How to Write a Good Blog Post

Did you know that about four million blog posts are published each day?

This means that your readers have tons of options, and your competitors are just a few clicks (and seconds) away.

Writing a mediocre blog post is a waste of your time. You don’t need a soothsayer to know it’d be difficult or impossible for a blog post like that to generate substantial traffic and traction.

Of course, you could say, “But, my prospective readers are not exposed to millions of posts each day. They’re just interested in a few niches.”

That may be true, but I assure you that even in those niches, there’s so much being published each day that anything not excellently written is apt to be ignored.

And how can a blog post transform lives, including your own, if it’s ignored?

In this age, writing good blog posts is not a competitive edge; it’s a basic requirement for any serious writer/blogger and an inescapable condition for being in the game.

Before we explore how to write a good blog post, I suggest we spend a short time on whether it’s even worth it. Why bother? What’s in it for you?

Why bother to write a good blog post?

Good blog posts written consistently can be a ticket to a great life.

In fact, there are many people who leverage their blogs to make millions each year. Some have turned their blogs into multi-million dollar businesses. Others have signed huge books deals off of their blogs.

A profitable blog is, at its core, a collection of good blog posts.

You can easily make money if you learn how to write a blog post fast and master the marketing end, too. You can use your blog posts to influence thousands (or even millions) and sell stuff, share ideas, stories, and insights that could help people and change their lives.

There are many types of blog posts. A review is a popular example, and you can learn how to write good reviews in this article by studying examples of great content on prime blogs and websites.

The ability to write a good blog post is a vital foundation for a thriving online business – a business that can generate substantial income for you in the short term and that you can sell for a huge payoff later, if you so desire.

So what makes up a good blog post?

Elements of a good blog post

The blogs people enjoy visiting regularly become a part of their life. They even buy some products sold on them.

These blogs are offering valuable content – content that’s enriching and makes a positive difference in the lives of the readers. These 11 components are what define good blog posts:

1. Structure
2. Solution-focused
3. Unique content
4. The right style
5. Easy to scan
6. The Skyscraper Technique
7. Internal links
8. In-depth research
9. Fitting and captivating images
10. Key takeaways
11. Call to action

I’ll explain each in some detail. They all seem simple, but don’t let that fool you because when combined together, these elements can unleash incredible power and make your posts magnetic. 

Of course, you don’t have to use all 11 in every single post. A couple will do. But the more of these components you add to your blog posts, the better.

1. Blog Post Structure

There’s this notion that structure could be limiting or that it’s boring. This is a huge misconception because structure makes yours and your readers’ life easier and increases your productivity.

The structure is a reliable and flexible framework on which you can build your posts. It’s the skeleton, and your words are the flesh. Thinking of and using a structured approach helps you in mastering how to write a blog post outline.

The right structure helps you envision the general outline of the post even before you’ve written it.

Perhaps you’re more of a seat-of-the-pants kinda writer, and you’d rather just let your writing flow. The interesting thing is that being a good writer is not about you; it’s about serving your readers. A smart writer finds and adapts to the best methods for delivering greater value to readers.

A structured post that’s benefitted from deep thought is more likely to flow than the ramblings of an undisciplined writer.

The surprising thing about structure is that it’s actually liberating. And using it is one of the ways to write a blog post fast. The structure serves as a guideline.

2. Solution-focused

Good blog posts are answers to challenges your audience is facing. 

Your readers might be interested in learning how to build an online business, for example, or they might just be interested in reading something funny and offbeat.

There could be exceptional cases where blog posts are just self-indulgent ramblings and still resonate with readers, but most of the time, the best blogs are about serving the readers.

Good blog posts provide the most vital information in a form that’s captivating and easily digestible. This is the heart of it – crafting compelling content that educates, entertains, and makes lives easier.

3. Unique content

If your blog posts are just like all the others on the topic, there’s no incentive for readers to keep coming to your blog.

Good blog posts are unique. The more attuned you are to your readers, the more you know their challenges and aspirations, and the easier it is for you to sculpt the huge amount of information available into captivating articles.

One way to make a piece of content unique is to be yourself and channel your personality as you write. It makes the writing easier because you’re not trying to be what you’re not.

