Learning how to write the best blog post doesn’t happen overnight. Looking back, with over 750 posts under my belt, I’ve realized that maybe I didn’t have it all figured out when I started. It took me years to find the ideal length for a blog post and it’s not the same all the time.
When life gets busy, don’t shy away from taking risks or making mistakes. These things make your voice more genuine and trustworthy for your followers who seek authenticity online.
Your early post about gardening seems ironic now that you’ve recently revived your garden after struggling to keep up with it while starting your blog over a decade ago. It feels good to get back to normal activities while still pursuing your passion for blogging.
As you continue blogging, you’ll discover what works and what doesn’t. In this piece, you’ll learn about what has worked well and what hasn’t in over a decade of blogging on Inspire To Thrive.
What does it mean by worked well? Blog posts that received more traffic and converted into leads and sales.
Some of these methods you may remember from older posts. Others are new methods I tried and shared with you along the way here to drive blog traffic.
Table of Contents
What Is A Blog Post, Exactly?
A blog is a written piece of information on the web. The most recent posts appear at the top of the blog. Most blogs are written about a particular topic or niche. Some do cover several topics and niches together.
Many blogs are written by a team of writers or an individual. Some allow contributors to post to their blogs.
So, a blog post is one post on the blog. A blog itself can consist of hundreds or thousands of blog posts.
What do I mean by worked well? Blog posts that received more traffic and converted into leads and sales.
How To Prepare For Writing The Best Blog Post
There are several things you will need to do before you start writing your blog post to make it effective. They are:
- Brainstorm your topic.
- Doing research for your blog post.
- Create an outline.
- Look for graphics to use in your blog post.
- Decide where to link to, internal and external.
Tools like Google Trends, Ahrefs, Answer the Public, and Ubersuggest is some tools you can use to find keywords to help lift your post with SEO in mind.
The Writing of Your Blog Posts
Begin with your title though some people write first and then write a title. Whichever way works best for you to get started.
However, be sure your title is not long. You can use this tool from Moz.
It’s a fabulous tool to be sure your title count is correct and that it shows up in the search engine without any words being cut off. Thanks to Palesh for sharing this headline tool with me. He recently wrote a blog post on how to write a title that will convert.
Now, for the paragraphs make sure to keep them short and fairly sweet. Readers sometimes like to scan blog posts for content and not have to read long blog posts. Yoast recommends paragraphs not to exceed 300 words.
In between each of your paragraphs be sure to have headers. Your Title should be H1 and then from there, you go down H2 to H3, etc.
Therefore, having this structure provides the proper amount of white space that is easy for the eyes for reading.
Another great tool for your writing is Grammarly. However, you may still need to proofread your blog post before going live. And don’t fret, if you find something after publishing, you can always edit your post.
Best App For Writing Blog Posts
You love using the Right Blogger AI tool for quicker and sometimes even better content writing! Furthermore, you can input an old blog copy and receive multiple outputs to choose from. You can also edit any of the copies as needed.
Alternatively, you can have the app generate an entire blog post for you. This feature is great for starting a post when you have an idea.
Then, you can quickly add to it and conduct further research to create relevant content. (You can also upgrade for AI-generated social posts and much more.)
This tool is an excellent way to kickstart your content writing! No more writer’s block for you. It comes with 85 different tools you can use.
Your Content: Relevant And Timely
Next, your content should be relevant, easy to understand, and answer questions. What is the pain point of your readers? Learn what they are and then address them in your writing.
Depending on your niche, your posts may need to be relevant with the most up-to-date content. Oftentimes, you may want to be the first to write about something. Other times, you may want to see what others have to say first.
Other types of blogs are considered evergreen. Evergreen content is content that lasts forever with few or no updates needed. The subject matter of these types of posts is not a topic that changes often.
For example, my blog posts on social media have to be updated often as social media changes. But other posts about marketing or blogging may be evergreen.
Do note, it is essential to have some evergreen content on your blog as well as some timely content.
What Is The Best Length For A Blog Post?
That’s been a long debate by bloggers for years. Bloggers have been asking what is the optimal length for a blog post for years now.
Some bloggers say you need at least 3,000+ words. However, others like Seth Godin can get away with 100 words.
Research does show that longer posts do better in search than shorter blog posts. According to Blog Tyrant:
Research shows that, on average, the top 10 results for most Google searches are between 2,000 and 2,500 words.
However, if you use the Yoast plugin they recommend at least 900 words. Whatever you do, be sure not to add in words for fluff. No one wants to read fluff content today.
Life is too short! You can decide for your blog which length is the best for a blog post.
The newer generative SEO doesn’t go by length of the blog post but rather by the E-A-T principle. It is based on expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness.
What Are the Best Days To Publish A Blog Post?
