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How to Write a Blog Post: A Step-by-Step Guide [+ Free Blog Post Templates]

Featured, How to Write a Blog Post
April 16, 2021/by
How to Write a Blog Post: A Step-by-Step Guide Since you’re on this page, you probably already know how integral the process of blogging is to the success of your marketing efforts. Which is why it goes without saying that it's exceptionally important to learn how to effectively start and manage a blog in a way that supports your business. Without a blog, you'll find yourself experiencing a number of problems such as poor search engine optimization (SEO), lack of promotional content for social, little clout with your leads and customers, and fewer pages that you can use to share lead-generating calls-to-action (CTAs). So why, oh why, do so many marketers still have a laundry list of excuses for why they can't maintain a blog? Maybe because, unless you enjoy writing, business blogging might seem uninteresting, time consuming, and difficult. Well, the time for excuses is over and this guide is here to help you understand why. We'll cover how to write and manage your business's blog as well as provide helpful templates to simplify your blogging efforts. Let's get started with an important question. Blog posts allow you and your business to publish insights, thoughts, and stories on your website about any topic. They can help you boost brand awareness, credibility, conversions, and revenue. Most importantly, they can help you drive traffic to your website. Today, people and organizations of all walks of life manage blogs to share analyses, instruction, criticisms, product information, industry...
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How to Write a Blog Post Outline: A Simple Formula to Follow

How to Write a Blog Post
October 6, 2020/by
How to Write a Blog Post Outline: A Simple Formula to Follow What makes a blog post bad? There are lots of reasons a blog post could be less-than-perfect. Poor formatting. Poor grammar. Poor word choice. Poor shareability.  The most pervasive problem? Poor flow. The post jumps from one idea to the next to the next and then circles around again for a split second to the first idea, then back to the fourth, and so on. Or the post reads like a stream of consciousness -- but it wasn't a stylistic choice.  Luckily, you have a simple solution. Before diving headfirst into writing your post, you can create an outline.  I'm not talking about jotting down a few quick bullet points -- even experienced writers can go astray with just a few talking points. I'm talking a fully fleshed-out outline with enough details that make it virtually impossible for your writing to go off the deep end. And it's pretty easy to do. Below is my method for outlining posts and organizing my thoughts. You may prefer to switch up some of the steps depending on your writing style, but your end goal should always be to get an outline detailed enough that its result is a cohesive, logical piece. Here's one way you can do that.  1. Nail your working title. This is the most important step of this entire process. You want to have a clear understanding of what you're going to write before you start outlining.  My...
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Which Format Is Right for Your Next Blog Post?

How to Write a Blog Post
August 21, 2020/by
Which Format Is Right for Your Next Blog Post? Choices are hard. And when it comes to choosing the right format for your next blog post, there's quite the smorgasbord to choose from. Perhaps how-to posts are your forte. Or maybe you just can't resist the list. But just because you have a signature format, doesn't mean it's necessarily right for the topic you're blogging about. Aah ... decisions, decisions.  It's okay though! We're here to help you through it. So in this post, I'm going to break down some of the most popular blog post types and formats to help you determine which one is right for the blog idea you've got milling around in that head of yours. That said, keep in mind that some posts may even straddle two or more formats. I've written thought leadership posts that could also probably be classified as list posts. And if I'd added a SlideShare to them? They would've straddled three!  The point is to recognize that there isn't just one type of blog post you can create -- and some formats are much more suitable for certain ideas than others. Another thing to consider is that a lot of times, it will all boil down to the angle you take on a topic. For example, if I wanted to write a post about social media, there is probably a different angle I could take that would work for each of the following formats. It will all depend on the...
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9 Ways to Crush the End of a Blog Post

How to Write a Blog Post
June 3, 2020/by
9 Ways to Crush the End of a Blog Post When I graduated from college a few years ago, there were a couple of lessons that stuck with me. First, as a journalism student, I was taught to never write a conclusion for an article. While this became a habit, it's something I've had to unlearn as a marketing writer because you need to write a conclusion in your blog posts. Second, in my screenwriting class, I learned that every sentence you write should either move your story forward or reveal information. As a blog writer, this second lesson is the standard I hold myself to. With conclusions, it's no different. Conclusions are a necessary element of your blog posts because they guide your reader on what to do next. Below, let's review the top ways to absolutely crush the ending of your blog post. 1. Write a summary. Unlike a journalism article, when you're ending a blog post, writing a summary is a great way to go. That's because your reader most likely forgot a lot of the points you made throughout the piece. A summary conclusion should list the key takeaways from the article. Keep in mind that you shouldn't just reiterate your points, but draw actionable conclusions that will educate your audience. Additionally, it's important to remember that your summary conclusion shouldn't contain any fluff. That means all the information should be relevant and tie everything together. 2. Ask a question. When I write a...
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Can You Really Drive Traffic With Clickbait Articles?

