10 Articles With Amazing Advice for Better Blog Posts
Welcome to Week 2 of my For the Beginners By the Beginners Blog Series. (I’m not actually calling it that am I? Probably not…)
Anyway, if you missed the first post on How I Got Started Blogging with Zero Clue, I recommend starting there. I promise my thoughts make a LITTLE more sense in order. Even if it is an ADHD order.
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So lets get into it!
Here are the 10 blog posts that helped give me the kick in the butt I needed to get started!
In addition to the home page links of each blog I mention, all the pins are linked to their respective posts as well! ;)
How to Write a Blog Post for Beginners
This post by whatskatieupto.com was the perfect first step into the world of blogging.
First, she explains 3 types of blog posts which was step one in getting myself to start thinking about what kind of content I was going to post.
Next, and possibly the most helpful piece of information I got from Katie’s post was her reason why an outline is so important. (Yes, I really did need THIS kind of beginner help)
She also covers how exactly to write a post and how to check it for grammar and consistency of tone—how to make sure it sounds like YOUR voice. Honestly, a lot of what I personally gained from this post was how to write in general—something I feel like I am very bad at, so if that’s the help you need too, head over to Katies blog immediately!
You aren’t done with this post yet though! There’s still even more information about editing and supporting elements like pictures and links.
Honestly, as I reread Katie’s post in order to write mine, I actually still got some new ideas for future posts!
2. How to Write and Format a Blog Post in 2019
As I said, I had a really hard time figuring out how the heck I was going to make a living doing something I’m terrible at. So this is another post (from organizedblogging.com) that I leaned heavily on for how to write a blog outline and how to flesh that outline out to make writing the actual posts incredibly easy.
I seriously always HATED writing outlines in high school. I would honestly sometimes write them AFTER the actual first draft of my paper…
So as I finally figured out outlines were pretty important to blogging, Hayley also covered how to structure and format the post you just wrote. I was getting closer to understanding this stuff.
3. Over 100 Blog Post Topics for Lifestyle Blogs
Now that I knew HOW to write a post, I needed more specific ideas. Margaret over at margaretbourne.com provides a thorough list of blog post ideas as well as great tips on how to research blog post ideas on your own!
This lead to a TON of continuing research on my end. I made a whole 2 column list in my notebook of ideas and then searched for those things, adding anything else that may have come up.
4. Lifestyle Blog Post Ideas That Will Go Viral in 2020
During the research homework Margaret gave me, I stumbled upon Megan’s blog, thrivingwonders.com that had even more really great post ideas!
5. Creating a Kickass Content Calendar for Your Blog
And then we’re back to margaretbourne.com. I didn’t even realize I had used two of her posts to get started until I started writing this post!
In this one though she covers more ways to categorize posts and how to schedule them—your seasonal, evergreen, cornerstone, and announcement posts—thought the year!
6. 12 Blog Post Ideas for Beginners to Get Traffic
I just HAD to reach out and thank Stella at beautybites.org for her candidness and her willingness to laugh at her own first blog post. She did absolute wonders for helping to validate my imposter syndrome.
Stella reminded me that its OKAY to be bad at things. It’s natural and it means your trying something outside of your comfort zone! This post was also a part of the inspiration for my post on Embracing Mediocrity.
She also covers how to talk directly to your reader and make content that feels relevant to them while also talking about your own experiences. This is definitely a weak spot for me so it was very helpful.
And lastly, she includes even more blog post ideas!
7. Blogging Basics: The Best Types of Posts to Have on Your New Blog
Turns out I REALLY needed help with content ideas (and SPOILER: I still didn’t start out writing about something I actually LIKED writing about)
Elna at twinsmommy.com has some really good tips for types of blog posts and why you need them. AND why your blog isn’t seeing results! This is another post I gained even more from when I went back to it after I had a few posts under my belt. I see myself going back to this post and Ella’s whole blog for more again and again!
8. Blog SEO: How to Search Engine Optimize Your Blog Content
This one isn’t from an independent blogger but hubspot.com has some really good information as well. Especially this post about Search Engine Optimization for your blog! I’ve been researching this one for years so I was pretty familiar with it before my blog but that doesn’t mean it’s easy! And it’s a little different for blogging than it was for Etsy and Instagram.
My favorite tip from this article was to include keywords in your alt text as well as the next headline!
9. Write Better Headlines: Headline Analyzer from Coschedule
This coschedule.com tool was linked in the previous post but it was so helpful I pinned it separately and need to bring specific attention to it! I didn’t know about using powerful and emotional words. Or that there was a cheat sheet to those words and the effect they have.
I revamped my first 5 headlines with this tool and increased my Headline and SEO scores by an average of 12 points each!
You simply type in a title and it will categorize your words into common, uncommon, powerful, and emotional and give you a score based on that balance.
Even after I ran out of free attempts at grading my titles, I still use the power and emotional words lists. It even has a built in thesaurus!
10. How to Start a Money Making Blog
And lastly, I’ve mentioned this post in How I Started a Blog With ZERO Experience And What I’ve Learned and 10+ Best Side Hustles for When You're Financially Struggling so I’m sure its no surprise that Jennie’s course is on this list as well.
It was the first post to kick my but in gear and led to my researching and finding all of the above posts while I was waiting to be able to afford her course. Which is why it’s last on this list.
I went into this course with all of the knowledge above which, while it isn’t much, had a huge impact on what I could take in from Jennie’s lessons.
The most important thing I think I learned here was how to set up Squarespace as well as her book recommendations for further reading.
If you’re looking to invest a little money to finally get started I highly recommend Blog Biz Bootcamp!
Wrapping up
So I hope these posts were as helpful to you as they’ve been to me! I am so glad I started this journey and so excited to continue. There are so many people who have done this gig successfully and there’s absolutely no reason you and I can’t as long as we’re willing to put in the work! I’d love to hear the most helpful tip you’ve learned in the comments below and if you want more content like this make sure to sign up for my Beginner Blog Series to get these emails directly to your inbox each Wednesday!
