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The best way to learn how to write a great blog post is by just doing it, but with a guideline to keep you on the right track. Here’s how to put your ideas and concepts into well-written blogs.

How to Write a Blog Post in Five Easy Steps [Summary]:

  1. Step 1: Plan your blog post by choosing a topic, creating an outline, conducting research, and checking facts.
  2. Step 2: Craft a headline that is both informative and will capture readers’ attention.
  3. Step 3: Write your post, either writing a draft in a single session or gradually word on parts of it.
  4. Step 4: Use images to enhance your post, improve its flow, add humor, and explain complex topics.
  5. Step 5: Edit your blog post. Make sure to avoid repetition, read your post aloud to check its flow, and have someone else read it and provide feedback. Keep sentences and paragraphs short, and don’t be afraid to cut out text or adapt your writing last minute.

Now let’s review each step in more detail.

How to Write a Blog Post, Step 1: Planning

A blog post can take more than a couple of hours to write, even if you have strong writing skills and can type quickly. It can take several days or even a week to go from having the idea for a blog post to publishing it. But it’s important to spend time thinking about and planning your post before you start writing it.

Long before you sit down to put digital pen to paper, you need to make sure you have everything you need to sit down and write. Many new bloggers overlook the planning process, and while you might be able to get away with skipping the planning stage, doing your homework will actually save you time further down the road and help you develop good blogging habits.

Choose a Topic That Interests YOU

This old saying goes “If the writer isn’t having fun, the reader won’t either.”

Choose a topic that interests you. If you’re not enthusiastic about your blog post, it will show, and can be difficult for others to read as it can come across as dull or unengaging. A key trait of a successful blogger is being able to make any topic interesting to their audience. If you can be enthusiastic about the topic you are blogging about, it will be much easier.

Write an Outline For Your Post

Great blog posts don’t just happen. When writing a blog, it is helpful to have a general plan to keep you focused. This is where outlines come in.

An outline doesn’t need to be long or even detailed. It’s just a guide to make sure you don’t talk about something that’s not related to your topic. Outline your ideas and do research, to help you write more effectively and produce better content.

You can use whichever method you find most effective for keeping you focused when writing your outline, whether that be a word processor, piece of paper, or even a scribbled bar napkin.

Do Your Research

You are the authority on your subject area (real estate), and at times you will need to properly research an area, no matter how informed you are.

If you want your blog post to be credible, choose sources that are authoritative. Some examples are official associations, government websites, and preeminent industry experts. You should approach every source with the skepticism of a journalist, and question everything until you’re sure your information is accurate.

Write an Attention-grabbing Intro

Consider a story (or metaphor) that is three to four sentences long. For example, if it’s a relatable story that stays on track without wandering or rambling, it draws the reader into the main theme.

Create a Strong Nut Graph

This is the paragraph where you state your main point after your introduction. The tone of this paragraph is set to inform the reader of what they will learn.

Find Linking Opportunities

It’s a great idea to reference other areas of your website, whether it’s another related blog post, or your listing’s page or your contact page. If you’re creating a link to another page on your website, the anchor text (the text you click on) should be related to the page you’re linking to. In other words, don’t use “click here” as your anchor text – instead, use something like “learn more about X” or “X blog post”.

 Tie it All Together With a Strong Conclusion

Recapitulate the main points of your post. After giving your readers some advice, go back to the story you were originally telling and remind them how following your advice will help them.

Find Relevant Images

A strong feature image will make your blog stand out. There are plenty of sites for free stock photos, such as Unsplash. Find a few photos that you can use in your post. Canva.com is a great website to find images with quotes, screenshots, or other images that would be relevant to illustrate a process. Feel free to make them! A good rule of thumb is one image per 300 words. You should save your image with the main keyword phrase you used for your post. This will help boost your SEO. This is called ‘alt text’.

Good alt text example: real estate_buyer tips_Denver

Size it correctly. Your blog’s formatting will determine the dimensions. Images that are too large can slow down the page load. Your image resolution should be at least 72 pixels per inch.

Finalize and Optimize It

Have someone proofread it. This is an essential step. If your post is full of typos, you will lose credibility with your readers.

Make sure your website’s content is optimized for SEO:

  • You should use your main keyword phrase at least once in your post, and link them to an internal page.
  • Use the same keyword only once. Repeating the same keywords five times or more could make your post appear spammy.
  • A meta description should be no more than 150 characters long and include the main keyword phrase. This is what the reader sees when your post appears in search results. If written well, it can help them confirm that they have found what they are looking for.

When you are certain that your post will show up well in a search, take a little time to look it over. This will allow you to find any inconsistencies with the formatting, like different fonts.