Many people find that although they “know” what they want to write about, they can often freeze when it comes to creating a post.
How do you start?
Well, organizing the structure of a blog post is not only a great way to set up a framework that makes your writing easier, but it’s also essential to making it readable and engaging for your audience.
Here is a general structure that you can follow.
The Three-Section Rule
As with much writing, online and offline, a blog should follow the Three Step Rule.
This means it should have a beginning, a middle and an end.
Don’t think it’s obvious: many people don’t use it, and they turn what may be good writing into poor-quality content.
Introduction
Start with a hook that grabs your reader’s attention and introduces the topic of your article. You could use a story, a question, a statistic, or a quote.
Your introduction should be concise but informative and provide a brief overview. It will also set the tone for the rest of the post.
Main body
This is where you will provide the bulk of your content. It’s where you will share your insights, experiences, and/or research.
Break up your main body into subheadings and paragraphs to make it more readable.
Use bullet points and/or numbered lists to make your content more scannable.
And you MUST make sure your paragraphs are not too long and are easy to read.
Conclusion
The conclusion should summarize the main points of the article and leave the reader with something to think about.
It’s how you neatly round off your post instead of abruptly ending and this will enhance the reader’s opinion of what you’ve written.
How many blog posts do you read that just stop dead? You need to be much better than that!
Bonus Tips
Here are some additional tips that will help you structure your post effectively:
- The title is the first thing people see: you need to make it exciting and attention-grabbing so that people want to find out more.
- Whether you’re posting on your own blog, or guest posting on someone else’s, you should follow quality guidelines. If you want ideas for your blog, look at what other people do – here’s a typical “Write For Us” page from ZandaX that lays everything out so it’s all clear.
- Include images, videos, or infographics to make your post more engaging.
- Use internal and external links to add context and provide additional information.
- Use a conversational tone and write in short sentences and paragraphs.
- Use strong verbs and the “active voice” to make your writing more engaging.
- Include a call to action (or CTA), asking your readers to comment, share, or subscribe to your blog. It’s usually in the conclusion but can be elsewhere if you want more urgency.
- It’s part of web etiquette (or netiquette) to acknowledge your sources, so if you have used other people’s research, you should provide a reference via a link to the web page on which it exists. This can be done within the body of the article or in a list at the end.
- Edit and proofread your post for problems with grammar, spelling, and readability.
By following these tips and structuring your blog post effectively, you can create an informative and engaging article for your readers … and enhance your perceived authority on the subject!