Sometimes bloggers get so tied up into the idea of earning money that they neglect the focused point of their blog. They forget to consider the "why" behind writing any one blog post. Take the time to plan your blog posts in advance based on what your audience wants, the season, upcoming events, and product or service promotions, it will help you remember why you are writing the blog post in the first place. It will also help you stay on track with the goals of your blog. Here are 8 things to consider when writing each blog post.

Plan out the Entire Post

Create an outline of the post. Do some brainstorming before writing the post. You may feel like you are back in school again but brainstorming and creating an outline will help you remember to put everything you are trying to convey into a post that is easily digested by your audience and gains you the expertise you search for. While writing the outline, the "why" or point of the blog post becomes super clear and it will reduce the amount of time you spend writing it.

Give the Title of your Post Thought

Sometimes, a title can help you figure out the direction of the blog post. It doesn't need to be perfect. Just start with something and refer to the title as you write the post. It will allow you to stay clear in your thought process while you write the main points of the post. Afterwards, go back and re-evaluate the title making sure that it gives your readers the bulk of what they are about to read. You can brainstorm the blog title or use one of many online sites for help such as Copy.ai or Hubspot.

Know your CTA (Call to Action)

Whether you want the reader to read more blog posts, subscribe to your website, join a community you offer, or look more into a service or product your offer, keeping those CTA's in mind will allow you to stay on topic.

Wait on the Introduction

Writing the body of the blog post first allows you to give a better introduction to the post. If you write the introduction first, you may try too hard to stay within that realm of thought. This doesn't allow for giving more details into your topic as you write the body. Your introduction is used to foreshadow what your reader will learn later, so summarizing this after the body has been written allows you to make sure you pull the reader in with your introduction.

Include a Little Humor or Humanity

When you add humor or humanity into your blog post, readers will see you as authentic. As humans, we like that type of connection. It lowers our walls and then we are more likely to trust you as you discuss your products or services. You may need to go back and add the humor in after the blog post is fully written and that is ok. You don't want to stress this part too much.

Always Include an Image

Humans are visual creatures and providing images helps convey the meaning of your post in a way that only including writing cannot. Make sure to consider your "why" when choosing images whether it is to promote a product, educate your audience about something, or to motivate some other action like sharing your post or joining our email list. You can use Canva for free to make your own blog images.

Remember the Conclusion

After writing the flesh of the blog post and the introduction, added image(s) and a little humor, don't neglect the conclusion. The conclusion is meant to sum up your entire "why" to your reader and more importantly, reiterate your CTA. Plus, it is a good place to encourage sharing of your post.

Edit with the Goal in Mind

Once you think you are done, go back and edit the blog post. Look at your brainstorming ideas to make sure you didn't forget anything. Look at your outline and make sure that your post follows it. Edit with the goal in mind just as you did when you wrote the outline. This will help you fix any problems with the post, check your grammar, spell check, and add relevant keywords to make sure your reason for writing it is apparent to your audience.

Making a point to do each one of these things will allow you to remain focused on your "why", your audience, and your CTA's. You want to balance the content and the length on your blog posts to keep them interesting and engaging to customers. See my post, "10 Types of Creative Blog Content You May Not Have Thought About" for ways to spice up your blog form content.

Do you need some help setting up your blog? Is your current website not working for you? Are you looking to expand your website functionality? Contact me with any questions and let's work together. Or just go ahead and fill out my new project information form and I will get back to you soon.