Writing a blog post is similar to driving; you can study the highway code (or read articles on how to write a blog post) for months, but nothing beats getting behind the wheel and hitting the open road. Or something like that.

Draft a Strong Headline

Envision yourself in a bookstore, examining the newly published books. You don’t have enough time to read every single book. You’re more likely to pick up a book if it has an engaging title and cover design.

The same may be said about blog entries. People’s social media feeds are constantly bombarded with news and online content. To make yours stand out, you must have an eye-catching headline: something that provides value to the reader in exchange for their time.

David Ogilvy, known as The Father of Advertising, is said to have stated, “The headlines that work best are those that promise the reader a benefit.”

A benefit could range from amusing someone to teaching someone, encouraging someone, or supporting someone to resolve a problem.

Keep the four U’s of headline writing in mind when you construct your blog post headlines.

1. Is this “Unique”?
2. Am I being “Ultra-specific”?
3. Am I creating “Urgency”?
4. Is this “Useful”?

You probably won’t be able to cover all four U’s, but if you include at least one or two, you should be able to create a compelling headline. List posts work well because they are highly specific, and how-to blogs perform well because they are informative.

You can use the Coschedule Headline Analyzer to check if there are any methods to improve the strength of your titles.

Once you’ve decided on a title, you may choose a lead photo for your blog post that depicts it in some way. This is the image that will be displayed when your post is shared on social media, so make it appealing. Pixabay and Unsplash are two fantastic databases where you can find beautiful, royalty free photos to use.

Begin with an Irresistible Intro

Your headline has piqued your reader’s interest, but does your content deliver on its promise?

The first paragraph of your blog post should entice visitors to want to read more. This is where you tell them what to expect from the rest of the blog post.

A strong introduction consists of three components:

1.The lure
2. The Section of Transition
3.The Opening Statement of the Argument

In the lure, you capture the interest of your reader with a remarkable anecdote, fact, or inquiry. Usually, I put up an issue for the reader in the hook. I frequently ask a straight question to the reader. Like the question, “Does it ever feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day for everything that you want to accomplish?”

Then I’ll tell you a story about a great writer or perhaps about myself. In this transition part, I’ll delve a little deeper into the problem’s negative consequences. Then I’ll explain that I’ve discovered a solution to the problem.

Finally, I provide the opening argument, which is a one-sentence overview of the post and how I will assist the reader in resolving their issue. On that note, “In today’s post, I’m looking at five different ways we can carve out time for writing even when it seems there are no more hours left in our schedules.”

Make Your Post Simple to Read

Even if you produce a fantastically captivating or extremely informative content, readers may not remain to read it. Most people rapidly scan a post to see how long it is. Others are sceptical of click bait since they do not want to waste their time on something that will not help them.

Here are three measures you may do to improve the readability of your post:

1. Divide your article into short pieces with subheadings.

The subheadings provide a plan for your reader to follow, and the short portions make a lengthy post much easier to absorb.

However, you must ensure that the subheading does not provide too much information, otherwise readers would not bother reading each section. Take note of how each of my subheadings in this piece offers a brief preview of what comes in the paragraph.

2. Use short paragraphs and sentences

Long blocks of text can be frightening to read, especially on a mobile device. I aim to keep paragraphs to three to four sentences in length.

3. Examine the readability of your post.

I use Quillbot to catch any typos or grammar mistakes that I may have made. Then I compare my content to a readability score.

A readability score estimates the amount of education required for someone to easily understand your piece of content. It will assist you in writing in a more conversational tone. I aim to write my pieces as if I were having a conversation with you over a cup of tea in a café. Do you want another latte?

You can use this website to assess the readability of your writing. If you have a WordPress website that is self-hosted, I recommend installing the Yoast SEO plugin. It features a built-in readability analysis and will assist you in optimising your material for the web.

Finally, make a call to action.

You’ve taken your reader on a fantastic journey. What should he do now that he has this newfound knowledge?

“The Takeaway” is what I normally call the conclusion of my blog posts. It’s where you can highlight the most important points from your post.

Following that, give your reader a clear call to action. Maybe you tell them to take the actions they read about in your piece (and emphasise the risks if they don’t).