Basic Qualities of a Good Blog Post

Thank you all so much for your various different questions you sent me either via email or DM or comment!  I am definitely going to tackle them in the coming Q&A posts and today I wanted to target a specific blogging question that I have been asked, and it follows my last post nicely.  In today’s post I am going to share the Basic Qualities of a Good Blog Post to get you going on creating great content . The last one was about How to Write Your First Blog Post in WordPress.  All of these posts build on each other, so if you’re just starting, definitely check out my previous posts so you’re caught up and not missing anything!

Also, I am excited to announce that I am going to be releasing a comprehensive course all about blogging VERY SOON! So many of you have asked lots of amazing questions about blogging and how to make money from it, and honestly these are questions I’ve been getting for YEARS so finally I’ve decided to put it all together in a online course to teach you every thing I know. Be sure you are on my email list so you’ll know exactly when the course is open…plus maybe receiving a early bird discount 😉 I’ll release more details soon, so stay tuned!

Blogging Resources:

• How to Start a Blog: The First Five Tips
• How to Setup WordPress.org and Bluehost
• How to Select, Install, & Customize Your WordPress.org Theme
• How to Write Your First Blog Post

So I last told you actually HOW to create the blog post in WordPress and get it published, but today I want to share more of what makes a blog post “a good blog post”.  Of course this post is a bit subjective but after many years of both reading blogs and writing a blog, this is what I think.

Qualities of a Good Blog Post

Every post (or at least most every post) should have a takeaway of some kind for your reader or benefit them in some way. So how do you ensure that each post does just that? Here are some tips to keep in mind when writing your posts:

• Am I sharing anything that would be beneficial to my reader or helping them solve a problem in any way?
• Am I helping answer a question that many people may have?
• Am I making something easier on someone by providing my own insights or assistance?
• Am I sharing something about myself, my life, and/or my experiences that I think will bond me with my readers and vice versa?
• Am I creating content that will make them come back for more?

That last question is one that is answered really by the previous questions. If your answer is yes to at least one of those things, then readers will continue to come back for more. Don’t forget to get personal, again this is how people will connect and relate to you.

Along with your written content, you can’t neglect the visual content. Imagery is so important as well, so be sure to remember to have a camera or a phone handy with you whenever possible.

**Blogger tip: I have learned as a blogger that I should take pictures of the things I see and encounter throughout the day. You may not realize it in the moment, but so much of what you do throughout the day can be used for content on your blog. I also find inspiration in looking back through my photos if I notice a pattern, or perhaps a picture will remind me of a thought or a feeling I was having, and I can use that to generate blog content.

Creating quality imagery is another big topic I will cover in the upcoming blogger course, including how to use a DSLR, my favorite editing platforms and features, and more.  But you definitely want your pictures to be crisp and clear.  You know, “pretty” pictures.  Images tell a story too and they’re just as important.

Both of the next things I’ll mention are really more qualities of a good blog post from the blogger side of it rather than from the reader side of it.  If you want your content to be found on search engines such as Google, you will want to optimize your content using SEO practices.  I recommend installing Yoast SEO.  It gives you basic on page SEO techniques to help you drive search traffic to your blog. I also think it’s important to create images that are easily pinned on Pinterest.  Pinterest is another huge way to drive traffic to your blog (more to come on that as well).  Did you know that vertical images are more frequently clicked and re-pinned on Pinterest?  Think about how Pinterest is laid out.  The long, vertical images stand out and show up bigger on the feed than do horizontal images.  I love to use Canva to create my graphics because they have great templates and it’s easy to use.

These are just the basics but they are great things to keep in mind as you get started writing your blog posts.  Like I mentioned, I go more in depth on all things blogging in the course, coming soon! I’m so excited to share everything in detail.

xo,

Bess