13 Steps to Write an Awesome Blog Post for Maximum Engagement

Staring at a blank screen but not sure how to start your first blog post? You're not alone. Many aspiring bloggers struggle with turning their ideas into engaging content.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through every step of the process, from choosing a topic to promoting your finished post.

Ready to transform your blogging frustrations into a polished article? Let's find out how to write a blog post that captivates your audience.

Key Takeaways

How to Write a Blog Post

To write a blog post -

That's just the tip of the blogging pyramid. I've explained each step in so much detail that you won't ever need to search anywhere else to master blog writing.

Plus, we've prepared some really useful pre-made blog post templates, editing checklists, and on-page ranking factor guides that will save you tons of hours.

That's not all. I've also added three bonus steps at the end to get the most out of your blog post.

Already have a topic in mind? Skip ahead to the "Identify The User's Intent" section to jumpstart your writing process.

Step 1: Define Your Goal

Decide what you want to accomplish by writing your blog post. It’s about understanding the "why" behind writing your blog post.

What purpose do you want it to serve? Do you want to share knowledge on a topic? Attract new customers? Express yourself creatively? Knowing your goal upfront will guide all the other decisions like topic selection, writing style, promotion strategies, etc.

For example, if your goal is to attract customers, you'll likely use industry terminology, cite credible sources, and include calls to action leading to your products/services. But if creative expression is the goal, you have more freedom to get inventive with formats and writing styles.

Your goal shapes what you write about and how you promote the post. With a clear goal in mind from the start, you can make sure your blog post achieves what you want it to.

Step 2: Select An In-demand Niche/Topic 

A niche is a specific segment of a bigger market with its own unique needs and characteristics. Within a niche, there can be further sub-niches which are even more specialized segments.

For example, if you want to start a blog on a travel niche, some sub-niches could be "solo female travel", "luxury travel", or "backpacking on a budget". Selecting a sub-niche allows you to cater to an even more specific audience within the broader travel niche.

Going a level deeper, "solo female travel" could have sub-sub-niches like "solo female travel in Europe" or "solo female travel tips for digital nomads". The more specific your niche, the better you can meet the very targeted needs of that audience.

Not to mention, choosing an in-demand, trending niche/topic is crucial for a successful blog because it ensures you have an audience interested in your content. Writing about niche topics that people are actively searching for and engaged with makes it easier to attract readers, drive traffic, and potentially monetize your blog.

If you choose an outdated or unpopular niche, you'll struggle to find an audience and get your content noticed, no matter how well you write. Staying on top of trends allows you to create timely, relevant content that resonates with your target readers.

So, how do you select a proven niche for blogging? 

When choosing a niche, there are several key factors to evaluate:

1. Expertise- Having expertise means you know a lot about a particular topic because you have studied it or worked on it for a long time. Possessing prior knowledge or skills in a subject area makes creating quality content easier.

For example, if you have been an auto mechanic for a long time, regularly repairing and maintaining all types of vehicles, then you possess expertise in the automotive niche. Writing auto repair guides or blogging about car maintenance would come naturally to you.

2. Interest- Even if you lack complete expertise, you can still create great content if you have a genuine interest in the topic. Your authentic curiosity and passion will help you stay motivated to thoroughly research and write about it over time.

For instance, you may not know everything about crochet and knitting right now. But if you find the idea of creating beautiful handmade garments and crafts fascinating and want to learn about different stitches, patterns, and techniques, then you have a genuine interest in the crochet/knitting niche.

3. Trend- A trend is any topic, activity, or product that is currently popular and in high demand by a large group of people over a sustained period. The niche needs to be currently trending and in demand by your target audience. Expertise and interest alone in an outdated or declining topic won't attract an engaged audience.

Let’s break it down further using Google Trends data.

Topic: Overhead Projector

Let’s say you're considering starting a blog about overhead projectors. Seems like a decent idea, right? But let's look at the trends from Google.

Back in November 2004, search interest for the term "Overhead Projector" worldwide was at its peak of 100. Fast forward to March 2005, it had already dropped to 84. The decline continued- 64 in October 2005, 57 in October 2006, and so on until hitting just 13 by August 2016. Fast forward to May 2024, and the search interest is a mere 8.

What does this trend data tell you? Overhead projectors are becoming increasingly obsolete as technology evolves. Starting a blog in a declining niche like this would be a bad idea to gain traction and grow an engaged audience over time.

Note: Google Trends’ graphs don't display raw search volume data. Instead of showing real search volumes, Google Trends uses indexed values from 1 to 100. The highest search volume is given a score of 100, and all other data points are scored relative to that peak.

For evergreen, non-faddish topics with stable demand, creating high-quality content can help you build authoritative blogs that remain relevant for years.

Variables set for the selected topic:

4. TAM- TAM stands for Total Addressable Market. It means the total potential revenue your business could get if it could capture the entire market for your products/services.

For example, if you sell lawnmowers and there are 100 million households that may need a lawnmower, and each lawnmower costs $300 on average, then your TAM is 100 million x $300 = $30 billion.

Research the potential revenue across your entire target market to ensure there is sufficient demand.

5. Niche Size- Niche size refers to the potential audience or market demand for your chosen topic. A niche that's too narrow might limit your growth potential, while a niche that's too broad could make it challenging to stand out. Ideally, you want a niche that's large enough to sustain your efforts but not so saturated that it becomes difficult to differentiate yourself.

For instance, the "cooking" niche is vast, making it challenging to capture a significant share of the audience. However, a sub-niche like "healthy meal prep for busy professionals" could have a sizable target audience seeking convenient, nutritious meal solutions while also being specific enough for you to establish your authority.

To evaluate niche size, research various metrics, such as search volumes for related keywords, social media engagement, and the number of active online communities or forums dedicated to the topic.

Additionally, consider the potential for monetization through products, services, or advertising within the niche.

6. Competition- Before selecting a niche, thoroughly research and analyze the existing competition. Look for the major players, their strengths, weaknesses, and the strategies they employ. Assess their content quality, audience engagement, and online presence. Identify any gaps or untapped opportunities that you could potentially fill better than the current competitors.

