How to Get Started Writing Your First Blog Post
Ok so your blog is all setup and you know your way around the back end, now comes the fun part. We need to actually start making some content. I know it has taken awhile for us to get this far, but I wanted to provide you with a solid understanding of your blog before you enter into the blogging arena.
Don’t worry this isn’t the type of arena that requires you to use a shield and spear. This is more if a competition of minds. All blog authors (well, most) strive to create really amazing content.
The reason being that if you have amazing content people will want to share your site with others. The more people that share your site the more back links you develop which generates higher rankings in search engine results, and so on. You can see how it can snowball into success if you can create some really great content.
Ah, but there’s the catch… “How do I create really great content?” Well unfortunately there’s no secret formula. There are several questions you can ask yourself though to guarantee that you are creating the best content you are capable of.
Let’s take a look at a few of these methods below.
Take a Good Look at Your Niche.
The first thing you need to do is take a good hard look at your niche. When we talked about niches before we covered the importance of choosing a good niche. Choosing a good niche means picking a topic you are familiar with and have knowledge in that you can share with others.
This knowledge is what makes your blog unique and interesting. If someone doesn’t understand their subject matter it shows in their writing. Believe me! I have come across some pretty stale blogs out there.
I think a lot of these people are picking topics based solely on trying to make money. They focus on whatever the flavor of the month is, in the hopes that it will get them good traffic. The only flaw with their plan is that these “trends” are so highly competitive that their mediocre content falls right through the cracks.
This is what you want to avoid. Plus, as I mentioned before a popular topic can sometimes be the worst to pursue when starting out because they are so competitive.
Hopefully by this point you have chosen a niche you are happy with. Now let’s take a good look at your niche.
- What makes your niche special?
- What sets your knowledge of the subject apart from others?
- What inside information can you offer that others can’t?
These are a couple considerations to make when examining your subject matter.
A great example of this was an article I wrote when I had first started blogging. Because of some people I knew, I got wind of a news worthy story that even the media in my city hadn’t picked up on.
I leveraged this to my advantage by writing a news story with the details of what I knew about the story. The article attracted a good deal of attention to the point where I was contacted by a reporter who was trying to gather some additional information from me on the story.
Within 48 hours of speaking with the reporter the story was in our city newspaper and on several news channels, until it eventually made its way across the net.
Now in this case the news did not cite my post as I hadn’t offered any facts. The story I posted did however offer enough details to allow the newspaper to get the full story from other sources in town.
Once the story broke I received a lot of traffic from people doing searches for news articles on the story I had originally posted. This is a great example of using inside information to create interesting content and drive traffic.
The main thing to be aware of here is to protect people’s privacy and make sure it’s ok to post the information. In this case I made sure that my friend was not listed as my source as per her request. I also made sure these were not “trade secrets” that would get someone in trouble if they were posted.
Always be smart about what you post as this helps build your relationships and also your credibility.
What’s My Inspiration?
When you sit down to write an article for your blog, ask yourself… “what’s my inspiration”. What is the point behind what I am writing?
If you are writing a review is it because you loved something or hated it. If you are posting a news story what is the angle of the article? Are you doing a commentary or fact based post.
There are many ways to write a post, so it is best to decide what you are trying to accomplish right beforehand.
In the example of this post, I am trying to portray that the intent of the article is to help someone learn something. Because of that I mentally dictate as I write, and try to structure my information as though I was talking someone sitting right next to me.
- Does it work?.. I hope so. You’ve read this far, right?
While we may not all know exactly how we want to explain something we can still determine what the heart of the post is about. If you sit down and establish this before you start writing your article will come much easier than if you just sit down and try to make words appear on the screen.
What Are People Interested In? (How Do Ideas Spread)
The concept of ideas spreading is one that is commonly used by Aaron Wall of SEO Book. What this refers to are the ways in which information travels across this internet.
