H ave you ever read a great piece of content that really stuck with you? Are you wondering how to write a good blog post that makes an impact? Writing great blog posts isn't easy. But it's not rocket science either!

In today’s article, I’ll tell you what makes a good blog and share some tips on how to write a good blog post that’ll bring in a lot of traffic. So let’s begin!

What Makes a Good Blog Post?

If you think that writing a good blog post just means using the right words, you’re mistaken.

There are a lot of other factors that contribute to making your blog post a success.

In fact, it’s possible (and even pretty common!) to be a great writer but not so great at blogging.

How’s that possible? Well, suppose you drafted an article that’s very well-researched and detailed and includes all the information your readers are looking for.

But it’s SO well-researched and informative that your paragraphs are really long and it’s hard to read. Maybe you forgot to add images or other media content in the fear of interrupting the flow of your article. Because it looks like a big wall of text, people are more likely to hit the “back” button than to stay and read the whole thing.

How to write a good blog post? Avoid "walls of text"!

Do you think people would call that a good post?

So apart from the words themselves, you also need to consider…

  • How easy is it to read?
  • How visually engaging is the post?
  • How well does it answer your readers’ questions?
  • How will it keep attracting more traffic?

To help you publish an amazing piece, I’ll show you how to answer all these questions and more.

Ready? Let’s get started with our expert blog writing tips.

Expert Tips for Writing a Blog Post

Being a good writer is tough. But with a little practice and some research, it won’t take you long to join the ranks of other great bloggers.

So let’s check out how you too can come up with a blog post that you have always wanted to create when you started a blog.

1. Choose a Good Topic

The first step towards writing a blog post is to pick a good topic.

You’ll need to find out what your followers want to know and read about, so your post will continue to get traffic after it’s published.

Try to base the post on reader feedback, a known problem in the industry, or competition analysis.

Blog writing tips - start with a good idea

Platforms like BuzzSumo can help you figure out what topics are trending. Check out our list of SEO tools for more suggestions on how to come up with blog post ideas that are search engine optimized.

If you need help, here are some blog post ideas to get you started.

2. Do Your Research

Once you have your idea, make sure to research the front page of Google and your main competitors at this stage to see how you can improve on what’s out there. If you can’t write a high quality post that’s better than theirs, don’t bother!

You don’t need to be an expert on the topic, but you do need to do your research to make sure you’re adding value.

3. Take Notes and Start an Outline

While you do your research keep a notebook handy where you can take down the important points and outline your topic.

Okay, if not a notebook at least keeps a Google doc tab open. I like using Google docs because, unlike using a notebook, I don’t have to bother about losing it.

4. Start Drafting Your Blog Post

Now that you have the outline, you can sit down to write your post. I generally like drafting it directly on my WordPress dashboard. It saves a lot of time and extra effort if I don’t have to copy and paste it from somewhere else later.

Tips for writing a blog post

Are you struggling to start writing, or keep getting stuck or distracted? See our tips on how to write faster and you’ll be churning out more posts in no time!

5. Hook Your Readers With a Great Opening

If you can hook your readers with a good opening consider half your work to be done. Because if your introduction is boring, people wouldn’t bother to read the rest.

Many writers find it easier to write the body of the blog post first, and save writing the intro for last.

A good way to write a great introduction is to pose a question addressing the reader’s problem. Then you can tell them how reading your post can help them tackle it.

This is a great way to grab your readers’ attention, and they’ll definitely want to read it till the end in the hope of finding the solution.

6. Write Like You Talk

Don’t overlook the style and tone of your writing. Both these elements can make a big difference.

Writing like you’re talking to your reader can make them feel like they’re having a conversation with someone, rather than actually reading a post.

How to write a good blog post - write conversationally

Your readers will feel like you’re talking to them one-one-one to help them figure out a problem that you can relate to. This is great for building a loyal readership.

7. Make It Scannable

People usually don’t read blog posts word-for-word. Instead, they scan them for the information they’re looking for.

That’s why it’s important to format your posts in a way that’s easy to scan. It’ll help your readers to get the info they’re looking for quickly, so they’re more likely to stick around your blog.

Here are a few ways you can make your blog posts scannable:

  • Use Subheadings: Subheadings help your readers to see the main topics of your post, and will help you to stay organized and on track when writing.
  • Write Short Sentences: Short sentences are much easier to read. Long sentences can make it complicated to understand.
  • Keep Paragraphs Short: When your paragraphs are too long, it’s harder to read. I recommend using 2-4 sentences in most of your paragraphs, with some 1-sentence paragraphs to grab the eye.
  • Use Bullet Points: Whenever you have a list, you can use bullet points to make your message precise and clear and easy to scan, instead of listing items in a sentence.

If you use these tips to make your text visually engaging, your readers will be more likely to read the whole post.

For more details, see our guide on how to structure the perfect blog post.

8. Use Images for Visual Engagement

A simple image has the power to make a boring post much more fun and engaging.

What you fail to explain in words, can be done with just a single image or a screenshot. Besides, it breaks the monotony of words and offers a refreshing visual break to the reader keeping them engaged for longer.

Here are some stats from Quick Sprout that show how important images are:

Blog writing tips - use visuals

9. Include a Compelling Call to Action

Your post can’t be called a successful one unless you can convince your users to take action on the site.

What should your call to action (CTA) be? You could ask your readers to:

It’s best to stick to one CTA so your readers aren’t distracted.

For your CTA to be compelling, put yourself in the readers’ shoes and talk about the benefits of taking action. What’s in it for them?

Tips for writing a blog post - include a call to action

10. Add a Featured Image

Believe it or not, your readers won’t waste more than 2 seconds to decide whether or not to click on your post. If you want a positive response you need to have a plan.