How to Write a Blog Post
May 28, 2020/by
Can You Really Drive Traffic With Clickbait Articles? Last week, my favorite fitness YouTuber, Sydney Cummings, posted a video with a title that left me absolutely devastated. Quickly I pressed "play." From the title and the opening sequence — complete with sad piano music and ominous text in the beginning ("Trust us — we hate this too … this is hard for us both,") I prepared myself for the sad realization that this was Cummings announcing the end of her YouTube channel. I'll admit, as the video kept progressing, I was sliding into a slight panic. I thought, "How else am I going to get the same results?!" But then, the music stopped. The black screen filtered out to reveal Cummings in an empty room. She and her fiance took the time to somberly explain that the time had come for them to finally say goodbye … to their old fitness studio in lieu of an upgrade. It was then that I realized that I'd been clickbaited. Cummings expertly played with a vague title and introduction to draw me in and keep my attention — and emotions — at a high. Clickbait is a powerful way to deliver a message to readers, whether the intent is good or bad. What is clickbait, and how is it so effective? This post will fill you in, so let's get started. If you've ever been "clickbaited" before, think about what drew you in. Was...
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7 Tips for Making Dull Blog Topics Interesting, According to Our Blog Team

How to Write a Blog Post
May 19, 2020/by
7 Tips for Making Dull Blog Topics Interesting, According to Our Blog Team Sometimes, I'm assigned blog topics that are super exciting. I've written about Twitch, Instagram marketing, exciting company cultures, and team building games. These post topics quickly engage me, and I always find myself empowered to write a highly valuable article for readers. Other times, though, I'm assigned blog topics that aren't as exciting. I've written about highly technical topics, such as Why Website Indexation Is A Must-Have for Marketers and Header Tags: What They Are and How to Use Them. Topics like these aren't as easy to write about, and sometimes I find myself stuck trying to make "duller" blog topics interesting to write and gripping for readers. Even though it can be difficult to make a topic like photo event sizes a blast to write about, I've learned some tricks that can end up making those not-as-fun topics equally as exciting. Below, we'll go over some of my tips, as well as HubSpot's blog team, that help us make blog topics compelling for everyone. How to Make a Blog Topic More Interesting to Read About Have you ever been assigned a topic and didn't know where to start? Alternatively, have you ever procrastinated due to the dread of cranking out an article? I've been there, and so have my colleagues. The blog team at HubSpot likes to experiment with how content is presented. This has led to testing writing methods that inspire us as...
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40% of People Say They Don’t Read Blogs: Here’s How You Can Still Get on Their Radar

How to Write a Blog Post
March 23, 2020/by
40% of People Say They Don't Read Blogs: Here's How You Can Still Get on Their Radar According to our 2020 State of Marketing report, blogging is the third most utilized form of content marketing, just behind video and infographics. Like any successful strategy, many brands, publishers, and individuals have jumped on the blogging bandwagon. Currently, there are 600 million active blogs globally. Meanwhile, the number of active U.S. bloggers rose from 22 million to 32 million between 2014 and 2020. "Despite the numbers that show the enduring impact blogs can have on business, the perception of blogging as a valuable content marketing channel is continually called into question: the phrase 'is blogging dead?' has 26.8 million results on Google. To determine where blog readership might stand today, I surveyed 400 people about how often they read blogs. As a blogger who constantly writes, discovers and reads blogs online regularly, I was expecting that a large number of people would say that they read blogs at least daily. However, after I performed the Lucid survey, I found the end results surprising -- and a little unnerving. When I asked participants, "How often do you read blogs?", a whopping 40% of them said, "Never." Data Source; Lucid Before you go deleting your blog just because of one survey -- remain calm. While 40% of people in this survey say they never read blogs, other research suggests that nearly 80% of internet users interact with them regularly. It's...
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