For example, in the "fitness" niche, you might find well-established brands with large followings and extensive content libraries. However, upon closer inspection, you may notice that most of their content caters to a general audience, leaving room for more targeted or personalized fitness programs tailored to specific demographics or needs, such as "fitness for new moms" or "low-impact workouts for seniors."

7. Audience Demographics- Segment your target audience based on shared traits like age, gender, income level, location, interests, values, behaviors, etc. Defining your ideal customer persona helps create highly relevant content.

Pro Tip: You can even reverse-engineer the audience demographics to find your niches as well and here’s how.

Let's say you want to start a blog monetized through display ads, affiliates, or converting readers into customers for your products/services. In that case, you'd want an audience with solid buying power, right? Here's how you can reverse-engineer your niche selection based on the audience:

First, identify countries, states, or cities with a decent per-capita income level. Research if the population there frequently makes purchases online or gets influenced by online sources.

Then, find out what trending topics or interests they commonly search for online.

Finally, niche down further based on your own expertise and genuine interests within those broader topics.

See where I'm going? You're essentially tailoring your niche to an audience segment that's more likely to take the desired action you want.

8. Seasonality- Seasonality refers to how users’ demand/interest for a product/service/topic fluctuates over the course of a year due to seasonal changes and trends.

Let’s assume you choose to blog about fishing - a topic that tends to peak in interest around June and July when the weather is ideal for it.

But then, your blog traffic and income could drop come November and December as readers' attention shifts elsewhere in winter.

What can you do? Simple- find a complementary sub-niche like hunting that follows the opposite seasonality pattern, peaking around November-December.

This way, you create content streams that compensate for each other's seasonal peaks and valleys. When fishing guides aren't in demand, you can drive traffic through your hunting content instead.

The key is strategically planning an editorial calendar around seasonal trends to maintain a stable income year-round.

9. Earnings Potential (EPMV)- EPMV stands for “Earnings Per Mille Visitors” or simply put, “Earnings Per Thousand Visitors”. It refers to how much revenue you can potentially earn for every 1,000 visitors/views on your website or blog.

Some niches like home/garden and automotive tend to have higher earnings per thousand views due to factors like high purchase intent, valuable conversions, and affiliate marketing opportunities.

10. Niche Sensitivity (YMYL)- YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) are niches involving sensitive topics like finance, health/safety, nutrition, etc. where inaccurate or misleading information could directly impact a person's well-being or financial security.

YMYL niches like finance, health, safety, etc. are hugely profitable when done right. But Google holds them to extremely high expertise, authoritativeness, and factual accuracy standards. So you'd need thorough credentials, a robust editorial process, and iron-clad fact-checking to ensure your advice is truly trustworthy and ranks well.

So, in summary, to select the right niche-

With the right niche selected based on these factors, you can attract an engaged audience and potentially monetize your blog effectively.

Still feeling stuck on specific niche ideas? Check out our list of Blog Niche Ideas In 2024 for inspiration on hot topics to explore.

Step 3: Research Keywords

Keywords or queries are the words and phrases that people type into search engines like Google when looking for information online. In blogging, keyword research is the process of identifying and analyzing the specific keywords/queries that your target audience is using to search for content related to your blog's topics.

The goal of keyword research is to understand exactly what words and phrases your potential readers are typing into Google so that you can create content that directly answers their search queries. This helps ensure your blog shows up in the search results when people look for information on those topics.

So, how do you research keywords for your niche?

There are two main ways to find popular search terms (keywords) for your blog or website. The first is using keyword research tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, Google Keyword Planner, etc., to see how many people search for different phrases.

The second is looking at popular forums, top-selling products, online course platforms, and industry events to find topics people care about.

It's also important to think about if a keyword is for someone just starting to learn (top of the funnel), considering options (middle of the funnel), or ready to buy (bottom of the funnel) and cluster them accordingly.

Method 1: Finding Keywords With Keyword Research Tools

Here's a step-by-step guide on how to research keywords using popular keyword research tools:

Step 1: Start With a Topic List

Step 2: Expand With Related Terms

For each phrase on your initial list, do a Google search for it. Then look at several areas of the results for new keyword ideas:

These are commonly searched terms related to your phrase.

Step 3: Analyze Keyword Metrics

Enter your list of keywords into a research tool like Google's Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMrush, etc. Look at the following key metrics:

Identify keywords that have a good balance of search volume, lower difficulty, and traffic potential. These make great targets to start with.

Also, check the search intent behind each keyword by doing a Google search for it. What types of results are showing - informational, product listings, etc? Make sure your content matches what searchers want.

Step 4: Pay Attention to Trends

Step 5: Analyze Competitors' Top Content

See what's already resonating with your target audience by examining competitors:

1. Make a list of your top few competitors

2. Use a tool like SEMrush and enter a competitor's domain

3. Go to "Traffic Analytics" > "Top Pages" report

This shows the competitor's best-performing content by traffic channels. In addition, the URLs and titles give insights into topics getting good traffic.

4.Identify patterns and subject areas to inform your own keyword targets

And that's how you research keywords using popular SEO tools!

However, there are some limitations of using only keyword research tools that can underestimate search traffic potential.

Limitations of Keyword Research Tools:

After reading about all these limitations, you might be wondering - are keyword research tools even worth using at all? The answer is yes, when used correctly and combined with other research methods, they can still provide value. In fact, here are some of the key benefits these tools can offer:

Benefits of Keyword Research Tools:

So, what tools should you use for your keyword research? Well, there are hundreds of keyword research tools available in the market to choose from.

Here's a table summarizing some popular keyword research tools to help you find specific topics for your blog posts:

Remember, there's no single "best" tool. Choose the ones that fit your needs and budget.

[Bonus Tip: Combine free and paid tools for a well-rounded approach.]

Now, let’s explore some unconventional but powerful ways to find keywords without using keyword research tools.

Method 2: Finding Keywords Without Keyword Research Tools

While keyword research tools can provide a good starting point, they have certain limitations as discussed earlier. An alternative approach is to find relevant keywords and topics by analyzing sources where your target audience is actively engaged.

