How to Write Your First Blog Post
You’ve always wanted to have your own blog and use it to promote your business or product. You know that a blog is crucial for SEO, thought leadership, and building authority among your target audience. But the task of actually sitting down and writing a blog post can seem overwhelming. Especially your very first blog post.
But like everything else, writing a blog gets easier the more you practice. It’s important to focus on churning out your first blogs and doing it right. Then, you can get into the rhythm of regularly creating blog content that is high quality and engaging.
So let’s get down to the details and explore how to write your first blog and what you need to do to get started.
Consider your audience
There is no more important factor to writing a blog post than understanding your audience and what they want to read. A blog post has to provide value to readers. It must educate, inform, entertain, or provide a fresh viewpoint in order to gain traction. Remember that the visitors to your blog are actual people, not crawlers for Google search rankings. So your blog must make an impact, and the best way to do that is to touch on a pain point or issue your customers face.
Do keyword research…
After you’ve narrowed down your topic, it’s time to focus on using the keywords that people who are searching might be using. Use a keyword research tool, like SEMrush, Mos., or Google Keyword Planner to identify the keywords you should focus on in your first blog post.
But don’t go overboard.
Don’t get carried away with getting the most keywords into your post. Rather, use the keywords naturally, as you would in normal conversation, and let them guide you instead of dictating the flow of the post.
Introduce yourself
If you are a key personality in your business or blog, don’t be shy to introduce yourself to readers. Particularly if you have an interesting backstory about your company or how you developed your product, it’s great to share it with the audience. People respond to authenticity and real stories. Your first blog post is a great time to open up with a “Welcome” theme.
Establish your editorial plan
Making the decision to start a blog is easy. Thinking up new and original topics for blog posts on a regular basis is much harder. Once your blog is ready for launch, invest time in creating an editorial calendar. Map out your first few weeks of blog post topics, but remember, it’s not written in stone. You can always change or adapt the calendar as you go along or as needed.
Get inspiration
A great way to get into the blog writing zone is by reading other blogs. That way, you’ll discover what content is already out there, and you can work on refining a new angle or perspective that makes your blog original and worth reading.
A clever tactic is to read a blog that you don’t agree with, or which takes a different view to yours. Then, write a post from the opposite viewpoint, and get your readers really engaged. This can be a great way to create a buzz around your first blog entry.
Staying inspired to write regular blogs can be a challenge. Check out these tips to help you sustain your blog writing.
Choose your tone and voice
Figuring out the tone and voice of your blog may seem like a hard task, but actually it will come naturally to you in time. Once you’ve decided the overall tone of your blog (personal, newsy, business-like, formal, product oriented?), let your natural voice flow. Your identity and personality should shine through in your writing; it’s what makes your blog unique. So make sure to relax and don’t let self-consciousness take over! That will only hamper your authentic style.
Add strategic links
Linking to trustworthy sources will build authority for your site. Not only will these backlinks strengthen your SEO, they will also show readers that your blog is of high quality. Even from your first blog post, make it a habit to reference authoritative, relevant, and reliable sources.
Over time, your blog will build momentum, and – hopefully – a solid readership. Make sure your blog includes share buttons for all your social media accounts. This makes it easy for readers to share your posts, which will build more engagement and interest. Before hitting “Publish” on your first blog entry, check and double check that all your social links are working.
Proofread, proofread, proofread!
There’s one golden rule of blogging that every writer must internalize, way before posting the first blog entry. Always edit and proofread carefully, more than once if necessary, to make sure your content is free from typos and embarrassing grammar errors. Here’s a common trick used by bloggers and writers: before hitting “Publish”, take a break for a few hours or even till the next day. Then come back to the draft with fresh eyes before making the final edits and going live.
Add images, video, and interactive content
Large blocks of text can be overwhelming and tiring for readers, even when they really want to know what you have to say. Break up the text into digestible portions by adding images, videos, or even interactive content, like infographics, slideshows, or quizzes. This adds interest and excitement, creating higher engagement and encouraging readers to share the post among their network.
