What is a Blog Post and How to Write It Like a Professional?
Originally the blog was an online journal in which someone could share their views and opinions on different topics. Through the years blogs become a powerful business and marketing tool. Today, it’s hard to imagine a serious content marketing strategy without a professional blog with regularly published articles. As the importance of blogs was growing, so did the number of niches. Now, we won’t exaggerate if we say that every niche has its place in the blog-sphere.
Depending on the niche it covers, the blog gathers a specific reading audience. For instance, if you want to start a lifestyle blog, be aware that your target audience will be interested in beauty, travel, or fashion advice and tips. On the other hand, if you plan to start a book blog, you may have to adapt your writing style to real book lovers. Of course, you will have to cover topics that are relevant to bookworms such as book reviews, book recommendations, or writing tips. No matter what the case is you have to make sure your blog content is original, SEO optimized, and fresh. The good news is you can always check out the best content writing tips and valuable WordPress SEO tips to grow your blog and keep it relevant.
So, whether you want to write your first blog post or to upgrade the existing one, always do deep research on the topic, and don’t forget to try essential WordPress plugins for writers as they can make your blogging easier. But, before we dive deeper into the topic and explain to you what is a blog post in detail and which elements it should include, let’s discuss the difference between a blog and a website.
Blogs are a type of website. However, there are websites with or without blogs. There are also websites that are only blogs. As the main business online umbrella, the website is a platform where you share the details about your services, prices, team members, or showcase the most iconic projects. In most cases, websites have a blog page that covers the relevant topic from a specific niche. Website content isn’t updated frequently, while blogs are built around frequently published articles.
So, for instance, if you run a travel agency you can have a website where people can explore and book travels, or you can start a travel blog where you share stories from your travel adventures.
To sum up – a blog can be a website on its own or a part of a bigger site. Also, web pages are sorted into different categories based on their content. For example, it’s hard to imagine a site without an About me, Contact, or Portfolio page. “Posts” on the other hand are updates or unique perspectives, meant to be bite-size reads, can be composed of one or a combination the following media: a text article, images videos, podcasts, and even social media feeds. Now that we know the difference between a website and a blog, let’s now analyze the blog post.
A blog post is an individual web page on your website, dedicated to one, specific topic. For instance, let’s assume you start an eCommerce blog on your shop website. One blog post might be titled “Best tips for growing sales in 2022”. The post ties back to your overall blog topic as a whole (eCommerce), but also it addresses a very particular sub-topic (sale growth).
As blog posts allow you to rank on search engines, make sure they are well optimized. Use the right combo of keywords and optimize your headline and meta title. Also, don’t forget to use header tags as they can help you organize your blog better. On top of this, you can try WordPress SEO plugins as they include tons of features that will improve your text optimization.
If you want to offer high-quality content make sure your blog post is well organized. When you structure your post well readers will be able to easily consume it and read it from start to finish. Below, we will walk you through the elements you should plan and include in your blog post.
Write a Memorable Headline
When written well, the headline has the power to increase sales, conversions, and click-through rate. On the other hand, a poor headline can seriously damage your content. If you fail to catch the attention right away, people will keep scrolling for something interesting. In case you don’t know how to write headlines, don’t worry – with just a few tricks you can easily improve it.
Keep it short, informative but inviting. The headline has to capture the attention of potential readers. Always include the main keyword phrase that people could use to find a specific topic. Don’t forget to use different header tags to mark your headings based on their importance. Use H1 for your main blog headline. Of course, keep your heading grammatically correct and free from typos. When possible include numbers, especially if the main content will cover the list of books, products, services, etc.
Include a Publish Date
The publishing date of your content serves as orientation for the readers. If you publish regularly, post dates will help your visitors determine the recent posts. For instance, if you publish daily, your readers will be able to easily find the latest article or decide which one to read – in some niches the latest news is the most relevant.
Name the Authors
Being a writer is a privilege. So don’t forget to share a few relevant details about yourself. An author box section is an ideal place where you can share your interests, and professional background and list the relevant publications.
Use one of WordPress author box plugins to create stunning author box sections that are customized to your needs. Author boxes are especially important if your blog has many writers. Thanks to them, your content can get more trust and relevance.
Add the Post Category
Post category will let you organize your articles better. As a result, readers will be able to navigate with ease and faster find what they are looking for. In short, category classes will let you organize your content into distinct sections, so use category tags for each blog post you create. Also, category tags will help search engines in indexing your blog.