Adding an eye-catching featured image to your post is a great way to get more clicks, shares, and engagement.

Shutterstock, Unsplash, and Pixabay are great platforms to help you find an appealing image to use. You can also use Canva if you like them edited. If you need more help, here’s how you can create great featured images for your blog posts.

11. Level Up Your SEO

How to write a good blog post - optimize it for SEO

If you think you know how to write a good blog post but it doesn’t get any traffic, you’re missing a step!

For your post to have a lot of readers, you need to level up your SEO, we have published a separate post dedicated to SEO tips for bloggers. If you’re using an SEO plugin like All in One SEO (assuming you have already installed it on your site), a lot of your work is done.

You need to add a focus keyword, add a title with the keywords in it, and also add an SEO title and meta description.

Your text also needs to have more than 300 words. However, I would recommend you to keep your word count to at least 1000 words.

Further, the images in your post need to be properly optimized too. Make sure they’re the right size and have descriptive names before you upload them. Each image should also have proper alt tags and categories.

For more details, see our ultimate SEO guide for bloggers.

12. Publish at the Right Time

Now you’re ready to publish!

The final step is to read out your post to yourself. This helps you identify errors and lets you rectify them before you hit the publish button. Do a quick read over for spelling and formatting but don’t waste too much time.

Hit publish at a peak time. For me that’s between 8 am and 10 am on Monday, Wednesday or Friday on East Coast USA time.

And that’s how to write a good blog post! Wasn’t too difficult, was it? Just follow these quick steps and see how you can master the art of writing a good blog post in no time.

Meanwhile, if you want to get more traffic quickly, here’s a guide that can help you.

Examples of Some Perfect Blog Posts

It wouldn’t be right to finish this post without showing you some of the most perfect blog posts that I’ve seen out there in the wild.

Do You Have a Perfect Blog Post?

Have you ever written a blog post that went viral or brought you a heaps of awesome results? I’d be really keen to hear about how you did it!

Before you publish your next post, use our ultimate blog post checklist to make sure you create the perfect post.

If you liked this post then be sure to check out guides on how to start a blog and how to install WordPress.

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  1. thanks for sharing wonderful article

  2. When I was learning about blogging in 2016, I found your blog, ShoutMeLoud, Backlinko, Neil Patel, SPI and WPBeginner very helpful.

    You guys always offer helpful and highly informative articles.

    Thanks for sharing!

    1. Thank you, Inu!

  3. kriscent techno hub on October 22, 2019

    great article
    thanks for the information

    1. You’re welcome!

  4. Daisy Simpson on November 26, 2019

    Great post, I really find it very useful as I’m thinking to start my blog so it really helps me.

    1. Thanks, Daisy, let us know when you start your blog.

  5. Sharad Gupta on January 9, 2020

    David, I am a great fan of your writing. I totally agree research make sure you’re adding value.

  6. William Hedge on February 13, 2020

    I notes these points and found them helpful, I will try to apply these on my work and will tell you about the results soon.

  7. It was a great post! I liked how you have made this blog visually appealing that allows users to read it without toggling between tabs. Good work!

  8. Gabriel Watah on March 26, 2020

    You certainly understand what you’re referring to, thanks for the info.

  9. Thank you, for this amazing blog, everything is well explained step by step.

  10. Writing Freak on January 20, 2021

    Fantastic article, I’m a big writing fan. I fully cooperate with work to ensure that you contribute positively. Inshort, I really find it really interesting, because I guess it encourages me to start my article.

  11. I am going to start my blog writing career. The guidelines that you have described were so much precise & easy to understand. I am really thankful to you.

    1. Glad you found the article helpful, Ovi. Good luck on your writing career! If you’re interested, you might want to check out our guide on freelance blogging as well. 🙂

  12. Thanks for detailed information.

    I always visit WPBginner and Blog Tyrant whenever I get stuck.

    Curious to know the plug-in that you guys are using to create the numbered list.

    1. Thanks Santosh! If you’re referring to the numbered headings in this post, I think they are custom.

  13. This is really helpful, thanks.

  14. Great article, with lots of useful tips.

  15. evisionatlanta on January 22, 2022

    I appreciate you and hopping for some more informative posts. Thanks for sharing us.

  16. Thank you for the information , it’s very useful to me, I just started blogging this month and get frustrated in designing my theme, so I decided to leave it until I have money to buy a customizable theme, so I just want to focus on writing my blog post.
    Thank you very much, it will really help me a lot.

    1. Hey Bilikis, have you checked out Blog Tyrant’s post on the best WordPress themes for bloggers? It includes some free, customizable options!

  17. Megha Kadam on April 28, 2022

    Hello. I am extremely happy to come across this post that gave me accurate information on writing a high-quality blog post. Thank you!

  18. Hi,

    It’s very helpful your words for a beginner like me. You have explained very well with easy words. Thank you very much.

    Love from Kerala, India.

  19. You put the you in thank you!

  20. Susan Maureen Murphy on July 12, 2022

    doesn’t tell me how to get the words to wrap nicely around the images or how to fix the big gaps between paragraphs with photos.

  21. Great post! Thanks so much for the ideas and info!

  22. Nimoramsey on January 5, 2023

    Your post is very helpful, thank you for sharing the ideas, I look forward to writing a better blog post.

  23. Maudie Desanti on August 11, 2023

    May I simply say what a comfort to discover someone that really understands what they’re talking about on the net. You definitely understand how to bring an issue to light and make it important. A lot more people ought to look at this and understand this side of the story. I was surprised you aren’t more popular because you certainly possess the gift.

  24. Your work here on this blog has been top notch from day 1. You’ve been continously providing amazing articles for us all to read and I just hope that you keep it going on in the future as well. Cheers!

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