How to write a powerful blog post

Your aim should always be to create an effective and powerful blog post that not only gets people to your site, but keeps them there.

With this in mind, we’ve put together a bit of a guide to help you piece together your next powerful blog post.

When it comes to blog writing, there are three core aims…

Firstly, maintaining an active blog is a great way to keep your website updated with new content on a regular basis, which Google really likes.

Secondly, it’s a great way to attract and captivate your audience with some SEO-optimised titles and content, which can help your site achieve a more prevalent position in search results.

And finally, an engaging and powerful blog post that is well-structured and well-written will encourage readers to explore and navigate to other areas of your site, which can, of course, drive conversions! The added bonus is that if someone enjoys reading your blog post, they’re more likely to hit that share button, which in turn will help to increase traffic on your site and boost your rankings.

Where to start? Keyword research!

Carrying out keyword research will help you to identify the phrases your audience is actually searching for, and this can be really valuable when it comes to drafting content that will attract users to your site.

The point of keyword research is not just to find key search terms which get the most hits – it’s important that you dig a little bit deeper and think about the intent behind these keywords (i.e. the question that the searcher is looking for an answer to). Only then will you be able to craft relevant content which adds value to your brand and has a higher chance of turning that initial click into a conversion.

A handy website to bookmark is AnswerThePublic. This site takes your target keyword and generates a list of common related search phrases, usually framed within “Who?”, “What?”, “How?”, “Where?” and “Why?” questions, which can be great for gaining a bit more insight into your audience and their search habits, whilst giving you some ideas for potential topics to cover in your blog.

Where next? Take a look at our top ten tips on how to write a powerful blog post…

Here are a few key things to keep in mind when you’re putting pen to paper and crafting new content for your blog.

1. Write with purpose

It’s a good idea to dedicate some time to thinking about the purpose of your blog before you start writing, otherwise it’s very easy to find yourself moving off on tangents.

Are you looking to provide a general guide which broadly covers a topic related to your business (like this one!), or are you seeking to answer a more focused question about one particular aspect? Perhaps you’re contributing your thoughts to a topic that’s currently being discussed in the news, or sharing your insights into industry trends.

Whatever your aim, remember to keep the discoveries from your keyword research in mind, and always consider the search question you’re trying to answer. This should remain as a central theme throughout your content, and providing your readers with an answer to their search query should be your chief aim.

2. Adopt a clear structure

It’s good practice to try and set up (and stick to) a common structure for all of your blog posts. This just makes the practice of writing more straightforward, and will ensure that the question you’re focusing on is always answered.

In your opening paragraph, you should seek to introduce your topic and briefly address how it will be covered (i.e. highlight the question you’re focusing on, and include a sentence or two about how you’ll go about answering it).

The main body of your blog post is where you elaborate on your chosen topic and share your knowledge on the subject, whilst making sure to consistently refer back to that central search question. The content in this main section should be geared towards providing answers for your readers, and will usually be broken down into paragraphs or smaller sections.

You should always end a blog post with a concluding paragraph which summarises your topic and refers back to the lessons your readers can take away. It’s also a good idea to try and include a call to action within this section – one which encourages your readers to navigate to another area of your site, find out more about your services, make a purchase, or get in touch.

3. Break it down

Even to an avid reader like myself, a huge block of text on a web page isn’t very visually appealing. Paragraph length and headings are super important – they’ll affect the readability of your blog post and can even affect your SEO and search rankings too, so it’s a good idea to spend some time getting both of these aspects just right.

Your paragraphs should be organised and structured with attention paid not just to their length and what looks nice on the page, but also with consideration of the main topic or concept. Each paragraph should be geared towards addressing one aspect of the subject you’re exploring.

When it comes to drafting your headings, you should try to make sure they include some of your keywords. Headings will not only help your readers to determine what each section of your blog post is about, but they’re also the place Google looks to determine how relevant your content is to the searcher’s initial query, so you should take care when drafting them!

4. Don’t go overboard

This is something I cannot stress enough – don’t go overboard with the keywords in your paragraph copy! Contrary to popular belief, cramming your focus keywords into every other sentence will not aid your search rankings; in fact, quite the opposite.

Whilst you want to make sure your articles are being found, Google is getting smarter, and it can spot keyword cramming from a mile away (which it does not like!).

Google also looks for long-tail keywords, keyphrases and synonyms to try and make a better judgement of what your blog is about, so it’s a good idea to try and include some relevant related keywords where possible.

5. Use your words wisely

Ahh, the age-old question: how long should a blog post be? This really depends on the search query you’re looking to answer and the content you’ll be covering.

As a general rule, a blog post should always be at least 300 words long. The number of words you need to use will depend on the complexity of your topic, but it’s important to try not to go on and on, as some readers may be put off by an article that’s especially lengthy.

(Tip: Don’t forget about your mobile users, too! If your article loads slowly, or takes forever to scroll through, you’ll probably end up losing a few of your readers!).

6. Link it up

Blog posts provide a great opportunity for you to really go to town and show your readers what you’re made of, and this is where internal links can come in really handy. If you’ve written related content, whether that’s in the form of another blog post, or on one of the main service pages on your site, be sure to include a link to it.

Not only does this keep users on your site for longer, which looks good in Google’s eyes, but it also demonstrates your authority and wealth of knowledge on the subject you’re writing about.

Additionally, the link structure of your website is an important part of SEO and the way that Google comes to read and understand your website, so popping a few internal links within your blog content is an easy way of getting good marks from Google.

7. Check it over

I can’t put enough emphasis on this – please proofread your content! Grammar slip-ups and typos happen to the best of us, so be sure to go over your written content with a fine-toothed comb to iron out any errors.

8. Be accurate

As much as it can be a bit of a pain, fact checking is important. The world moves quickly and what was true even a couple of days ago may no longer be so. You can never be too sure, so make sure to always check the accuracy of all of your content using reputable sources – better safe than sorry!

9. Try to keep on top of things

As has already been mentioned, Google likes active sites, so it’s good practice to try and keep your blog updated on a regular basis, as if you don’t post regularly, it could have a negative impact on your rankings.

That being said, it’s important not to just throw posts out there for the sake of it; your priority should always be to post high-quality content that’s informative, well-written, and centred around providing your readers with an answer to their search query.

10. Don’t be afraid to ask for help!

At Root Fifty-Two, we can appreciate how difficult it can be to find the time each month to write a good quality, powerful blog post, especially when you consider the time spent conducting keyword research, planning the structure, and everything else that comes along with it.

Need a hand with keeping your blog up to date? When it comes to brainstorming relevant content to cover, conducting keyword research, writing the copy and even uploading your blog articles, we can take care of it all!

Our copywriting services are offered on an ad-hoc or a monthly retainer basis, and cover not just blog writing, but email marketing, brochure content, website copy, press releases and editorial articles too.