The favorite days to post a blog post may vary depending on your niche. Neil Patel’s blog posts are sent out on a Sunday. Other businesses send them out on Mondays.
Fridays seem to be the fewest day for publishing posts. However, the fewest day may be the best as you will have less competition, right?
What Is The Best Time To Publish A Blog Post?
The best time to publish a blog post is when your writing is ready to go. After proofreading and double-checking your grammar, it’s time to hit that publish button.
I used to only publish on certain days and certain times but then realized many of my readers are not in the same time zone as me. Now I publish when something is ready to go.
Many bloggers fail because they are afraid to hit the publish button. Remember, there is always an edit button you can use afterward if you do find an error.
Frequently Asked Questions
Depending on your topics, you may want to add an FAQ section to your blog post. These are great for readers who want some quick answers when searching for something online.
Not only that but Google looks for these as you can see which posts have these in your Google Analytics. They may be used for an SEO ranking factor, one of the 200 factors for your piece to rank.
You can watch this video to learn more how to track posts and visits from this YouTube video.
Finally, Publish It
This may sound silly but many may write a piece but never publish it. They wait for the perfect blog post to be written and never finish it. They start another and another.
Yet, no posts go live. What good does it do if you write a post but do not publish it? You have to get over your fears and hit that button now. Don’t worry about the best length for a blog post, you can always update and add more to the blog later.
Now, years later you may want to rebrand your blog – here are some tips on how to do it right!
Don’t Forget About Marketing
- Share on social media.
- Send in an email campaign.
- Link it in forums like Quora, Share Biz Sugar or Reddit.
- Update it months later or when the content is outdated.
- Comment on other blogs that link back to yours.
- Advertise!
Advertise your blog on search engines, use social media ads, buy ads directly on relevant websites and use some native ads. Each of these methods does require some testing. So, have some time and money set aside for marketing your blog.
However, marketing your blog can take longer than writing the original post. So save yourself some time to do that and get your posts noticed out there.
If you are sharing on social media, note that many posts on social do not last long so you must re-post and do it more often on Twitter than not.
Tag Others Mentioned in Your Post
One last tip is to tag others mentioned in your post on social media. Be sure they know you have mentioned them in the blog article. You can also send them an email with the blog link.
If you want to know if you have been mentioned online or on social media, use a tool like Brand24 to help you.
Bloggers Doing It Right Today
If you want to check out other bloggers doing it right, check out a handful of fabulous bloggers here:
Lastly, Update The Blog Post If Necessary
Some of your evergreen blog posts may not need updating. However, if you are writing about social media as I do on Inspire To Thrive you may need to update them more often.
With that in mind, only change the date if you are updating quite a bit of the content. If it is only a paragraph or an image you don’t need to change the date. Google will be able to see through it.
Think about from your customers point of view. Is the newer information more relevant? Will it help them by updating that piece of content? Don’t just update for the sake of updating the blog posts.
In Conclusion of Writing The Best Blog Posts
Writing the best blog posts means focusing on clarity and engagement. Start with a strong hook that grabs attention. Keep paragraphs short and sentences even shorter.
Furthermore, use simple words, but don’t shy away from necessary technical terms. Stay on point and avoid filler.
Make sure each sentence pushes your message forward. Don’t be vague or hesitant; be bold and clear in your statements.
Finally, always provide value—whether it’s information, insight, or entertainment—to make your post worth reading.
What other tips would you add to how to write a blog? What do you think is the best length for a blog post? I’d love to hear about how you write your posts and which methods and tools work best for you.
FAQs of Making The Best Blog Post
What Makes a Blog Post-Great?
One that answers questions readers have and respond to. A great blog post covers a topic in full without adding fluff. For the blogger, it generates leads and sales.
What Exactly is a Blog Post?
A written piece of information on the web. It can be short or lengthy and include images, videos, etc.
How Do You Prepare to Write a Post?
Research your topic, check out the keywords for SEO, link to others, and add relevant internal links. Look for great graphics and videos to add.
How to Make Your Post Look Appealing
Use a great title, images, and different headers throughout the piece with short paragraphs so your writing can be scanned by readers quickly.
Can AI Help You Write More?
Yes, not only can AI help you write more but quicker and sometimes even better. If you have trouble coming up with topics, you should try out an AI tool for writing.
Timely or Evergreen?
Each type of content writing is valuable. Evergreen lasts longer but timely pieces can generate more views and traffic quickly. A mix of the two types is great to use for blogging.
What Length Should It Be?
That varies on many variables but at least 500 words is a good start but over 1,000 is more optimal.
Do Days or Times Matter When Publishing?
No, not really. As long as you send emails, and share on social media you can space out when people may read your blog posts.
Do FAQs Help Your Blog?
Yes, they help the readers find info fast. And, they may help your SEO rank at the same time. A win-win!