4. The right style

If you are an expert on the subject, you might be tempted to share all the technical stuff you’ve learned over the decades. This “textbook approach” would hurt your traffic and sales.

To write good blog posts, you need to process your knowledge and find the simplest and most engaging manner to share it.

Trust me, the simpler, the better. Think about it: your readers can’t act on info that’s boring and difficult to understand.

Keep it simple and interesting. Think “edutainment.

5. Easy to scan

Dense paragraphs are scary and difficult for most readers. The format makes reading too arduous and boring.

Good blog posts are user-friendly. Busy readers can easily scan them because there’s a generous use of white space, bullets, images, and subheadings.

When you use this kind of formatting, readers are able to focus on the facets that interest them and can read a lot of content without feeling overwhelmed.

6. The Skyscraper Technique

This technique will require a lot of work, but it can result in huge payoffs. The idea is simple. Take a post that’s proven – one that’s valuable and popular – and improve it.

The technique is essentially about offering more value. The general idea is to 10x what your competitors are offering. This is one of the most potent ways to write a good blog post.

Brian Dean developed the Skyscraper Technique. It was so effective that, the first time he used it, he doubled his traffic in about two weeks.

Here’s an example of how it works.

Assume there’s a popular post entitled “25 Effective Ways to Market Online.” You could upgrade it. You could have “250 Proven Online Marketing Strategies.” The latter offers more value, and you can position it as “the ultimate guide” on online marketing. It doesn’t have to be 250. It could be 50 – the key is to add more valuable content.

It’s easy to imagine that serious players who are not content with scanty 300-word posts and want something more exhaustive would adore such posts.

7. Internal links

You can’t use the Skyscraper Technique in every post. Some (or even most posts) are relatively short and can’t be expanded by much. Instead, you could write a series of posts on the same theme. The links to each should be available in every post, so that a reader who yearns for more info can easily access related content.

This strategy will keep more readers on your site. Instead of reading an article and clicking away to a competitor blog, they’ll look at what else you offer.

8. In-depth research

This is the foundation that enables you to build good posts. It’s the first step, and it impacts everything.

If you’ve taken the time to do in-depth research on a topic, you have a lot of valuable stuff to share with your readers, and this will make your post stand out.

It’s easy to tell when a writer has done their homework. It shows in the depth and breadth of the post.

A well-researched post is more likely to trigger the expected responses because the facts, insights, and methods used make the post credible and valuable.

9. Fitting and captivating images

Images complement and attract attention to the text. They say a lot without making your post too wordy and help the readers grasp concepts quicker. That’s why the best publications use both side-by-side.

Images also make reading less boring. They provide breathers for the reader and are refreshing. Good blog posts use images that illustrate what’s being explored. They can be a mix of serious and light-hearted.

Good images can help make your posts stick. It’s easy for us to recall what we’ve read when it’s associated with a riveting image; recalling the images triggers the essence of what we read.

10. Key takeaways

Instead of writing the conventional “conclusion” to close your post, you could use that part to provide extra value to your readers by helping them identify the salient points in your post and providing actionable steps they can take to apply them.

This will make it easier for them to become more engaged with your posts, seeing as they know you’ll always help reiterate the insights they’re meant to draw from the posts.

It’s also great for those who’d like to scan your posts.

11. Call to action

Calls to action are one of the simplest and most potent tools used by copywriters – writers who are experts in the art and science of persuasion. They know that instead of being subtle about what the reader is meant to do, after reading your post, it’s smart and effective to be on-the-nose and say exactly what you’d like them to do next.

If a person has spent fifteen minutes reading your post, it’s likely they’re a bit fatigued by the time they reach its finale. So, help them. Make it simple stupid for them to take the next step.

Do you want them to click a link that takes them to a related article? Do you want them to let you know what they think in the comments section? Are you selling an app that will help them with what they’ve just read?

Tell them what to do.

It’s a Wrap…

Now you know the 11 qualities of good blog posts, you can easily leverage them in all that you write. They’re simple and powerful.

For example, the structure of your post helps give your work a “flow” and cover relevant points. Ideally, your post should offer solutions to readers because that’s usually why people read blog posts.

If you use these 11 techniques in your blog posts, you will see positive changes in your traffic and sales and experience a higher return on investment.

What are your strategies to compose awesome posts? Share them in the comments below.