Online Course Platforms

Online course platforms offer a wealth of keyword ideas by revealing topics people are willing to pay to learn about:

1. Go to a major online course platforms like Udemy, Skillshare, or LinkedIn Learning

2. Search for broad topics related to your niche, e.g. "SEO"

3. Browse the course titles, contents, and descriptions under those topics

4. Note down any specific phrases, pain points, or subtopics that multiple courses cover

Those represent promising keywords people are investing money to learn about

Bestselling Books on Amazon

Leverage Amazon's popularity and rating system to explore topics of high interest:

1. Search Amazon for keywords related to your blog niche

2. Look for books with a high number of ratings/reviews (indicating popularity)

3. Click on the "Read sample" feature for those top-rated books

4. The table of contents will reveal chapter titles that can be good keyword targets

5. Analyze those chapter titles for relevant phrases and subject areas to target

Industry Conferences & Events

Tap into topics professionals are willing to invest time/money to learn about from relevan conferences and event.

Here's a simple approach you can follow to find valuable keywords:

1. Find major conferences or events happening in your industry

2. Visit their website and look for the agenda/sessions page

3. The session titles and descriptions reveal hot topics and keyword opportunities

Speakers are often high-profile experts, lending credibility to those topics

4. Optionally, plug that agenda page into a keyword tool for related keywords

Analyzing Top-Selling Niche Products

Popular products, especially those in the same niche and price range, can reveal opportunities for product comparisons and solving common issues:

Brands With High Advertising Spend

Brands spending significantly on advertising indicate commercial opportunities for earning revenues. While these commercial keywords tend to have high cost-per-click (CPC), they are lucrative:

Clustering Multiple Low-Volume Keywords

Don't discard low search volume keywords entirely, cluster them intelligently:

As you might have already guessed there’s no single best method to find keywords for your blog. So, try to combine multiple methods and find the sweet spot that matches your workflow.

Step 4: Identify The User's Intent

A user’s/searcher's intent is the main goal or desired outcome he/she aims to achieve when entering a query into a search engine. It goes beyond the literal words used in the query and focuses on the underlying reason or motivation behind the search.

Understanding the search intent accurately helps you provide truly relevant and helpful information to the readers. Simply listing surface-level answers often fails to satisfy the searcher's actual needs.

For example, if someone searches "my 6-month-old baby keeps crying at night." You may assume that the reader needs tips for immediately soothing the baby. But the word "keeps" implies this is a recurring issue.  The searcher's actual aim is likely to find preventative measures to avoid nighttime crying episodes altogether, not just in-the-moment soothing tips.

Types of Search Intent

There are primarily 5 types of search intent:

1. Informational Search Intent

This refers to when the searcher wants to find information to learn about or better understand a particular topic. There are several sub-types within informational intent:

Simple knowledge-based queries to learn facts. Ex: "What is a blog?", "History of blogging," "Different types of blogs," etc.

Looking for specific solutions or methods to solve a problem. Ex: "How to start a blog in 2024," “How to optimize content for SEO,” etc.

Wanting to understand the causes or reasons behind an issue Ex: "Why are blogs important for businesses?", “Content not ranking on Google,” etc.

Researching to compare different options/products Ex: "Organic vs direct traffic," “Difference between blog and vlog,” etc.

2. Commercial Search Intent

The searcher is researching and gathering information before making a purchase decision on a product or service. Ex: “Best website builders for blogging,” “Top themes for fashion blogs,” etc.

3. Transactional Search Intent

The user intends to complete an actual transaction or purchase after their research. Ex: "Godaddy domain," "Dorik pricing," etc.

4. Navigational Search Intent

The searcher wants to locate and navigate to a specific location or online platform they have in mind. Ex: "Dorik login," "Facebook," etc.

5. Job to Be Done (Utility) Intent

The user needs a specific tool, utility, or online resource to help accomplish a task. Ex: “AI text generator," “Image background remover,” etc.

You know what search intent is, its importance, and its types by now. So, let’s find out how you can identify it.

How to Identify The Search Intent of A Particular Query/Keyword?

Follow these steps to identify the search intent of a query:

Step 1: Follow Your Personal Instinct by Putting Yourself on The Reader’s Shoe

The first step is to tap into your personal instinct by imagining yourself as the person conducting that search query. Ask yourself - “what specific information or task would I be looking to accomplish with this query”? Understanding the underlying motivation behind the query is key.

Step 2: Analyze The Keyword Modifiers

Certain keyword modifiers in the query can provide clues about the searcher's intent. These are some common KW modifiers that, in most cases, indicate the types of search intent. Look for the words provided in the table below in your keywords. These modifiers often indicate the search intent behind a query: 

Note: These are just some common examples. There might be numerous other variations and modifiers used in search queries. So, don’t rely solely on the modifiers listed in the table above.

Step 3: Perform An In-Depth SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) Analysis

Studying the current top-ranking search results can reveal insights into what Google deems the most relevant intent. While exploring the SERPs, try to find out the following patterns:

For example, for the query "SEO best practices," the top results show blog post listicles with a "beginner-friendly" angle.

To best align with user intent, your content should likely follow a similar format and angle.

However, simply matching the format is not enough. Your content must strive to be remarkably better and more valuable than the existing top results through a fresh, uniquely helpful perspective.

The goal is to fully satisfy the searcher's intent behind the query. Try to provide all the relevant information they need without leaving any gaps that lead them to look elsewhere. Pack your content with thorough, easy-to-acquire information directly relevant to the search query and intent.

Step 5: Understand Your Target Audience

Every person searching online has a different reason for their search. Some people are experts, while others are beginners. Some want simple facts, while others need step-by-step guides.

For example, if you've been following this content so far, you've likely found it engaging because it was written with you - the target audience - in mind. The target audience for this particular content is people who have little to no prior experience writing blog posts.

To define your target audience, try to understand who would be most interested in reading your blog posts. What kind of information are they looking for? How much do they already know about the topic?

Use appropriate words and real-life examples they can relate to. Organize your content in a clear, easy-to-follow way with headings, bullet points, and images. This will help different audience groups find the specific information they need.

This will keep them engaged and coming back for more.

Step 6: Find & Cluster Relevant Sub-topics (Secondary Keywords/LSI Terms, etc.)

