How to Write a Good Blog Post
- by merylpixelmagic
- posted February 16, 2015
I read lots of blogs. I read my clients’ blogs; I read blogs about animal welfare (my pet charity). I read design blogs x lots (in a bid to keep at the forefront of my craft) and I read horse riding blogs (my hobby). I read my friends’ blogs on many different subjects because I like my friends; and I read strangers’ blogs because the topic sounds interesting. So I read a lot 🙂
I’ve noticed that the most popular blogs all have the same few things in common tho…
1. The blog is pretty
This is probably a Meryl thing, but if a blog is badly laid out or has a hideous background; has jarring colours or is simply aesthetically displeasing, I won’t read it. If you aren’t a designer, or can’t afford a designer, go with black and white and ONE other colour; LOTS of white space and a sans-serif font. Make sure everything’s aligned neatly. Then I’ll read your blog 🙂
2. They all have a personal touch
Whether the authors have employed humour, or they’ve written from the heart about emotional issues; or from the head about their subject of expertise, the most popular blogs have a very distinct personality to them. They don’t come across as being written by some marketing robo-writer droid. There’s life in the posts; there’s passion! (If you don’t care about it, don’t write it)3. Posts are easy to read
I don’t like reading reams unless it’s in bed curled up with a good book. People digest information best when it’s in bite-sized chunks. Popular blogs stick to the point, and if they have to get wordy (due to the nature of the subject); they break the text up visually, with paragraphs; headings and multimedia such as images or videos; or numbered and bulleted text. Don’t be scared to make keywords bold for ease of scanning.4. They’re well written.
Not all of us are copywriters (I’m certainly not!), but you do need to read what you’ve written before you post it, and you need to check for spelling and grammar errors. And typos.5. I don’t always agree but they make me think
I don’t always agree with the sentiments expressed in all the blogs I read. Some of them are quite controversial. Or just plain offensive. Or offensive AND funny. But all of them engage me, and all of them give me a little bit of food for thought. And I remember all of them well enough to go and read them again…
There’s lots to be said about writing catchy titles, and littering your post with SEO-inspired keywords … but the bottome line is “Content is King” – would you like to read your own blog post?
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