What makes a good blog post structure? And what gets people to click? Is it the title, the description, or is it something else entirely?
The truth is that all of these elements contribute to what will make your blog post stand out and be seen. In this article we’ll discuss how you can structure your own posts in order to get more readers and keep them engaged.
Answer questions early on
Your readers have burning questions, so get straight to the point and give them the answer straight away.
Remember, you’re competing with at least ten other web pages so if you don’t deliver quickly they can go somewhere else.
Only once you’ve provided the answer should you expand on it. Don’t tease your readers.
Know your target audience
In order to help your audience efficiently, you’ll need to know who they are.
Find out key demographics; what their interests and motivations are, how old they are (or if a business), what social networks do they use? Which topics interest them?
You’ll also need to understand their psychographics; what their problems are and why they need help. Psychographics focus more on values, than on who or what.
Do keyword research
Yes, it’s boring and tedious but keyword search is a vital step in the process.
Thankfully we have many tools available to make the task easier. Ahrefs and SEMrush are the market leaders, however there are also a number of free alternatives available such as Keyword Surfer or UberSuggest.
It’s better to target a long tail keyword, instead of short tail.
Long tail keywords have at least 3 words and, generally speaking, are easier to rank in Google and other search engines – as long as your content is of high value and optimized.
You’ll also need to install Google Analytics and Google Search Console. These are free tools that can help you see which pieces of content are performing the best, and for which keywords.
This data will allow you to write better content that actually gets read.
Write an Outline For Your Post
Outlines help you to stay focused and ensure that your posts don’t meander too much. Dividing a post into sections will make it easier for readers to find what they’re looking for, as well as refocusing their attention back on the main point of your blog post.
When writing an outline, think about how you want to the information to be structured in your post. Emphasize the key points and keep in mind that you don’t need to include everything right away.
Have a clear introduction
Your post needs an introduction to give your readers the background they need before continuing. It’s a good idea to include what you’ll be discussing in each section of your blog posts and how it will help them.
You could also use this as a time for summarizing previous information or introducing new concepts, so readers can see where we’re headed.
I use Frase to create an outline for my blog posts. Frase is a web app that allows you to research your competitors quickly, so you can create blog post structures very easily.
Frase also has a free version available.
Use the AIDA Model
The AIDA model is a marketing technique that stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action.
This has been used to promote products since the late 1800s – when it was first coined by E. St Elmo Lewis in 1898 to explain how personal selling works.
You’ll often see this as a formula: “Attention→Interest→Desire→Action.”
You must grab attention first, then trigger the readers interest, build their desire and then ask them to take action.
Grabbing attention is simple, a strong headline will motivate people to click your blog post.
Interest is the second step and relies on your blog content to keep readers intrigued.
This means you need to provide valuable information that will make them want more, not just a surface level article which only provides a service or product overview.
Then you can increase their desire by showing then what life will be like once they’ve used the information you’re sharing.
Finally, ask them to take action and turn what you’ve shared from an article into a purchase. If readers have followed the entire blog post so far they’re more likely to complete this final step in your funnel.
Use bullet points when applicable
The humble bullet point are your friend, and an easy way to add more depth and information.
Bullet points allow you to make a point while including supporting details. They are also great for dividing your contentinto manageable chunks that readers can digest at their own pace rather than being overwhelmed with one long paragraphor page of text.
This is called chunking because it divides the content into small chunks.
Bullet points also make it easier for people to skim your content quickly and find the information they need because the bullets are an easy way to scan and compare what’s included in each section of a blog post.
Bullets on their own or with only one sentence underneath can be too short, so use them sparingly if you want to communicate something without writing an entire paragraph.
A numbered list is a good choice if you’re tackling a task, such as how to make the perfect omelette or what supplies are needed for camping in summer weather.
Make it actionable
Your content needs to address, and help to solve a problem.
This is one of the most important aspects for any blog post. Not only will you attract the right audience, but you’ll be able to provide the maximum value to them.
Creating actionable blog posts are easy.
To create one, start with “Step One,” then continue through your steps until you reach “Step Five.”
Another way to do this is by including a checklist and then providing steps on how to go about completing the task.