Secondary keywords are additional words or phrases closely related to your main keyword that you can include in your content to help it rank for more relevant searches. They provide helpful context and cover subtopics that users may look for related to the main topic.

Using secondary keywords allows you to comprehensively answer all the different angles and queries around a subject.

Here are the importance of secondary keywords:

Now, let’s explore different approaches to find relevant sub-topics related to your primary topic.

How to Find Relevant Secondary Keywords

Here are some effective tips on how to find relevant secondary keywords for a particular primary topic:

Find Secondary Keywords by Thinking From the Reader's Perspective

Put yourself in the shoes of someone searching for information on your primary topic. What are all the different angles and subtopics they might want to know about? Jot down all the related queries and questions that come to mind.

Dig Into Search Analysis

Go to Google and start typing in your main keyword. Pay attention to the autocomplete suggestions that pop up, as these represent common related searches people make. The "People also ask" and "Related searches" sections at the bottom of the results page can also reveal great secondary keyword ideas.

Analyze Competitor Content

Take a look at what your top-ranking competitors are writing about for that topic. Use an SEO tool to see all the different keywords their content is ranking for. Identify any relevant ones you may be missing.

Conduct a Brief Content Audit

Briefly scan through the current top-ranking results for your target keyword. What key subtopics and angles are they covering that you'll need to include? Where are there any gaps in information that you could fill?

After listing down secondary keywords in bulk, you may end up with many irrelevant and duplicate ones in the mix. Additionally, the relevant and unique secondary keywords would likely be unorganized and lacking any logical grouping. So, you should do some data clean-up and logical clustering to tackle these issues.

How to Cluster Secondary Keywords Effectively

Here's a comprehensive step-by-step guide on how you can cluster the collected secondary keywords:

Step 1: Categorize by Search Intent

Start by separating the keywords into different buckets based on the primary user intent behind the searches - informational, navigational, commercial, or transactional. Don't mix different intent types in the same content cluster.

Step 2: Clean Up Data with AI

Before clustering, you'll want to remove any irrelevant or duplicate keywords from your list. You can use an AI assistant like ChatGPT for this:

Example Prompt: "Here is my list of potential secondary keywords related to [primary keyword]:

[list of keywords]

Please remove any keywords that are duplicates and/or clearly not relevant to this main topic."

The AI will then go through and filter out the noise, leaving you with a cleaner list of focused secondary keywords to work with.

Step 3: Group by SERP Similarity

For the remaining keywords within the same intent bucket, take a closer look at the actual search results they are returning. Group together those with very similar ranking pages and SERP features, as these indicate queries looking for comparable information.

Step 4: Utilize AI Clustering

To save time on manual grouping, you can use an AI writing assistant tool to automatically cluster the keywords for you:

First, paste the cleaned secondary keyword list into a prompt like: "Here are some potential secondary keywords I've collected related to [primary keyword]:

[list of keywords]

Please group these into logical clusters around subtopics."

The AI will then analyze the keywords and separate them into thematic clusters for you to review and adjust as needed.

Step 5: Prioritize & Refine Clusters

Look at the keyword/traffic volume for each potential cluster to prioritize which subtopics to focus on first. You may need to split larger clusters further or combine smaller fragmented ones.

Step 6: Map to Content Outline

Once satisfied with your clustered themes, map each one to a corresponding heading/subheading in your content outline. Systematically cover each cluster as a logical subsection of the overall topic.

Step 7: Let User Questions Guide You

As you're clustering, think about the specific questions a searcher might have around each subtopic theme. Use these to further expand on any keywords you may be missing in that cluster.

Keyword clustering allows you to comprehensively satisfy search intent around the primary topic in a structured, easy-to-follow way for readers.

Step 7: Perform An In-depth Research

To produce a comprehensive and authoritative blog post, thorough research is crucial. Follow these guidelines to explore your topic from all angles:

In-depth Topic Exploration 

The key to in-depth research is to cast a wide net and leave no stone unturned.

Use Google search to explore every aspect and angle of your core topic, going beyond the first few pages of results. The internet is vast, so dig deeper to uncover lesser-known yet insightful and authoritative sources of information.

Adopt a questioning mindset and don't take anything at face value, even for widely accepted "facts." Credible sources should back up claims with solid evidence and explanations.

Advanced Search Techniques

When researching a topic for your blog post, you want to continually expand your understanding until you can confidently cover it from all angles. Here's an easy step-by-step approach:

Step 1: Start With the Main Keyword

Let's say your blog topic is "My ceiling fan running slow" Begin by simply searching for that exact phrase. The initial results will give you an overview of the most common reasons like dust buildup, faulty capacitors, motor issues, etc.

This lays the basic foundation, but there's more to uncover. You don't want your post to just restate surface-level info that's already out there.

Step 2: Use Similar Search Variations

Now take it a step further by searching variations like: "Ceiling fan slow speed problem", "Why is my ceiling fan spinning slowly?", "Reasons for a sluggish ceiling fan", etc.

These small tweaks can surface new perspectives and resources you may have missed. The more quality sources you can tap into, the more comprehensive your coverage will be.

Step 3: Diagnose the Root Causes

Once you have a handle on all the potential reasons a fan could be running slow, dig even deeper by researching things like:

"Signs your ceiling fan capacitor needs replacing", "How to test ceiling fan motor for faults", "Troubleshooting tips for a slow ceiling fan"

Now you're getting into the nuts and bolts of actually diagnosing and remedying each possible issue. With this level of mastery, you can provide readers with clear, actionable guidance no matter the underlying cause.

Step 4: Expand Scope If Needed

During your research, you may also identify helpful peripheral areas to include, like ceiling fan maintenance best practices, energy efficiency tips, smart fan options, and more. Don't be afraid to expand your scope to craft a piece that leaves no stone unturned.

The key is using an iterative process - start broad, then cycle through progressively more refined and targeted searches. This systematic approach ensures you deeply understand every aspect of the topic inside and out.

That's what allows you to create detailed, authoritative content that answers every possible question a reader may have and position you as a trusted expert. With no gaps remaining, they leave satisfied without having to look elsewhere.

