How to Write a Blog Post: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

How to Write a Blog Post

In this article, you will learn how to write a blog post with the tips we have provided in this article.

If writing was easy, everyone would have published a book or two. It is a job that requires experience and proper organization of time. The time expended on writing is quite extensive but of great import, in that there are a wide variation of contents and data on the internet which would require enormous time to sift through to get factual data or information.

If you are new to writing for the internet, you have hit a jackpot with this article as it would guide you through steps to write your own blog post. Here are some guidelines to follow in your writing.

Plan your content

Build a stack of topics, work with an editorial calendar and collect beneficial information.

Topics of articles- prepare article topics ahead of time, this will save you time and help you avoid situations where you do not know what to write on. When planning to write, set time apart for searching for topics and the actual content creation.

How to get ideas for topics 

• Disperse prejudices about your products and services, highlight their benefits.
• Watch the competition and get inspired by popular topics.
• Focus on your target audience and get what picks their interest.

Target audience information is essential, and your job is to find out what the audience’s problems are. Comments under articles, product reviews, forum posts and specialized social media groups will go a long way. However, identifying a problem and creating a topic from it is halfway through. The second half is to describe a befitting interpretation and present it to the reader.

Focus on topics that will be relevant for a long time, which will ensure the popularity of the article for a long time to come. And if there is new information regarding the topic, update it, as there is nothing stopping you from adding new knowledge to a previously written article.

The topics you choose should be of interest to your target audience as much as it interests you because the readers can tell if the Writer is versed or not, in that chosen topic. Inadvertently the flow of thought experienced by the reader would be a determinant factor in the quality of the article. Side note: you can write on an existing topic but poach it from a new angle.

Editorial scheddule

Write down all important information on selected topics in the editorial plan, but keep the following items: deadlines, topic, description, keywords, list of sources, competitive content. It’s up to you whether you add three topics one by one or just come up with a plan for the whole year. By arranging topics in your calendar, you can build on previous articles and link content.

Sources of information- know your sources of information for each topic and write them down in an editorial calendar. As a result, you don’t have to do extensive research before writing. Just check to see if a new important resource has been added. Even if you are familiar with the topic, you can always enrich your knowledge. An article is more credible when you base it on quality resources. Also, do not read full articles, instead watch the subheadings, and pay attention to the highlighted information.

Reading the introduction and conclusion will do the job of letting you know if the article will help you.

Identify resources that best suit you and run with it. Be it controversial, professional studies or research, articles written by an expert in the field. Find some of the resources for a desired topic, read them before you start writing and let this inspire you to write something original.

Study of resources and outline of the article

Before writing an article, read the study material you have collected. Read word for word. Only skip passages that do not fit in your article. Process information in the form of notes. It is a classic sorting and grouping according to thematic agreement. As you read the third source, the information may repeat itself. Let yourself be guided by the curriculum. It will help you to know the structure of the article and not get lost in writing it.

Add basic ideas to each point and develop on them, your new aim is to process the resources and get creative. The outline serves as a guide, but you can make needed adjustment as you go.

Writing the finished product

Finally, extend the finished notes with your own knowledge. Create what your article centres on, then the introduction and conclusion. At the end of this part, the article will be well composed. When you start writing, let it be your sole aim for that period and try as much as possible to avoid distraction.

• The body of the article

The value of the article is hidden in its core. If you’ve transcribed notes word for word so far, now is the time to change that. Write in your own words so that your text resembles the original one only by an idea. After all, you have your own communication tone, into which some words from the original sources may not fit.

Link notes and arrange them in clear sections. This is how you compose coherent text. However, do not create an article only from other people’s opinions and ideas. Complete the information obtained with your observations and knowledge. Write down everything you can think about on the topic but don’t distort you train of thought with unnecessary cutbacks, there will be plenty of time for that at some point before you post it.

Use statistics in your article, but not in a boring way. Describe the research and present its results with a story, this will increase the credibility of the article.

• Introduction to the article

Once you have written the body of the article, start with the introduction. It is appropriate to summarize what the article will bring to the reader, but don’t expose the solution. Do not extend the introduction of the article, just go straight to the point, because the reader will not get specific advice or solutions in the introduction. In an introduction, a short story, quote, or interesting statistics stand out.

• The conclusion

Summarize the most important information briefly You don’t have to write whole sentences when you feel like you can’t think of anything interesting anymore. End the article positively and motivate the reader to act.

Another option is to ask a question and appeal to the reader to express an opinion in the comment section of the article. The call to action does not have to be plain text. Try other options that stand out graphically and are immediately noticeable.

• Article title

The title of the article is an essential part of the job that will require ruminating continuously before making a final decision on what to use. Care needs to be taken here especially because your choice of topic determines whether you article will he read or not. Choose a topic only when you are done writing the body of the work, pen some ideas and go for the one you feel best captures the main idea of the text.

Editing and formatting

Editing and shortening the text: After the first draft is done, you will need to review and shorten to ensure its readability. You can scroll through the text several times and edit it if you need. In the end ensure you stick to the best narrative of the article. Read loudly and fluently every time you edit text. Stop only when you come across difficult parts that need to be rewritten. However, when you see sentences or words that messes up the whole idea, that hardly fits the context or that are repeated, then you know those are your clues that there is need to rewrite.

Readability and formatting: An informative article needs added value in the form of right formatting because this will make the readers feel comfortable receiving the important material you have prepared for them.  Your reader might be in a dire situation and is looking for a solution to a problem in your article, format the text clearly which will make it easier for the reader to read the text once the article can be perused within a short period.