How to Write a Blog Post – From Start to Finish, as Shown on This Cut-Out-‘N-Keep Blog Post Blueprint

Okay, I don’t intend to pretend that I’m some kind of a blogging guru who’s just gracefully provided the only proper blog post blueprint along with his fail-proof advice on how to write a blog post. Not at all.

This blueprint is just one of the possible approaches for writing blog posts, but it is my favorite one. The reason why I’m sharing it is because I believe it can be helpful to other bloggers too; especially when faced with a writer’s block of any kind.

The one thing the blueprint is not going to help you with, though, is finding a specific idea for your post, this is still on you, sorry. Anyway, without further delay, here’s the blueprint. It’s available in 5 main formats:

Here’s the screenshot of what the whole thing looks like as an infographic:

Blog Post Blueprint

How to use it

Of course, this is up to you, but here are my three favorite ways of using the blueprint:

  • printing out the infographic version and keeping it somewhere next to you for a quick glance when working on a new blog post, or
  • grabbing the WordPress HTML version and importing it into the New Post screen when working on a new blog post, or
  • getting the mind map version, planning a new post there, and then writing it inside WordPress.

When it comes to the writing process itself, start by finding the main idea for the post and take care of the remaining core details:
main-idea

Keep the guidelines in mind when coming up with those. They will help you to craft a nice reader-friendly post in the end.
guidelines

Next, it’s time to brainstorm over a headline and create a rough outline of the post:
headline

When you have this taken care of, it’s time to settle on the introduction for your post. I put that much emphasis on introductions because apart from the headline, the first few paragraphs of the post are crucial for its success, so they should always be your primary focus when learning how to write a blog post.

The tested introductions I encourage you to use are based on the following frameworks:
introduction

Next, it’s your writing time. Keep the aforementioned guidelines in mind when going through the writing process.
write

When you’re done writing, have a look at the set of finishing touch questions. There are no “correct” answers to those questions, but the sole habit of even asking them and then making “some” changes to your post afterwards will make your work noticeably better.

The last step is about preparing your post for publication. First up – optimization:
optimize

This is where you should include some links to your other articles, as well as to other sites on the web. Finally, wherever it makes sense, try to use your main keyword in various places inside the post (in subheadings, ALT tags for images, the text itself, etc.).
edit

Next step – editing. In other words, making your post properly laid out, with good flow and clear transitions between paragraphs. It’s also a good moment to add some images to the post, “youify” it (use the word “you” more), and substitute every “he” or “she” with “they.” This is a trick I use to not make any assumptions about the reader’s gender where it’s not necessary.
proofread

Lastly, proofread. Check your spelling and make sure that you don’t have any silly errors like the wrong use of their/they’re/there. Basically, this is where you make the post readable.

Okay, that’s pretty much it for my advice on how to write a blog post. I hope this blueprint will come handy to you next time you sit in front of a blank screen with your creative hat on and some post writing intent.

By the way, feel free to share this template with your blogging friends or anyone who could benefit from it (this is all under the CC Attribution-ShareAlike license). Every tweet counts! 🙂

7 Comments

  1. Ekene Ilochonwu

    Ekene Ilochonwu

    Great and very comprehensive post Karol. Writing with this detailed pattern will sure produce nothing less than a superb blog post. Thanks for sharing, I’ll share it too.

  2. Thanks, Ekene!

  3. Zac Johnson

    Zac Johnson

    Looks really good, we can all appreciate the effort and time it took to create this!

  4. great samples of blueprints, you really good at this and the way you labelled blog post blueprint is so excellent, good work

  5. This blueprint helps me to write a good SEO friendly article. Content is the most important factor to succeed in internet marketing. Thanks for sharing…

  6. Internet Geeks

    Internet Geeks

    Thanks! man this is good. I downloaded it doc file. Will print it and post it at my desk.

  7. Lalit Kumar

    Lalit Kumar

    Good guide Karol. It clearly outlines how a post should be written. A good reference point for new bloggers as well as anyone else who is into copy-editing.

    Lalit Kumar

Comments are closed.