Collecting Reliable Resources

When researching online, prioritize gathering resources from authoritative and trusted websites with a strong reputation like:

Leverage advanced search operators like "inurl:," "site:," quotations, wildcards, etc., to find precise and relevant information. Avoid websites with excessive spelling/grammar errors - a red flag for unreliability.

In addition to articles and publications, don't overlook other valuable content formats like:

Analyzing Competitors

To gain a competitive edge, conduct a thorough analysis of the top-ranking content for your keyword or topic. Look for gaps, missed angles, light, or outdated information that you can fill with deeper insights. Identify if competitors are publishing unique data, original research studies, or authoritative industry reports that you can replicate or build upon.

Furthermore, monitor relevant forums, communities, and influencers in your niche to spot emerging trends and content opportunities. Subscribing to reputable industry publications, newsletters, and blogs can also help you stay ahead of the curve.

Filling in Content Gaps

After auditing the competition, look for any gaps, weak points, or surface-level coverage that you can address with superior and more valuable information. Build out unique insights, examples, statistics, or original data to make your content stand out.

Additionally, create a "trusted sources" list of go-to authoritative websites to rapidly find credible information in your niche.

Taking Help from AI

There are a number of AI websites that can be used for research purposes when it comes to content writing.

Some of the most popular AI platforms include:

Now that you know how to research your blog post, let’s find out how you can use your research data to make a comprehensive content outline.

Step 8: Create an Outline

An outline is a structured framework that organizes and breaks down the main topic of your blog post into smaller sections, subsections, and key points. It serves as a blueprint or a roadmap that guides you through the writing process and ensures your content is well-organized, logical, and covers all the necessary information.

Creating an outline before writing helps organize your thoughts, ensures logical flow, and prevents missing important information.

Here are some key benefits of creating an outline before writing the content:

How to Create a Content Outline

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to create an outline for your blog post:

Step 1: Compile The Topics, Subtopics, and Research Findings in A Blank Document

Start the outlining process by consolidating all the relevant topics, subtopics, and information you've gathered through your comprehensive research phase.

First, transfer over the clustered secondary keywords and subtopic themes you identified in Step 6. These will form the core components of your outline structure.

Next, review the in-depth findings from your topical research conducted in Step 7. This includes key points, statistics, examples, authoritative sources, and any unique angles or perspectives you discovered.

Compile all this valuable information into the same document alongside the secondary keyword clusters.

Step 2: Organize The Topics, Subtopics, and Research Findings Into a Logical Order

With all the topics, subtopics, and research findings compiled, now it's time to arrange them into a cohesive, easy-to-follow outline structure. This involves:

Removing Irrelevant/Duplicate Information - Go through and eliminate any subtopics, data points, or research findings that are irrelevant or duplicate/repetitive in nature. Your outline should only contain focused, unique content.

Identifying Your Main Content Categories - From the compiled list, determine which topics are the main overarching categories or chapters. These will form the major sections or pillars of your outline and blog post structure.

Assigning Subtopics as Subsections - Under each main category, group and assign the relevant subtopics as subheadings or subsections. The subtopics that relate most directly to a main category become H3 subsections under that H2 category heading.

Organizing The Topics & Subtopics in A Logical Flow - Arrange the main points and sub-points you listed into a logical and natural sequence that will make sense to the reader. The order should follow a coherent narrative or progression that guides the reader through the topic seamlessly.

For example, you arrived here seeking guidance on how to write a blog post effectively. However, we are now at Step 8 of the process, and you have not yet encountered any information directly related to the actual writing portion.

This is because the preceding steps, such as defining the topic and goals (Step 1), researching and compiling information (Steps 6 and 7), identifying user intent (Step 4), and creating an outline (current step), are necessary foundational elements. Completing these steps first will ultimately make the writing process smoother, and more efficient, and lead to a higher-quality end product.

If the writing advice was provided prematurely before addressing these crucial preparatory steps, the information would lack proper context and flow, diminishing its overall helpfulness.

Establishing a Clear Hierarchy of The Headings & Sub-headings - Determine which points should be top-level headings (H2s) and which should fall under subheadings (H3s, H4s, etc.) or supporting details. This hierarchy will visually represent the relative importance and relationship among the different sections.

To use headings and subheadings in your blog post, you need to get familier with H-tags.

H-tags are denoted as H1, H2, H3,......, etc. in most document editing software (e.g., Google Docs, Microsoft Word, etc.) and content management systems (CMS) like Dorik CMS, WordPress, etc.

H1 represents the main heading of content and carries the most weight. And the weight of the H-tags decreases as the number after the H (e.g.: 2, 3, 4, etc.) increases.

The rules of thumb for H-tags in SEO content are as follows:

That’s how the H-tags should be organized in content.

However, you can use other H-tags like H5 or H6 in content but try to limit your H-tags within H4.

You can turn your intended headings and subheadings into actual ones using different platforms. Here are some common software you can use to write your content and assign proper heading tags.

Assigning Heading Tags in Dorik CMS:

Step 1: Login or Sign Up to Dorik.

Step 2: Create your website without writing any code using Dorik CMS. It shouldn’t take you more than 30 minutes to create a basic website on Dorik, even if you have zero coding experience.

Step 3: Head over to “Blogs” and click on the “+ New Post” button to write your blog post.

Step 4: Add your title in the “Title” field. This will work as your H1.

Step 5: Press “⭾Tab” or click on the “+” icon and select “Heading” to add a section to type your heading.

You can then click on the six dots to tune your heading.

That’s how easy it is to assign proper heading tags in Dorik CMS.

Assigning Heading Tags in Google Docs:

Step 1: Log in to your Gmail account on the browser you’ll be using Google Docs.

Step 2: You can create a blank document from your Google Drive or Google Docs. But I prefer the shortcut method to open a new Google doc. Just type in “docs.new” in the search bar and a new document will be created for you.

Step 3: You can assign heading tags from the “Style” dropdown.

You can also use the shortcuts. The shortcut to assign a heading in Google Docs is “Ctrl+Alt+1/2/3/4, etc.” For H2, it will be “Ctrl+Alt+2” and so on.

