The 7 easy steps to writing a more useful blog post

If you’re wondering how to write a blog post, then you’ve come to the right blog.

That’s because I blog about blogging and how to use it to achieve success in business and life.

Granted, I’ve only been blogging for a few years, but in that time I’ve:

• Started my own social media marketing and Web content writing business
• Helped fellow entrepreneurs who have also started their own part-time online dropshipping businesses
• Helped others achieve their dream
  
• Helped people save money on monthly bills

If I didn’t start a blog, then I probably would not have accomplished any of those three things. That’s because my blog is about those three things!

I’m going to be honest with you (as I always am on my blog).

Blogging is easy and anybody can do it. The only hard part is trying!

In this latest blog post about blogging, I will teach you:

The 7 easy steps to writing a more useful blog post

1. Have an idea

Every journey begins with a single step.

Similarly, every blog post starts with a single idea.

What is that idea?

That’s for YOU to figure out.

Afterall, this is YOUR blog, right?

A good first step in writing a blog post is to first think of a blog post idea.

Your idea will be something you:

• Prove
• Disprove
• Leave up for debate

So how do you get ideas to blog about?

Here’s a helpful video tutorial that will help you when you are having trouble coming up with blog post ideas.

In this video, online marketing expert Tiffany Lambert offers some excellent advice on how to come up with good blog post ideas using local reviews:

The YouTube ID of lkGeEStEnhg#at=38 is invalid.

2. Write an outline

Outlining your blog post should take no longer than 5 minutes or so. I like to handwrite my outlines in my Moleskine notebook.

By handwriting my outline, I am able to quickly capture my main idea and supporting points.

Here’s an example outline I wrote for this blog post. In my outline, I only had 5 supporting points:

If you take longer than 5 minutes to outline a blog post that should only be about a page of writing (or about 500 words), then you’re doing it wrong.

Outlines are short and are only meant to just get your idea for a blog post down in writing so you won’t forget it.

Remember: your blog outline should only contain your main idea plus a few supporting points to either prove or disprove your subject matter. That’s it!

Don’t worry about things like links or a conclusion or any other minor details.

Save that for the actual blog post.

3. Write a rough draft

This will be where you write out your main idea and supporting points in more detail, but do not, and I repeat, DO NOT worry about things like:

• Grammar
• Punctuation
• Whether or not your writing even makes sense

That’s not the point of the first draft when you begin writing a new blog post.

Besides, going back and fixing things like typos or run-ons will only slow down your creative process.

The rough draft of your blog post is basically a more fleshed-out version of your outline. Just get a rough intro, your supporting points, and a conclusion.

And remember, these will be incoherent at best and downright unusable at worst.

But the only way you can get to that point is by getting to that point.

The rough draft should take no longer than 30-45 minutes. That’s it!

Anything longer, and you’re no longer working on a rough draft, so just stick to the script and you will achieve great things.

Warning: Do not, under ANY circumstances, publish a blog post that is a rough draft.

Why?

Simple. Your rough draft is not your best effort.

And you ONLY want to publish your best effort on your blog for the world to read and learn from, right?

So no matter how killer you think your rough draft of your blog post might be, resist the temptation to jump the gun and hit “Publish” before you’ve completed the next crucial steps on how to write a more useful blog post.

4. Take a break

This is probably the MOST important step out of the 7 easy steps you can take to write a more useful blog post.

After you have completed your rough draft, I recommend at least a 24-hour “cool off” period until you look at your rough draft again.

This will give you time to re-gain some of that energy you spent writing up the rough draft.

Plus, when you go back and re-read your rough draft, you may decide to re-write things and make them even better. And that’s when you write a second draft (that’s the next step).

 5. Write a second draft by editing and revising your rough draft

Here’s where you take the drivel that you saved as a rough draft and mold, bend, and shape it into a positively killer blog post.

Not only will you re-write sentences and make them coherent and conversational in tone, but you’ll also add links to other websites to add further useful content to your blog post.

Also, this step is where you add the useful and fun stuff like pictures, videos, and whatever else you want to include in your blog post.

I decided to add pictures of cats for this blog post. My thinking behind that design aspect for this blog post was pretty simple.

First, I like cats.

I also figured that fellow cat fans will search for cat pictures using Lycos and other popular search engines, such as AskJeeves.com. Then, they will find this blog post in their search engine results.

This leads to more Web traffic to my blog and more people learning how to write a more useful blog post.

6. Publish your new blog post online

Once you’re done editing and your blog post is ready to be useful to others, then it’s time to publish it.

CONGRATULATIONS!

It’s time to celebrate responsibly with an adult beverage (if you’re into that)!

Your message is now shared with the entire world to read and learn from.

7. Promote your new blog post on social media and in your email newsletter

Your intention of writing a blog post is to help others with your knowledge and expertise.

However, if people do not know about this new blog post, then they will not benefit from your knowledge and expertise.

And that’s where social media comes in handy.

Social media allows you to promote your blog post to thousands (or more) potential readers.

If you’re not sharing your new blog post links on your social media, then you are missing out on an easy and free way to promote your blog and your dream.

Why does every blog need an email newsletter?

1. You can measure your progress as a blogger by the number of subscribers added.
   More newsletter subscribers being added daily to your mailing list means you are doing something right. NOTE: No subscribers does not mean you fail at blogging and life. But it does mean you could be doing better at both.
2. Remind your readers to read your new blog post you just wrote.
   Newsletters are a handy way of reminding your readers to check your blog and read your latest, more useful blog posts. That’s because not everyone will remember to check your blog daily. However, most people do check their email daily.

This is how I use my email newsletter since I typically average about one new post per week.

By reminding my readers to check my blog, I maintain steady Web traffic numbers.

And the more Web traffic you have, the more you will make in affiliate marketing sales.

Remember, blogs are not just for fun.

They are also a great way to make some nice passive side income when you monetize your blog with banner ads and affiliate marketing.

In many ways, simply running a blog is a great way to start a business, because the blog itself is a revenue-generating business.

Conclusion

Writing a blog post is not rocket science.

Unless, of course…your blog IS about rocket science.

But for the most part, writing a useful blog post does not have to be time-consuming or overly complicated. You just need to follow these 7 easy steps.

Once you get your first blog post out of the way, you will find that it WILL get easier!

That’s because it’s easy to create useful content online if you are passionate and knowledgeable about whatever it is you are blogging about in your blog.

Do you write blog posts?

What do you blog about?

Tell us all about it in the comments!

Remember, this is YOUR opportunity to help others with your knowledge and expertise!