Your blog posts should also include a byline of the author, with a headshot and short bio. This creates legitimacy and trustworthiness, and will help you build a relationship with readers in the long term. If you feel comfortable, include a link to your LinkedIn or Twitter profile. This way, readers can find out more about you and connect with you online, increasing your business network and maybe even your lead pool.
Encourage comments and feedback
A great way to build buzz around a blog is by including a comments section where readers can create a dialog with you and other readers. When a reader comments, make sure to respond. Even a simple “Thank you” is appreciated. Even better, if the commenter asks a question or provides an opinion, try to turn it into a conversation. This can help you learn more about your target audience, promote discussion in your niche and around your company, and build your profile as an authority.
Your blog should have a subscribe function, so readers can sign up to get notifications when you post a new article. Show your readers that you welcome and appreciate their input, and make it easy for them to find and engage with your blog posts – after all, they are your guests, your audience and your inspiration, all rolled into one. The stronger your relationship with your readers, the stronger your blog will be.
Don’t Rush – You Only Get to Post Your First Blog Entry Once!
When creating your first blog entry, take a deep breath and take your time. Particularly at the beginning, when you are new to blogging, you’ll need to devote significant time to make sure your content is truly click-worthy. Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, you will probably be able to speed up the process. But you only get to make a first impression once – so, go slow with your first blog entry and make it shine!
I made the mistake of writing all about myself and my goals with my blog in my first blog post. And nobody really cared… especially in the long run. So this is why I’m sharing my personal strategy and tips on how to write your first blog post.
It doesn’t matter if you’re writing a blog as a creative outlet or journal.
Or if you’re blogging as a business, with the goal of making money through your website.
There are several questions you need to ask yourself about your first blog post topic and how your audience will receive it.
In this post, I’ll share tips with you to help you get through:
- Figuring out what the topic should be
- The anxiety of writing your first blog post (is it good enough?)
- The process of creating a framework for your blog posts, so that writing them becomes a super easy process.
You need to know that many first-time bloggers have the same questions.
Let’s get started so you can craft and publish a kickass first blog post that will wow your readers!
How To Write Your First Blog Post Like A Pro
Do you want to be seen as an amateur, beginner blogger?
Or are you striving to appear like you kind of know what you’re doing?
If it’s the latter, then you’ve got a positive mindset when it comes to your blog.
Do you know what a pro blogger would do with a first blog post of a new blog they were starting?
They don’t write about themselves and why they are starting a new blog.
This is my top recommendation!
I checked out what some other big brands and bloggers were saying about the first blog post, and their advice left me wanting.
It didn’t make sense.
One of them had an example of a teacher’s first blog post. When I clicked it, it redirected me to a static About Me page.
Obviously, this blogging teacher figured out that a blog post wasn’t the place to share the purpose of her blog and herself.
UGH! Why do some of these “Blogging Tips” sites share really DUMB advice?
Key Reasons Why Your First Blog Post Shouldn’t Be An “Introductory” Post
So why am I saying skip the “Hey world, this is my first blog post” type of post?
Simply put, nobody gives a damn.
There’s an art to writing that too, and I have a complete post on how to write an About Me page. You should look it up!
What about the other reasons?
- How will you get eyeballs on it? Promoting a “hey, this is my first blog post” post will not drive traffic back to your site. See my main reason. Nobody gives a damn.
- Promoting on Pinterest will not get traction.
- It’s not something somebody will search out in Google searches.
- You probably don’t have an email subscriber list yet, so no promo there too!
- Your first blog post will be lost in a long list of other blog posts. Nobody is going to go searching for it in your archived blog posts.
- You’ll inevitably write the same content on an About Me page.
So now that we have all of these reasons, let’s tackle the topic of your first blog post.
What Should You Write About In Your First Blog Post?
You make be looking at first blog post ideas.
If I were to start a new blog today, my first blog post would be about a general problem in my niche topic.
Let me back up first.
I’m hoping you aren’t a general lifestyle blogger, planning to write on more than 3 topics that interest you.
Because that’s a recipe for failure, or at least a recipe for many years of hard work, trying to make a lifestyle blog successful.