Once you’re done with assigning proper H-tags to your outline, you can see your outline on the left side of the doc file.

So it’s that easy to assign H-tags in Google Docs. However, if you want to follow my workflow, I’d suggest writing your content in Google Docs because it lets you collaborate with your teammates and you get some really cool features like commenting and tracking version history.

After finalizing the content on Google Docs, I copy and paste the entire content on Dorik. Don’t worry, you don’t need to reformat your content on Dorik. Dorik keeps all the formatting like headings, bullets, numbers, tables, images, links, etc. intact when you paste the content from a different platform.

Step 3: Consider User Intent and Journey

Revisiting the user intent you identified in Step 4, ensure your outline addresses the specific queries, pain points, and information needs of your target audience at each stage of their journey. The structure should align with how they think about and consume this topic.

Step 4: Review for Comprehensiveness

Go through your outlined structure and ensure that you have covered all the key aspects of the topic based on your research. Check if any important points are missing or if any sections need further expansion or supporting details.

Step 5: Get A Second Opinion

Once you've developed your initial outline, ask someone to review it. This could be a colleague, supervisor, or even just sharing it online for feedback. An outside perspective can identify gaps or areas that need clarification.

Step 6: Refine and Adjust

Don't be afraid to revise, rearrange, add, or remove sections from your outline based on the feedback you receive. The outline is meant to be an iterative process to produce the best possible content framework before writing.

You can even refine the outline as you go through the writing process. You may need to reorganize, consolidate, or expand certain sections based on the flow of your content or any new information that emerges.

Now you may ask, “Do I need to create an outline from scratch for every content I write”? Well, after writing and exploring thousands of content, I’ve found some common outline patterns of blog posts. Hence, I’ve created some blog post outline templates for those common blog post types that will save you tons of hours in your writing journey.

All of these outline templates are proven to perform well on search engines and are super helpful in speeding up your writing.

So, here are the 10 most common blog post types with outline templates:

Now that you have your outline ready, it’s time to write the content.

Step 9: Write Your Blog Post

Generally, blog posts have four distinct segments. These are:

I always write the introduction after writing the body of the blog post, and I recommend this to my writers. Here’s why:

Writing the body content before the introduction helps you better understand your main points and makes it easier to create a strong introduction that accurately previews the content. It also allows you to craft a more engaging opening that hooks readers.

Here are some benefits of writing the introduction after the body content:

This method helps you write a stronger, more focused introduction that accurately represents your article's content.

So, let’s start with the content body.

Write Your Blog Post Body

The blog post body is where you deliver on the promise made in your headline and introduction. This is where you provide valuable content that solves your readers' problems or answers their questions. An effective body keeps readers engaged and encourages them to take action.

Here's how to write an impactful blog post body:

Try to answer the main query of the content as early as possible in a most straightforward and easy-to-understand manner. Once you’ve thoroughly explained the main query, then logically move on to the surrounding topics.

However, you need to adapt your language to your target audience based on your readers' expertise.

For example, if your target audience is PhD holders, you can use more technical terms and complex concepts. However, always strive for clarity. Even for highly educated audiences, clear and concise writing is always appreciated. Use field-specific jargon when necessary, but explain complex ideas thoroughly. 

Craft your writing so that readers never need to reread any part. Use clear language, logical flow, and concise explanations to make your content instantly understandable. Avoid ambiguity or confusing language that might require re-reading.

This is the single most valuable piece of advice I give to my writers.

Remember to write naturally, focusing on providing valuable information to your readers.

For example: Key features of a product; Benefits of a service; Random facts about a topic, etc.

Use numbered lists for sequential information or prioritized items. For instance:

Use sub-bullets or sub-numbers for hierarchical information. For example:

A well-widened 500-word segment can provide far more value than a 2000-word piece filled with generalities. The goal is to satisfy user intent comprehensively while keeping your content concise and information-dense.

Let's compare basic and widened versions of two blog topics. Note how the widened versions provide more specific, actionable information within the same or less word count.

Example:

Basic version (47 words):

“Writing a blog post involves choosing an interesting topic and creating an outline. Use engaging language and include a catchy headline. Add relevant images to make your post visually appealing. Proofread your work before publishing. Remember to include a call-to-action at the end to encourage reader engagement.”

Widened version (43 words):

“Craft high-performing blog posts by researching high-volume, low-competition keywords. Structure content with H2/H3 tags, write scannable paragraphs and include data-backed claims. Optimize meta descriptions, interlink related posts, and incorporate multimedia with alt text. Update content regularly to maintain freshness signals for SEO.”

The widened versions offer more value by providing specific, actionable insights instead of general information. They cover more aspects of the topic concisely, satisfying user intent and potentially ranking for more search terms. This demonstrates effective content widening— maximizing information while minimizing word count.

For example: "Now that you understand the importance of keyword research, let's explore how to effectively implement these keywords in your content without compromising quality."

Or:

"With these basics covered, we're ready to dive into more advanced techniques. In the next section, we'll reveal a little-known strategy that could double your blog's traffic."

These hooks create curiosity and momentum, encouraging readers to stay engaged throughout your post.

Aim to provide clear and valuable information that engages your audience and helps them solve problems or learn something new.

Write The Introduction

Craft the opening paragraphs, AKA introduction, that hook readers and set the stage for your content. It's your first chance to grab attention, establish relevance, and convince readers to continue.

A compelling introduction can significantly boost engagement, reduce bounce rates, and improve overall content performance.

Let's break down how to write an effective blog post introduction:

There are two main types of SEO-friendly introductions:

Let's break down the FSF introduction structure:

The following are the distinct segments an FSF introduction contains:

The FSF structure is designed to increase your chances of appearing in Google's featured snippets, potentially boosting visibility and click-through rates.

Alternatively, you can use the PPP introduction structure:

The following are the distinct segments an PPP introduction contains:

Here's how it might look:

Preview: "This post will teach you how to write irresistible blog introductions that keep readers glued to your content."

Proof: "I've used these techniques to grow my blog from 0 to 100,000 monthly readers in just 18 months."

Preview: "You'll learn specific formulas, see real-world examples, and get actionable tips you can implement immediately."

