The 5 Step Plan to Killing It On Your Blog Post
Okay.
You finally started your blog, and you’re ready to use that to help you land some clients.
Or, maybe you just want to blog to grow your email list or traffic. Whatever the case is, creating a blog post is more than just your writing.
Just take a look at the popular sites out there and read their posts. What makes them different from your blog posts? Let’s look at five key elements to having a killer blog post.
1. Your Writing Must Solve a Problem
One of my side projects is my Twins Mommy blog. I created it around eight months ago with the idea of writing about working from home.
I know many work at home moms find it difficult to work and take care of their family.
Although my blog’s focus moved to helping moms become mompreneurs, my content is still trying to solve a problem.
Figure out your audience and see what their problems are. You can go on Facebook, type in your niche or keyword and see what issues crop up in various Facebook groups.
For example, here are some Pinterest questions on Facebook that you can use for inspiration on your next blog post.
See what the most common problem is – or a unique problem – and answer that in your blog post.
By fine-tuning your blog content, you can reach a targeted audience that will follow you, read your blog and eventually buy from you.
If you have no clue who your target audience is, check out my ridiculously easy way to find your readers.
2. Create a Click-Worthy Headline
Your headline is what will stop scrollers from scrolling, passer-bys from passing by and simmers to stop skimming.
It’s what will get people to click your Pin or post and want to know more about it. But, what headlines are the best to use?
While you can use headline templates, try using these tried and true headline ideas for your next post.
Secrets
Everyone loves to gossip and tell secrets, right? And for anyone online scrolling through the Pinterest feed, if they see a pin with the word secret in it, you bet they will stop.
I mean, wouldn’t you?
Look at this pin from Brilliant Business Moms:
After reading this, I WANT to find out what this 10-minute secret is for planning my perfect day.
Using secret in your headline compels people to find out the actual secret.
So, give it a try for your next blog post.
Mistakes or Fears
Another way to drive clicks to your post is to capitalize on people’s fears and mistakes.
I know.
It sounds kind of sleazy, but if you can phrase it in a way that will help your readers, then it can be a very powerful headline.
My blog post on blogging mistakes has over 200 shares and 52 comments.
Personalize Your Headline
As a freelance writer, I’ve learned that to write a post I shouldn’t use I or me. Readers don’t want to know about the writer; they want to learn about tips or learn from influencers.
But, you know what?
After starting Twins Mommy, I realized that people were coming to my blog to learn from me! This gave me the idea to create content around personal stories.
This resulted in my most popular blog post on my site with over 11k shares and 43 comments.
So, when you create a blog post, use I in your headline instead of You.
3. Format Your Blog Post for Easy Reading
Remember when I mentioned that your blog post is more than just words?
A big element to your blog writing is formatting. If you want more people to read your post and share your post, format it in a way that they can!
How?
One way is to use subheadings in your blog post. These are H1 tags and not only helps with breaking up your post and organizing it, but it also is great for SEO.
Another way is to create white space in your writing. This means making your paragraphs shorter and using images and lists to break up your text.
4. Use a CTA in Your Post
What is a CTA?
It’s a call-to-action. This means directing your audience to your post to do something.
What do you want them to do? Share your post? Subscribe? Answer a question?
Figure out your goals for your blog posts and at the end of your posts create a CTA.
For example, email marketing strategist Meera Kothand often uses a question for her CTA as a way to engage her readers.
Another way to use a CTA is to ask your readers to subscribe to your email list. Creative designer Krista Rae offers a design course at the end of all her blog posts for her CTA.
5. Create Pinnable Images
For a lot of bloggers, Pinterest is the number one source of traffic for them. It is for me at least!
You can get started by using a free image editing tool like Canva to create your pins. Pick a template or create your own – my pin size is 800px by 1422px – and start thinking about your pin image.
If you don’t know where to look for stock photos, check out my post on 18+ places to find feminine stock images.
One way to make your pins stand out is to use bright, warm colors like reds, oranges, peaches, and pinks.
These seem to do well on Pinterest. Creating a border around your text box or image is another way to stand out in the Pinterest feed.
Finally, make sure to use your Pin image on your blog to encourage pinning!
Ready to Write Your Killer Blog Post?
The best blog posts incorporate most or all of these five key elements. From solving a problem a reader has to creating an irresistible headline to having the perfect Pin image, you can create killer posts too.
Over to you – what do you do to make a killer blog post?
Author Bio:
Elna Cain is a first-time mom to twins. Once she was able to get uninterrupted sleep, coffee and a few minutes to herself, she started freelance writing and never looked back. When she’s not writing for her clients or when her twins are sleeping, she’s helping other moms become mompreneurs at Twins Mommy. Follow her on Pinterest!
Thank you Rae and Jenny for this guest post opportunity! I think blog writing is important for anyone who wants to monetize their blog!
