Everyone has an opinion on what it takes to write the perfect blog post. ProBlogger is full of an unlimited amount of knowledge that will have you well on your way to crafting an amazing one, and if you haven’t started following Pat Flynn yet, you need to. However, sites like theirs are so amazing that they can sometimes be overwhelming. So, I’m here to break it down for you… how do you write the perfect blog post?
Truths About the Perfect Blog Post
Size matters. Oh yes, it definitely does. Too small and it’s over in 30 seconds… too big and everyone is scared of it. You have to find a happy medium. Most writers will suggest that your post stay around 500 words. I struggle to stay under 1000 some days, but you definitely want to be over 400.
Strong titles are a must. Depending on where we discover an article (Facebook, StumbleUpon, etc), titles and images are the things that make readers decide whether they’re going to click or not. Having a strong title is non-negotiable.
It needs to be relevant. I blogged about Kirk Cameron a while back – because he pissed me off – but it was relevant at the time because he was in the news. If I blogged about him today, I’d get maybe 1/10th the amount of clicks on my post because, well, nobody cares about him right now.
It’s gotta be engaging! If you’re not entertaining your readers, they’re going to find another blogger that does.
Include some useful information. While everyone loves a mindless read once in a while, most people will visit your blog in hopes of reading something useful – educational even. Give it to them!
It’s all about traffic. Okay so it’s not all about traffic, but obviously we want the result of the perfect blog post to be the perfect amount of blog traffic, right? Read up on 99 Ways to Increase Blog Traffic, as that’s a great jumping off point.
Questions to Ask Yourself:
Is it scannable? Some people (like me!) just speed read through everything, scanning articles for a few seconds and moving on. If something is really interesting, we’ll stick around for a few extra seconds – but that’s it. Use bolds, italics, bullet points, and headings to keep the article easy to read.
Does it solve a problem? Because it needs to. In this day and age of instant gratification, your blog posts really should solve a problem – even if that means the problem is the reader is cranky and just needs a laugh.
Is it well-researched? If your post goes viral, people are going to call your bluff real fast. So, make sure your blog post is legit and well-researched before hitting “publish”.
Does your blog post have grammatical errors? Proofread that shit, yo. There’s nothing that annoys me more than constant grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Of course having a few here or there usually isn’t a big deal (I’m the queen of starting sentences with “and” or “but”) – having them all over is.
How to Write a Perfect Blog Post
I’ve never done the half-width images like this infographic suggests, but I might try them some time. It’s all about providing the best experience for your readers so they come back again and again!
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