For both approaches, remember these key points:

Now, let's explore how to make the conclusion of your blog post just as compelling as your introduction.

Write The Conclusion

Your blog post's final section leaves a lasting impression and encourages reader engagement.

Here's how to craft an effective conclusion:

You can now write some related frequently asked questions (FAQs) or jump onto the next step. Since this guide aims to cover everything you may need to know while writing a blog post, I’ll not skip even the optional segment. So, here it goes.

Write Frequently Asked Questions (Optional)

Sometimes you won’t be able to address every relevant topic of your content in the main body. In that case, you can keep the less important/relevant topic to cover in the frequently asked questions segment.

Here’s how to approach the FAQs  segment:

This is all about writing your content. Now, you can start fine-tuning your headings and sub-headings to make them more scannable to the readers and the search engines.

Step 10: Write The Heading (Title) and Fine-Tune The Sub-Headings

The main title grabs attention and summarizes your post, while sub-headings break down the content into digestible sections.

This structure helps readers quickly understand what your post is about and find the information they need. It improves readability, keeps readers engaged, and helps search engines understand your content better.

Now, let's dive into crafting an effective headline for your blog post:

Write The Headline (Title) of Your Blog Post

Creating a compelling headline helps in attracting readers and encouraging them to click on your post. A great headline can make the difference between a widely-read article and one that gets overlooked.

Here are some best practices for writing attention-grabbing headlines:

While these techniques can help create engaging headlines, always make sure your content delivers on the promise of your headline. Avoid clickbait that disappoints readers once they start reading your post.

Now that we've covered headline best practices, let's move on to crafting effective sub-headings for your blog post.

Fine-Tune The Sub-Headings of Your Blog Post

Subheadings help organize your content and guide readers through your article. They break up large blocks of text, making your post more scannable and easier to read.

Well-crafted sub-headings help readers quickly find the information they're looking for and keep them engaged throughout the post.

Best practices for writing impactful sub-headings:

Step 11: Edit and Proofread Your Initial Content

Editing your blog post ensures it's error-free, clear, and engaging. This process involves checking for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes, improving sentence structure and flow, verifying facts, and enhancing overall readability.

A final edit polishes your writing, making it more professional and effective in conveying your message to readers.

Let's break down the key aspects of editing and proofreading your blog post:

1. Verify all facts and statistics for accuracy: Verify all facts, statistics, and claims in your content. This is important for maintaining credibility and providing accurate information to your readers.

Here's how to approach fact-checking:

2. Make sure the content flows smoothly: Review the overall organization of your post to ensure it follows a logical progression:

Look at the end of each paragraph and see how it connects to the first sentence of the paragraph following it. If there’s no clear connection, you can improve the transition by clarifying your logic or rearranging the paragraphs.

Here are some transitional words you can use in your blog post to make the content flow smoothly:

[Pro Tip: Read your content out loud. Reading your content out loud helps you catch awkward phrasing, run-on sentences, and areas where the flow isn't smooth. It's an effective way to identify parts that might confuse or lose your readers.]

3. Optimize your content for SEO (I’ve covered this in more detail in the next step): Fine-tune your content for search engines without compromising readability:

4. Make sure there are no grammatical or spelling mistakes in your content: Use tools like Grammarly to catch and correct errors, but also rely on your own careful reading:

5. Refine sentences for better readability: Refine your writing to make it more engaging and easier to read:

6. Use proper formatting and visuals: Enhance the visual appeal and scannability of your post:

Expert Recommendation: As a blogger, you can bring readers closer to events and ideas you want to convey by balancing a variety of multimedia elements such as audio, video, text, images, infographics, animations, etc.

7. Add and verify links and attributions: Verify all internal and external links:

8. Fine-tune your writing style to your target audience: Confirm that your writing aligns with your brand voice and the expectations of your audience:

9. Perform a final review for a polished end result: Before publishing, give your post a final once-over:

By thoroughly editing and proofreading your blog post, you'll ensure that your content is not only error-free but also engaging, informative, and optimized for both readers and search engines.

To help you simplify this process, we've created a comprehensive content editing checklist. This will guide you through each step of the editing process and make sure you don't miss any crucial elements.

Download our checklist to take your blog posts from good to great!

Step 12: Optimize The Content for SEO

Optimizing your content for SEO increases the chance of your blog post ranking higher in search results. It involves strategically using keywords, improving readability, and fine-tuning technical aspects to appeal to both search engines and readers. It boosts your content's visibility, drives organic traffic, and helps you reach your target audience more effectively.

Here’s how to optimize your content for SEO:

Meta Description

The meta description is a 150-160 character summary of your page's content. While not a direct ranking factor, it significantly influences click-through rates from search results. Include your primary keyword and a clear call to action.

Here's how to craft an effective meta description:

Example: "Master SEO optimization with our comprehensive guide. Read this article to learn proven techniques to boost your website's visibility and drive organic traffic."

Keyword Optimization

Keyword optimization involves strategically placing your target keywords throughout your content to signal relevance to search engines.

We'll divide this into two key areas:

Although you need to focus  on keywords in your blog post, make sure you don't overoptimize. You need to make sure the keywords don't sound forcefull to manipulate the search engines at all.

[Pro tip: Google understands context, so focus on creating high-quality, relevant content rather than exact keyword matches. For example, "SEO guide" and "guide to search engine optimization" signal similar intent to search engines.]

Linking

Effective linking strategies enhance your content's credibility, improve user experience, and distribute page authority.

Let's explore both internal and external linking best practices:

1. Internal Linking: Internal links connect different pages within your website. They help establish site architecture and spread link equity.

Here's how to optimize internal linking:

Example: "For more in-depth information on SEO optimization, check out our comprehensive guide to the SEO best practices."

2. External Linking: External links point to pages on other websites. They can enhance your content's credibility and provide additional value to readers.

Here's how to use external links effectively:

3. Anchor Text: Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink. Here are best practices for both internal and external links:

Image Alt Text

Alt text (alternative text) describes the content of an image. It's crucial for accessibility and provides context to search engines.