I’ll be sure the share this with my audience!
Thanks Elna for the awesome post!
Sounds easy, but as a new blogger, these are tough. Blogging is so isolated that I would ad finding a mastermind group that will tell you when you go astray.
A mastermind group is an excellent addition to these tips. Reaching out to other entrepreneurs to see what has worked for them is a great tool as well. Thanks for your comment!
Hey Beth,
I can see what you mean! I think for a brand new blogger, just focusing on delivering a great idea is paramount. Then from there having an eye-catching headline. Don’t worry about the other junk! 🙂
Great tips, thank you!
Hi Amy,
You’re welcome! So glad these tips will help you out with your blog posts.
Great tips Elna! I implement these point for almost all my blog posts, but I still don’t understand Pinterest. I make the images with Canvas in the right size and pin them on my boards, but that’s about it. I really need to put more effort there! Thanks for the reminder!
Hey Nanouk!
That’s great. Yeah Pinterest is a great way to bring traffic. Are you on any group boards?
Awesome post! This was so helpful. I’m definitely going to be trying these tips for my future posts.
Hey Bethany,
Awesome. I LOVE writing blog posts and reading them to. So happy you found this post helpful!
Wow! Interesting tips. Thanks for sharing
Hi!
You’re welcome. I’m so happy you found these tips useful.
Ridiculously helpful! Seriously. I’m a new blogger and have no clue what I’m doing and these are great tips!
Aww! Thanks so much. So happy to hear this will help you with your blogging 🙂
Genuine Tips, I will try a few. Keep them coming
This post is the boost I need for my next blog post. Solving a problem works so well. I have never included “secret” in a title before. Will try that in a subsequent post.
One thing that works for me is writing a blog post I would love to read. That’s my mantra.
Thanks for sharing!
I love that! I think it’s so important to write a blog post that you yourself would want to read. Great mantra!
Hi Precious!
So true, right? I like to do blog commenting, but I’m only going to blog comment on posts that interest me and that I actually like to read. It’s the same for writing a blog post. If I’m going to promote an affiliate product then I’m going to make sure that I LOVE the product first before I write about it. It just makes more sense!
Nice list, definitely helpful. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Adam,
Glad you found it helpful for your blog writing! Thanks so much.
It took me a while to figure out that I needed to “chunk” up my paragraphs so my content was more digestible. Many of us are scanners when we read. And solve a problem? YES SIR! If it doesn’t serve me, I’m outta there. 🙂
Hi Joleene,
Yes, formatting is key right? Chunking up your paragraphs just makes it easier to read online. But it also depends on your content width of your blog. If it’s short like this on She Sells, then you need to make your paragraphs shorter. But, if you have a longer or wider content width, you can get away writing longer paragraphs!
I always preview my post before I publish it just to see what my readers will see and that helps me format my post!
This is really good advice. I find I often do not pay enough attention to headings. Your post reminded me to put more effort into giving blog pieces really good headings. The other advice wasn’t half bad either 🙂
Hey Edward!
While thanks so much 😉 Yes headings are important. For a while I didn’t know they helped with SEO but they do.
And when I really think about them, I put a keyword in subheading 🙂
Just started blogging, so this is really useful! Thanks 🙂
Hi Doro!
That’s awesome. So glad you found this helpful. Good luck on your new blog 🙂
thank you for this one. i’d improve on my blogging now. =)
Aww! Thanks so much Jennifer. I’m so happy you found some gold nuggets to help you with your blog posts!
The catchy headlines are where I always struggle a bit with my blogging and I’ve not fully mastered SEO yet but It’s so great to have posts like this that have genuinely helpful tips and advice on the subject.
Hi Ellie!
Why thank you so much! I haven’t fully mastered SEO either. I think that’s why I stick to Pinterest since Pinterest is another search engine. I can use keywords there and bring traffic to my blog!
So happy to hear you found some useful tips for your blog posts.
Thanks for these tips! Friends tell me they really enjoy reading my blog posts (recipes and restaurant reviews) because it’s like it is me talking socially to them, not a formal restaurant critic. I’ve found that it helps adding some personal topics in my posts as well. Makes me sound more approachable.
Karyl,
Your blog looks delicious! That’s great you found a good balance on your blog. Sometimes that’s hard for other bloggers but you did a great job!
Thank you for these great tips!
Hi Dana,
You’re welcome. I’m happy to hear that you found the post helpful 🙂
Some great tips here, the first – looking for questions to solve on social media is a good one I need to use. I’ve been looking at the search queries that come to my blog
Hey Emma!
So glad this post will help you 🙂 Good luck.
This is a very useful post! I particularly liked the tip about using “secrets” or fears to drive somebody to your post. I’ve found that it’s super effective! You need to build the anticipation 🙂 Thanks for this post! Xo
We completely agree! You have to give your readers something to look forward to in order to capture their attention.