Another option is to tell people what they can expect at every point in the process, such as “You’ll know it’s time for this step when …” or “If you want to get started with Step One.”
Check your facts
Fact-checking has becoming increasing important over the last few years.
It’s your job to double check any data, statistics, quotes or any other stamens you make to ensure they are factually correct.
Nothing destroys credibility faster than glaring factual errors in your blog post.
Sum up with a conclusion
Every good blog post finishes with a conclusion. This is your opportunity to recap everything you’ve written and leave readers with an answer or a takeaway.
Remind them why they’re reading your blog post. This works particularly well for content that helps readers to solve a problem.
This is the perfect opportunity to present your Call to Action (CTA).
Your CTA will ask readers to take the next logical step towards solving their problem, such as subscribing to your email list so they can obtain your lead magnet, or purchase a product.
Building Links to Your Blog Posts
Once your blog post is published, you’re not done yet.
You need external links and the occasional internal link.
You should build links to your blog posts from other sites in order to get higher rankings on SERPs.
This requires an outreach program, and a lot of persistence. Outreach should be part of every content strategy.
The fact is, most webmasters and blogger won’t want to link to you – and that’s ok. Thankfully we don’t need that many links to do well on the Internet, as Google is aware that backlinks can be difficult to obtain.
One of the best ways to build links is through guest blogging. This means that you’ll be writing a post on someone else’s blog, and they will then link back to your site in their article. Bloggers are probably more receptive if you offer them something in return for linking back to your content (i.e., a guest post on their site).
In order to build links, you’ll need to understand search engine optimization (SEO). This means that your content should be high quality and designed for SEO purposes – it needs to appeal to the maximum number of people as possible in order get more backlinks from other sites.
It’s also important that your blog posts have a clear structure. Which means you’re in luck, as that’s exactly what this postis all about!
You’ll also need to some internal link building too. You should link from pages within your site to other pages within your site, but only when relevant to the content.
Write a compelling post title
Your headline is arguably the most important element of your post. The headline will be first thing that someone sees, not only when they open your blog post, but before they decide to click.
This means you need to have a catchy, informative and clever headline.
A great way of doing this is by using a question as it makes people curious about what’s inside. Triggering curiosity is a great way to get your blog post read, but it’s not always applicable.
You can also make use of numbers, statistics and anecdotes in the headline as it will entice people to click on them.
For example: “The Top 12 Ways To Achieve Success” – this would be interesting for most people because they’re curious about what #12 could possibly be.
The idea of the headline is to intrigue your readers and make them click on it, so you want to put a lot of thought into the content before creating one.
It can also be good for SEO purposes too – certain headlines are more likely to get people searching for them. It should contain your main keyword.
Since the headline is so important, it’s worth spending time on what you want your blog content to be like before coming up with one.
I often write the headline only after I’ve written the post. And I spend a long time writing and rewriting different ones.
Write as many headlines as you can, and then choose the best.
Why Is it Important to Have a Good Blog Strategy?
It’s important to have a good blogging strategy because it ensures your blog is up to date, and that you’re able to keep readers coming back for more. If you are looking for a way to share thoughts on current events or if want to promote your business, blogging is the perfect outlet.
Eventually, with enough content behind you, you might be able to turn your blog into a business.
How long should a post be?
Blog posts should be at least 500 words. This is the typical word count for blog posts these days, and most people will not read anything shorter than that because the content won’t make sense to them.
However the more content you can provide, the better – as long as it still provides value to the reader.
How long does it take to write a blog post?
This depends on how fast you can type, if you’re outsourcing it to someone else, or if you’re using Artificial Intelligence to assist you.
It can take anywhere from few minutes to a few hours to write one blog post. The longer the article, the longer it will take to write.
If you have a shorter word count, it will be quicker – but if the content is meaty and valuable for your readers then they might not mind reading more.
Google generally prefers to rank meaty content of at least 1,000 words – but that does vary from niche to niche.
Conclusion
Now you know how to structure a blog post like a professional. Every good blog post should have an introduction, body content, conclusion and maybe even some bullet points for clarity in certain areas of your message.
As long as you are providing genuine value, attempting to solve real problems, and respecting your visitors time and intelligence, your blog post will reflect that in its structure. And also make sure you avoid these blogging mistakes.