How to write posts for a blog
Writing is an art. It used to be a noble profession. Writers were explorers, sponges of knowledge and information. They were creators and curious people. These gems today are hidden in the haze of pseudos. Authors manufacturing novels and peddling their wares on social media. Blog writers churning out articles for peanuts. Well the bad news is that Google AI is complex enough to filter out crappy articles so let us discover what it takes to write a winning article for a blog.
Define blog niche
Lifestyle blogs can cover just about anything. But besides that, you have to define your niche. Even a broad based category like photography or travel may not work. This is the age of micro niche. Agreed that many people are good at everything. However writing about specific topics will help you to focus. If you are on a writing assignment, understand the blog niche for which you are writing. Many times the blog owner will not clear before giving you an assignment. If required, ask questions.
Choose the right topic
Get the topic right. As a start point it will matter whether your prospective reader will start reading your article or not. Title should be long, it can have numbers and it can be a question also. Too long topics have problem with visibility when shared on messengers or social media. Your SEO plugin will warn you if the topic is too long or if there are any problems. The bottom line to understand is that topic should be clear, to the point and should contain your keyword.
Keyword research
At this point writers should come to terms with the fact that in today’s digital publishing, there is no job for a pure writer. Isolating yourself and then expecting that people will read you stuff, those days are gone. As a writer you should be updated with the latest trends of social media, understand the technical aspects of topic selected and should be able to post the article on any platform. That is just the basic. Anything more will surely get you to the top of the food chain. But first let us understand what is keyword research. For writing an article which are the term that your readers will expect in the article, which concepts you need to explain, what will interest them. All this comes under keyword research. If you are just writing for your blog, then keyword research is an ongoing process. But even if you are writing for some other website, you still need to do keyword research. Sometimes you might get even less than a day to submit the article. That is why selecting a niche is important because then you can keep track of just your niche and become an expert on that subject.
Master the SEO plugin
Whichever WordPress plugin you are using for SEO, it has a technical part and a writing part. Understand both and get maximum scores for your article. As a writer one does find hesitation and difficulty in the technical aspects of blogging and vice-versa for SEO and Digital Marketing experts. But as a single person webmaster or blogger, you have to don both the roles. The SEO plugin will give you a fair insight into your writing skills as well.
Master the language
Few years back, English was the primary language of the internet and content writers were grammar junkies. But now thanks to the penetration of smartphones all over the world, the three primary languages are become Hindi, Chinese and Arabic. Bloggers need to have a good command over the written language. Be grammatically correct and keep sentences to the point. Use simple words and break down long sentences into shorter ones. Do not use too many clichés.
300 words or 600 words
Two most popular SEO plugins on WordPress gives an article a minimum of 300 to 600 words. Rank Math SEO plugin asks us to write a 600 word article. Authors then report to filling up the article with unnecessary sentences. The paragraph goes on and on. If readers lost interest, they will simply close the page and leading to an increase in bounce rate. In classical terms it is called beating around the bush. If a post is just an announcement or some news to share, it can be less than 100 words too. Just don’t over do it for the sake of SEO compliance.
Structure the article
A post should be like a full size burger. Introduction like the top bun, lustrous and sprinkled with sesame seeds. One look at the introduction should entice anyone reading it to go on. Next comes the fresh and crunchy veggies. Bring out something interesting. A fact or two which no one is aware. Some unique points or even controversial points can do. Next comes the meat and cheese or the patty. Put all details here and break it down to minor points if required. Finally the bottom bun which supports the whole thing and finishes the structure. In case of a restaurant review it can include points like would you visit again or what will be the lasting memories of the place.
Make use of sufficient headings and sub headings. If the article is too long, use table of contents. Use references only if necessary. Use bold and italics as you feel fit. And do not forget to add relevant images wherever necessary. Give credits wherever due and use stock images if you do not want to click them.
