
How to Write a Great Blog Post: A Beginners Guide
Many people think they can’t write.
They outsource their blogging and spend hours agonising over the details.
Because deep down they know it would be more on point.
More honest.
More valuable if they wrote it themselves.
Yet they dare not…
Here’s a simple process to help you write (and finalise) your first blog post in under an hour:
Blog Writing Step One: Try Speed Writing
Your first edit will never be perfect.
Chances are it will never be great either.
So just aim at putting down your first draft.
Forget about your introduction and call to actions and conclusions for now.
Just write what comes.
Let it flow naturally.
Just the way you would say it.
Stick a timer on and write for 20 minutes.
You’d be amazed how much you can write in such a short time.
If it feels too short start with 30 minutes but ideally not more than that.
Blog Writing Step Two: First edit
Once you got all the information about your topic out of your head and onto paper in your first draft, go in and improve it.
Remove extra words, replace complicated (non-technical) words for shorter words that are easier to comprehend. Shorten your sentences. Often you just need to break long sentences up onto two and/or remove words that mean nothing. Well, most words have a meaning but sometimes can spot a word that doesn’t change the meaning of a sentence if removed, that shows you that you can shorten the sentence without changing its meaning. The shorter your sentences, the more likely people will read till the end.
Check your tenses. Make sure you don’t use the passive voice – or as I like to call it the ‘victim voice’ (it describes what’s being done to the subject) here are some examples from you dictionary.com to help you spot it more easily.
Active Voice |
Passive Voice |
Beautiful giraffes roam the savannah. |
The savannah is roamed by beautiful giraffes. |
The crew paved the entire stretch of highway. |
The entire stretch of highway was paved by the crew. |
Blog Writing Step Three: Second edit
Once you’re happy with the way your writing flows, it’s time to give it a little more shape.
Add an intro at the top and a call to action or conclusion (ideally both) at the end and sub-titles to help people skim read before they jump in and read the whole lot.
Your intro is what will keep people reading, give it all the time it requires to feel smooth. But do time yourself or you will go down a rabbit hole. The intro is meant to speed up reading.
…and keep people reading.
You can achieve this by using short sentences, very short ones because these add urgency.
Always make a statement, then prove it or dispel it in your article.
Here are some great intro examples:
There is no short-cut to improve your blog writing.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Writing talent is built on practice.But there are a handful of tools that can help anyone.
Using online tools can improve your headlines, flow and readability. By using the tools below, you’re guaranteed to write posts more people will keep reading, even if English is not your first language…
From my Post titled: How to write a high quality blog post.
For months, I’m obnoxiously giddy about my life and what I get to do for a living. I’m on a roll. No, not just on a roll: I’m on fire! #Unstoppable.
Until, one day, I wake up feeling…doomed.
Life is relentless. I have to do this till I die?
I hate my industry. Everyone’s a dirtbag, and I’m pandering to them.
I have no good ideas. I’ve lost my edge. My posts on Instagram aren’t getting many likes.
I’m not “resonating.” Nobody likes me anymore.
From Laura Belgray’s Post titled: How To Get Out Of A Rut:…
Your conclusion should contain a connection to a Freebie, another article on your website or a call to action to contact you or check out something else you’ve created for your audience. Make it the logical next step.
But always have a goal.
What do you want the reader to do?
Why did you write this blog post in the first place?
That becomes your call to action, and here comes mine
Want more posts like this?
Blogging starts with your first blog posst. It doesn’t have to be great. You just need to start.