Introduction and Table of Content
People are struggling with attention. This is one more reason to take the extra time to write the introduction well. The first paragraph should capture the attention and spark the interest in reading the rest of the text. So, the introduction should briefly announce what people can expect in the rest of the text and what value they will get after the reading. Also, don’t forget to use your targeted keyword phrase at least once in this paragraph.
Another important thing you should consider is creating the table of content. With it, you can organize your article better, and allow easier navigation especially if the text is longer. For this purpose, you can use WordPress Table of Contents plugins as they bring tons of useful features and ease of use.
Focus on Main Content
If you are ready to write the first blog post with success, make sure to research the topic in detail. Only when you are familiar with the niche, product, or service you want to write about, you can write high-quality content. However, deep research isn’t enough. To stay ahead of the game, you have to be well informed, and familiar with the latest trends, news, and discoveries that are relevant to the certain field.
As per the length, there is no strict rule. The general advice is to write between 300 and 3000 words. The more the merrier. Of course, make sure your text has the optimal amount of keywords and that is grammatically correct. Use Grammarly for WordPress to keep typos away.
Don’t Forget Sub-headlines
Always break your text into smaller paragraphs. This will help readers scan your blog faster and consume your content with full attention. Make sure your subheads represent the content within them – keep them simple, informative, and clear.
Use Bolded Text
When you want to make a point, emphasize something or highlight important information, use bold text. This will make the reading process easier as bolded text catches the attention. However, use it selectively and smartly. On top of this, you can also use blockquotes sections to put the focus of your text on one specific point, quote or thought. Thanks to blockquote WordPress plugins, anyone can easily create stunning blockquote sections.
Try Bulleted/Numbered Lists
Bullet points and numbers are other great tools for making your text well structured and easy to digest. If your text is long, break your text with bullets and numbers when possible – it will do wonders to your content.
Include Different Media
Keep your text fun and engaging with different media formats. Plain text can seem dull, so whenever you can, include images that illustrate the topic, videos that give further explanation, or even audio files. Also, don’t forget to include a featured image in your post and optimize the images for search engines.
Experiment with Call-to-Action
Call to action messages can really transform your content. Use it in the introduction to invite readers to continue reading and in the conclusion to encourage them to leave comments or to share your article via social media. In case you recommend specific products, you may include CTA buttons as well. You can create them with ease thanks to call to action plugins.
Include Social Share Buttons
If you want to be visible online and to grow your blog, you have to enable social sharing buttons. This will let your readers share your articles with one click. Thanks to social media sharing WordPress plugins you can place social sharing buttons at the top of your content, at the bottom of your content, on the side, or anywhere you want.
Don’t Forget Comments Section
When people like your content, they feel the need to tell you this. So, don’t forget to include a comment section in your blog post. As a result, people will be able to ask you questions interact with you, and meet like-minded peers. On the other hand, keep your comment section professional – always be ready to stop WordPress spam comments.
No matter which niche you cover, you can structure your post well, do deep research and deliver value. Here, we have three examples from our blog, that integrate the tips we covered in this article:
Now that you have the essential information about blogging, you can take some time and find the perfect theme for your blog. Depending on your niche, you can choose the design and set of options that will let you make the most of your blog. Below, we hand-picked three customizable themes you can use with complete ease.
Zoya – Lifestyle Blog
Zoya is a stylish theme designed for every contemporary lifestyle, fashion, and travel blog! It’s customizable, elegant, designed in a pastel color palette, and packed with tons of blog layouts. Choose between different post types, header options, and features such as Instagram feed widget, video functionality, etc.
Elipsa – Creative Magazine Theme
Elipsa will let you captivate your readers! Designed for contemporary magazine websites and it brings tons of features you can use to create a modern online publication. From blog sliders to different header types, this theme covers it all.
Backpack Traveler – Modern Blog
Welcome to Backpack Traveler, a modern travel blog that is fully decked out with everything a travel blogger may ever need. Equipped with destination layouts, shop, and blog functionalities, this theme is all one travel agency or travel lover needs.
Let’s Sum Up
“What is a blog post” is a question with so many answers. We hope we managed to provide you with some answers you can implement into your blogging that will help you grow, improve and level up your content.
We hope this article was helpful. If you liked it, feel free to check out some of these articles as well!