Here's how to optimize your alt text:

Image Compression for Page Speed

Page speed is a crucial ranking factor, and large image files can significantly slow down your site.

Here's how to optimize your images:

As mentioned earlier, you need to optimize your blog post images for better user experienc.

Here are the image optimization best practices you can follow for your content:

Short & Descriptive URLs

A well-crafted URL provides both users and search engines with clear information about your page's content.

Here are key principles for creating SEO-friendly URLs:

Example:

Mobile-Friendliness

With Google's mobile-first indexing, ensuring your blog post is mobile-friendly is crucial.

Here's how to optimize for mobile:

[Pro tip: Look for a website builder that simplifies SEO and ensures mobile responsiveness. Dorik does exactly that, offering features like easy meta title management, optimized linking structures, responsive templates, and more. It's designed to help you create a site that performs well in search results and looks great on any device.]

Now that we've covered the essential SEO optimization strategies, you're ready to publish and promote your newly optimized content.

But before you publish, don't forget to download our comprehensive On-page SEO ranking factors guide:

Step 13: Publish Your Content

Now that you've crafted an engaging, informative, and SEO-optimized blog post, it's time to share it with the world. Publishing your content effectively is crucial for maximizing its impact and reaching your target audience.

Let's explore how to streamline this process:

Choose the Right Platform

Selecting the right platform for your blog is crucial. As a beginner, you need a solution that's easy to use yet powerful enough to grow with you. This is where Dorik shines:

Prepare Your Content for Publication

Before hitting that publish button, take these final steps:

Publish Your Blog Post

Now it's time to share your masterpiece with the world:

Leverage Dorik's Unique Features for Bloggers

As a blogger, you'll appreciate these Dorik features that make your journey easier:

Grow Your Audience with Dorik

Dorik isn't just about publishing; it's about growing your blog:

By choosing Dorik as your blogging platform, you're setting yourself up for long-term success. Its user-friendly interface, built-in blogging tools, and SEO features make it an excellent choice for beginners who dream of building a successful blog.

Ready to start your blogging journey? Try Dorik now and experience how easy and enjoyable blogging can be!

Bonus Step 1: Promote Your Content

Promoting your content helps in expanding your reach and attracting new readers. Even the most well-written blog post won't have much impact if no one sees it.

Let's see some effective strategies to get your content in front of your target audience.

Sharing Your Content In Relevant Online Communities Can Significantly Boost Your Visibility

Start by identifying Facebook groups, Slack channels, Discord servers, Reddit subforums, and niche-specific forums where your target audience gathers. When sharing your content, focus on providing value rather than just dropping links. Engage in discussions and share your content when it's genuinely helpful.

Always respect community guidelines about self-promotion to avoid being seen as a spammer.

Leverage Facebook's Advertising Platform to Re-Engage Your Website Visitors

Begin by installing the Facebook pixel on your website to track visitors. Share your blog post on your Facebook page to generate initial engagement, then set up a retargeting campaign. Create a custom audience of recent website visitors (e.g., last 30-60 days) and use a small budget to boost your post to this audience. Monitor your click-through rates and adjust your strategy as needed to optimize performance.

Your Email List Is A Powerful Asset for Content Promotion

Consistently grow your email subscribers through opt-in forms on your blog. When sending newsletters:

For B2b Content, Linkedin Can Be An Excellent Platform for Organic Reach

Optimize your profile to accurately represent your expertise, then share your content consistently. Experiment with different formats such as text, images, and video. Engage with others by commenting on and sharing their posts to increase your visibility. Use relevant hashtags to help your content appear in topic searches. Pay attention to which types of posts get the most engagement and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Reaching Out to Influencers And Other Bloggers Can Help Amplify Your Content

Identify people who have shared similar content or whom you've mentioned in your post. Craft individual emails that show you've done your research and genuinely value the recipient's opinion. Explain why you think your content would be interesting or valuable to them. Include social media-ready snippets or quotes from your post to make it easy for them to share.

If you don't hear back, send a polite follow-up, but don't pester.

Content promotion is an ongoing process. Consistently apply these strategies, track your results, and refine your approach over time. With persistence and the right tactics, you'll steadily grow your audience and increase the impact of your blog posts.

Bonus Step 2: Track the Performace of Your Published Post

Tracking key metrics helps you understand what's working, what isn't, and how to improve future content.

Here are some essential blog KPIs to keep an eye on:

Total traffic per post: This gives you a clear picture of how many people are reading your content. Use Google Analytics, Google Search Console, or your content management system's built-in analytics to measure this.

Average CTR (Click-Through Rate): This shows the percentage of people who click on your post in search results. A higher CTR indicates that your title and meta description are effective. Google Search Console provides this data.

Average SERP position: This reveals where your post ranks in search results for various keywords. Monitor this in Google Search Console to track your SEO progress.

Traffic source breakdown: Understanding where your traffic comes from (search, social, referrals, etc.) helps you focus your promotion efforts. Google Analytics offers detailed traffic source reports.

Number of search queries per post: This indicates how many different keywords your post is ranking for. More queries usually mean better SEO performance. Check this in Google Search Console.

Average comments per post: Comments reflect reader engagement. Track this directly on your blog platform.

Social shares per post: This shows how shareable your content is. Use tools like BuzzSumo or native platform analytics to measure shares across different social networks.

New blog leads: Track how many new subscribers or leads each post generates. Set up goal tracking in Google Analytics or use your email marketing platform's analytics.

Conversion rate: This measures the percentage of visitors who take a desired action (like subscribing or making a purchase) after reading your post. Set up conversion tracking in Google Analytics to monitor this.

Regularly analyzing these metrics will help you understand what content resonates with your audience and guide your future content strategy. 

Bonus Step 3: Repurpose The Content

Repurposing your blog content maximizes its value and extends its reach.

Here are three effective ways to reuse your post:

By repurposing your content, you're not only saving time but also reaching a wider audience through different mediums. Remember to adjust your content to suit each platform's unique characteristics and audience preferences.

Wrapping Up

We've explored the key steps to creating impactful blog posts, from research to promotion. The takeaway? Successful blogging combines strategy, audience insight, and continuous improvement.

Time to create content that leaves a lasting impact!

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