to Pinterest
One of the programs I just recently started using it a huge time saver for creating images!
Don’t forget to sign up for Suzi’s course if you are interested in learning more about writing a perfect blog post and getting the opportunity to guest post on her blog!
I hope you found this post helpful!
Happy blogging!
Vanessa
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