Writing blog posts intimidates many people. They don’t know what they should write about or how to write it, and they’re worried that no one will read their blog post if it isn’t perfect. 

That’s why we created this 13-point checklist for writing a blog post. This way, you can feel confident that once you’ve published your blog post, you did all you needed to do before publishing it. We will cover everything from creating an attractive post title to optimizing it for search engines. 

Follow these simple steps and then publish away!

   1. Do Keyword research or topical research

You’ve written a great post, and it’s ready to go live, but you don’t want to publish it without doing some keyword research.

Keyword research is integral to any SEO strategy, especially content marketing. It’s also crucial for getting more traffic through Google search results.

When writing your blog posts, use keywords relevant to your topic and target audience. This will give your blog a better chance of being found by people looking for information on those topics.

     2. Write a compelling post title that includes keywords

Your blog post may be the best thing since sliced bread, but you’ll never know if no one reads it. To attract readers and drive traffic to your blog posts, try using interesting titles (and subheadings).

The blog post’s title should contain the keywords most relevant to your article’s topic. Don’t worry about making these keyword-stuffed titles sound unnatural; if you target the right words and phrases with your content, Google (and other search engines) will rank them higher in their search results.

     3. Start the blog post with an interesting story or a question

When writing a blog post, starting with an interesting story or question is essential. The first paragraph is the most critical part of your blog post and should grab readers’ attention immediately.

It’s also a good idea to include an anecdote or quote from someone else in the industry who agrees with you. This shows that other people agree with what you have to say. 

This helps build trust in your readers’ minds since they’re likely reading your blog post for more than just entertainment value alone.

     4. Divide the text into smaller sections with sub-headings

You can think of subheadings as a way to divide the text into smaller sections so readers can easily find the information they are interested in.

When you’re writing your blog, it’s essential to keep the reader in mind. Subheadings will help them understand how you organized your blog post and make it easier to skim through if they don’t have time for all the parts of your article.

     5. Deep link to previous relevant articles on your blog

Besides adding a link to the post you published, you should also add a few links to previous relevant articles on your blog. A deep link is when you link directly to a specific page on your website. 

For example, let’s say you have an article about “The Best Books for Marketers” and later publish an article called “10 Books Every Writer Should Read.” If you mentioned certain books in your first article and in your second article, you could use a deep link so readers can easily navigate between them without having to browse through all your old posts.

     6. Add a relevant content upgrade

You can also use your post to add a relevant content upgrade. Content upgrades are freebies you can offer your readers in exchange for their email addresses. 

They are great for building your email list and creating more value for subscribers by offering them something extra. You could offer a checklist, a cheat sheet, or even an eBook on a related topic as part of the upgrade.

     7. Link out to relevant articles on authority blogs

If you’re writing about a topic and have come across an article that is great, insightful, and well-written, then link to it. 

The next time you publish a blog post, include links to those articles that were helpful for the content of your own blog post. People will love it when they see a relevant link in your post, which encourages them to read your blog post. 

If someone has already written something similar to what you want to publish on your website, then don’t worry; just make sure that your article is different enough so that people will still want to read both of yours at once.

     8. Compress and upload on-brand, SEO-friendly images

The images you use on your blog posts are vital to the overall user experience. You must compress and upload on-brand images for the best possible results.

Here’s what to keep in mind:

• Compress your images. This will make them load faster, which is especially important for mobile devices. Many free tools can help with this process, such as TinyPNG.
• Use descriptive alt text when uploading a photo. Screen readers use the alt attribute to describe an image if it doesn’t load properly or display correctly on a page, so you must write something meaningful here.
• Use descriptive file names, extensions, sizes, and formats where possible.

     9. Add “alt text” to your images

Alt text is the text that describes an image, which is used by screen readers and search engines so that people who are visually impaired or blind can still understand what an image is about. 

It’s also a good idea to use alt text as another way to describe your images when you create blog posts so that search engines can index them more efficiently. The alt text should be brief and descriptive.

For example, if you have an image of a business card with Emily Schwartzlose’s name and contact information, then “Emily Schwartzlose’s business card” would make a suitable alt tag.

     10. Add a featured image

Adding a featured image to your blog post is essential for the reader and search engines. You can use the featured image as an attention-grabber and give people an idea of what they’re about to read. 

It’s also essential for SEO because it gives search engines another opportunity to crawl your page, increasing its chances of appearing in the search results.

When choosing a featured image, make sure that:

• It’s relevant to the article. For example, don’t use an abstract art piece if you’re writing about how to start a business.
• It’s of high quality. Google will penalize sites with low-quality logos or photos.

     11. Make sure your post is SEO-friendly

The last thing you want is for your post to not be optimized for SEO.

That’s why it’s essential to include keywords in the title, header, and body of your blog post, as well as the URL of the blog post. 

You can use keywords in your meta description and meta keyword tags. And don’t forget about the alt text. Plenty of tools on the web will help ensure that you’re using these elements correctly.

     12. Proofread your article

Proofreading is checking your content for grammatical and spelling errors and ensuring that the meaning of what you’ve written is clear. 

If a reader comes across one of these errors, they’ll be confused about what you’re trying to say—and they might even stop reading altogether.

The best way to proofread your blog post is by reading it aloud. 

While reading, listen carefully for words that sound wrong or are misspelled and make a note of them so that you can fix them later. If there’s an awkward sentence, rewrite it so it flows better with the rest of your writing style. 

Finally, use spellchecker software such as Grammarly to polish your post.

     13. Make sure all the links inside the blog post open in different tabs

You want your readers to easily read and navigate your blog posts. One way you can do this is by ensuring all the links open in a new tab. 

This will make it easier for your readers to navigate through the article, which makes it more likely that they’ll share it on social media or bookmark it for later reading.

When people click on a link in an article, they expect that page to load in another window (a “tab” in their browser). If you have several links to pages within your own website in your post, they must open in different tabs.