There are loads of tips on how to write a blog on the internet. A quick google search will deliver more advice than you know what to do with. It can be confusing, and you won’t know who to trust or where to begin.
I don’t want to add to your confusion, but I do have some simple advice that as a copywriter, I feel I could share in the hopes that it might help someone out there! If it just helps one person, it’s worth it.
Getting Started – Clients Come First
In my previous blogs we’ve explored why we should be blogging and what you can expect from a copywriter. As I write this blog, I’m actually following my own advice, thinking as I go about the process I go through, so that I can share it with you.
This morning I sat down at my computer, took a look through my socials and noted that it was a month since I last blogged. I got a nice little bit of traction from my last blog, and it was clear that I needed to write another. This led me to my first and possibly my most important piece of advice.
Step One: Think about your clients first and foremost. What will be useful to them?
The next step in my blog journey was to provide advice about how to actually write one! I am not however, a teacher. I find this aspect of modern business quite challenging. Once you get good at something, people want you to teach them how to do it. Faced with this challenge I could easily google “how to write a blog” and reword and paraphrase someone else’s words. But that would be inauthentic and I’m about as authentic as they come.
So, after deciding that I need to share my process and that clients may find this useful, that gives me my subject.
Step Two: Decide on your subject.
Your subject is what will be useful to your client and what you feel you can write about, but it also needs to have a hook back to your own business, something that will drive your own sales. This is your call to action. Obviously, mine will be that if my readers decide they can’t be bothered learning how to write a blog for themselves, or they don’t have time, or they like my style – they know where to find me to hire my services. So that’s my call to action – which I (usually) leave till the end.
Step Three: Decide your call to action.
Once we know where we’re headed, it’s time to start writing. There are lots of blog templates out there (https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-start-a-blog) that will give you a structure to write within and that’s absolutely fine and extremely useful, especially when you’re starting out or not feeling too confident - 'Top Ten Tips for Blah Blah' or 'How To Do Something' or 'Attention Target Client – Why You Need My Product', but I tend to be me more organic than that. Begin at the beginning. Your introduction paragraph should hook the reader and sketch out what they will gain from reading your blog.
Step Four: Write a good introduction.
Another important piece of advice I can give you is to just start writing. Don’t worry about how good or bad it may be, just get it all out on the screen. Once you’re finished you can go back and edit, read it out loud, let a friend read it or send it to a copywriter for an edit (which will be cheaper than asking them to write it in the first instance).
Step Five: Just write it.
As you write, remember your client. Have them in your mind and make sure you’re still speaking to them and delivering what they need. Also – don’t write exactly the way you speak. There is some structure required in order for things to read well. Stylistically, a conversational tone is fine (and mine tends to be that way), but I often read things that aren’t written in full sentences because they have been written in the way someone would speak and this can be confusing for the reader and look unprofessional and unpolished.
Step Six: Stick to basic grammar and structure.
Basic grammar rules and structural concepts that will make a difference are:
Every sentence needs a doing word (verb).
Every time you change or add an “idea” to a sentence, it requires a comma. (See what I did there?)
Mix up the sentence lengths, it will make the whole more readable.
Dot points are great – easy and quick to read.
Sub-headings break up the text and make it all more readable (plus Google likes them).
Try to keep within 700 words. Most blogs are between 500 and 700 words. (I’m already breaking my own rule!)
Don’t forget your keywords and links.
Pop your call to action in the conclusion or below it.
Find yourself a great image or several images.
Once it’s all written and edited and you’re happy with it, decide on your heading. I always leave this till last because you can never really be sure where you’ll end up. A great example is that I didn’t know when I started that I would end up with 7 steps to writing a blog. Now that I know that, I’m thinking that my heading may well reflect that.
Step Seven: Write a great heading.
Ideally your heading will include at least one keyword that you’re wanting to be found for and don’t forget your header tags. The heading needs to attract the right attention and accurately describe what the article or blog will deliver.
So there we have it, a broad stroke on how to write a blog. And you know it – if you don’t fancy doing it yourself, check out my business packages. https://www.lianemorris.com.au/business-packages. If you’re looking for SEO help, Sharyn Frazer at https://www.beaconworth.com.au/ can help you and if it’s images you’re looking for, I use https://unsplash.com/ for freebies or the beautiful images by Trish Fields at https://www.styleshootsocial.com/ always stand me in good stead.
Happy Blogging!
