Blogging Beginner? How to Get Ahead of the Game

You’ve been hearing for years–make that a decade–that you need to start blogging. But how do you even begin? There’s so much information out there, and so much of it is technical. This assumes you already have a website set up, by the way. If you don’t, I can offer you a referral to someone who can help. This blog post is for those just beginning bloggers. If you’d like something more in-depth, you might want to check out Bob Dunn’s blog posts for tons more ideas (highly recommended!).

Who’s Your Audience?

The first thing is to figure out who you’re talking to. If you don’t have an audience yet, think about who you’d like your audience to be. Who would be your ideal customer? What do they look like? Sound like? What are their interests and pain points? Here’s an article that might help you get started: Who Are You Writing For? Target Audience and Social Media.

What’s Their Language?

I don’t mean English versus French. I mean style. Are they casual? Will everything you write need to be backed up by hours of research? Would they have a more formal style? Mirroring their language will help you engage with them. Some people find that creating the perfect audience member can help them when writing.

Write an Intro Paragraph

I was taught a “keyhole structure” for writing. So you go from the large and abstract idea to the more particular. Your thesis is at the end of the first paragraph. But you don’t need to be that formal. The important thing is to introduce the subject matter to your audience.

Write Three or Four Headers

Keep in mind that you can always change your headers later. What will each paragraph be about? If what you write changes, tweak your header to match. But it’s important not to mislead your readers. If you’re promising an exciting article about the benefits of, say, video games for teens, make sure your headers reflect the overall scheme.

Photo by Internet Archive Book Images

Write a Sentence Under Each Header, and Then Another

Say something out loud and then write it down, if that helps. Whatever your paragraph will be about, write something. Then write a little more. Don’t edit or add links at this point. Just keep writing. As someone once said (Abraham Lincoln? Mark Twain?) before you can edit, you need to write.

Put in a Call to Action (CTA)

What do you want your reader to do once they’re done reading? Fill out a form? Read something else you’ve written? Leave a comment? Say that!

Edit

Go back and look at your writing. I find it helps to read it out loud at this point. Correct any mistakes. Does it flow well? If you’re not good at editing, you can have someone edit for you.

Add Images

There are a number of sites for free images, or you can buy images, too. Which do you prefer? You can also **gasp** take your own photos and use those!

Publish or Schedule

If you’d like to publish at a later date, go ahead and do that. Or publish it the moment you finish writing.

You’re Done

Was that easy enough? If you have any questions, leave me a comment!