I know, because I made that mistake in the past as well.
So here’s what I recommend you do when writing your first blog post:
- Confirm your key topics and blog categories
- Choose one of your categories
- Write down a short list of 3 to 5 big topics for your chosen category. Consider the big burning questions that your readers may have on each topic.
- Choose one of the questions your readers have, and write the answer to it.
For example, the most common sense topic for my first blog post for a blogging tips blog would be “How To Start A Blog”.
I would choose a broad topic from which more specific blog posts can be created.
Starting off with a blog post like this helps you develop your blog content calendar very easily.
Consider all of the sub-topics that you can write about to answer additional questions your readers will have.
Banish Anxiety About Writing The Perfect Blog Post
Your first blog post doesn’t have to be perfect!
It may have spelling and grammar errors. Or an image that’s cropped weirdly.
Or you’ll have written a massive paragraph with five to six sentences that’s hard to read.
The good news is that you can go back to edit and tweak your first blog post, over and over again.
I have!
My first blog post has been updated to be consistent with my blog post format and to include updated content, keywords and fresh images.
Updating old blog posts will be a process that you’ll undertake to keep your blog traffic growing.
Banish your anxiety and avoid falling into the trap of feeling that it has to be perfect.
What I’m going to share in a moment is a little cheat sheet for making your first blog post look and flow well.
But first, let’s talk SEO.
Familiarize Yourself With SEO
What is SEO?
It’s Search Engine Optimization, and it’s a process in which you make your blog content understandable and indexable to Google and other search engines.
There are several facets to SEO: technical, on-page and off-page.
The easiest place to start is with on-page SEO, which you’ll do before you hit publish on your first post.
I won’t go into all the details here, as I’ve written a full blog post on key on-page SEO tips. Read it as it will help you understand things better.
Essentially, with your first post, I’m recommending that you include a low-competition keyword – a “long tail keyword” that’s a phrase 3 to 6 words long (e.g. “how to start a blog as a beginner”).
This keyword will be in:
- The title (headline)
- At the beginning of your post
- In a header
- And in your alt-text of an image.
Doing this is a first step to helping Google understand your content and index it so that it shows up in searches in a few weeks or a few months (it can take time for Google to index your site).
TIP: Start learning about SEO as soon as you can! Implementing SEO best practices will greatly speed up your blog traffic and growth.
| RELATED: How To Optimize Your Blog Post Images To Load Fast
8 Elements Of A Blog Post: First Blog Post Template
Before you begin writing your blog post, it always makes good sense to create an outline.
The 8 key elements of a simple blog post structure include:
- A captivating headline (also called title)
- Relevant and attractive feature image (horizontal for Facebook and Twitter posts)
- An introduction that addresses the problem and provides context
- Headers (subheaders) that organize the content throughout
- The body of the post where you share tips to solve the problem
- Visuals that enhance or relate to the content you’re sharing
- Internal links (link up to your other related blog posts when you publish them
- An ending to your blog post that includes an engaging call-to-action
Here’s a format of what this may look like (or you can take a look at what I did with this blog post itself!).
Let’s not forget on-page SEO.
You’ll make sure the SEO title (the one that appears in search results in Google, and other search engines), permalink (slug) in the URL and meta description are optimized.
If you’re using an SEO plugin such as Rank Math (free version is fine), you’ll also have the option to use Schema Markup.
Tips For Writing Your First Blog Post: Keep It Easy But Strategic
How to write your first blog post? By making sure you keep the structure of your first blog post simple – a headline title, introduction, body and conclusion. Choose a blog post topic that’s broad and answers a common, burning question your readers have.
Remember to do your on-page search engine optimization with keywords!
And finally, be easy on yourself. The most important thing is to get your first post published.
The second one will be easier to write, as will the third.
Finally, find out how many blog posts you need before you finally launch your blog.
Check out these helpful posts for writing your first blog post!
- How To Write Blog Post Titles That Get Clicks
- What is Cornerstone Content And Why Do You Need It?
- Understanding Categories And Tags.