Because there are set patterns that can actually be tracked in many cases we can gain insights from how information spreads online.
There are numerous resources you can use to get a feel for what the current “buzz” online is.
- Checking News Sources
- Top Videos on YouTube
- And Blogs!
These are all great sources of what is hot that day or week. If you are having trouble coming up with a topic that relates to your niche then check out news sources, video sites, and other blogs to see if anything excites you. When you find something exciting then you have stumbled across a great topic to write about.
As I mentioned above it takes motivation to write a good article. Don’t just sit down and force yourself to spew something out. This will not be interesting and people will not want to read it.
If you are excited about something you are writing about it will show in your writing and people will be much more interested in what you have to say in your article.
Ask Yourself… Would You Want to Read It?
Aside from others being interested in what you have written, you need to decide if you are interested in it. While it is true that we are our toughest critics, it also says a lot about the quality of an article if you enjoy reading your own work.
If you have written something and find it boring to proof read (or even write) then there is no way someone else will find it interesting.
This is because they will be able to read the motivation you had when you wrote the article. If you needed to force yourself to write it, they will need to force themselves to read it, and in many cases they just won’t bother.
Now if you write something that you think is really interesting while it may not appeal to everyone, our targeted audience will be much more interested to see what you have to say.
Remember you can’t please everyone, but you should at least get a 50/50 response from the general public on your articles. This is normal.
On my original blog I wrote several articles that I would get varying responses on. Some days it would be “You Suck!” and other days it would be “Best Article Ever.” The funny thing was that these comments would be left for the same post.
While you may not be able to please everyone, a 50/50 ratio shows that you are on the right track.
Don’t let people get you down. Remember it is a lot easier to criticize someone for something they made, than to create something yourself. Those who do not like your work are only venting their frustration at their own inability to create something of value.
If You Have a Good Idea then Run with It!
What’s that? The light bulb just came on over your head? Awesome, run with it! Sit down and start typing. This is the inspiration we have been looking for. Harness it and use it to create something amazing.
I always tell people that when you think of a great idea, write it out immediately. Don’t jot down a note or wait until later after the inspiration has faded.
Many great ideas in life were realized when one person rallied others with their excitement or passions for a belief. Look at many of the great motivational speakers of our time. People aren’t moved act if you “kind of have a dream”. Let people share in the excitement you felt when writing your article.
“That excitement will lend itself into creating amazing content.”
Providing Value to Your Readers Makes Your Blog Valuable.
Write something valuable for your readers. The more value you provide to your readers the more value they will return to you with back links and word of mouth for your site.
Some people out there are very protective of linking out to other sites because of the potential effect it might have on their page rank.
While I understand the SEO concerns they have, I feel that they are creating a sterile, self contained site that does not offer real value to their readers.
The internet is called the World Wide Web because it offers a vast spider web of information to people. How better to make use of this web than by linking out to great sites that we feel others should know about.
Not only will this make your blog that much more valuable, it will also show others that you share the link love, and they will be more likely to link back to your site.
Being too over protective of your links can actually hurt your SEO effort as search engines will actually rank a site higher for offering valuable sources of information to their readers. The way to manage this is by making sure your links are relevant to your topic, rather than being non existent.
The more value you can provide to people the more you will be referenced. Seth Godin writes in his book “Purple Cow“, that “remarkable things are worth remarking on”. If you provide value to your readers it will benefit numerous ways. It is a two way street and definitely worth the extra effort.
Overview
Now that you have a good idea of the zen behind structuring a post let’s actually start writing. Remember the best way to learn something is by actually doing it.
Take some of the things we have covered in this article and work them into your first blog post.
Give it some thought. Remember it doesn’t always come naturally in the beginning. Take some time to plan and become inspired, and once you do run with it. Before long you will be well on your way to creating unique content that will make your blog stand out from the competition.
Now that you undestanding the philosophy behind writing a great blog post, let’s look at the actual planning stage for an article. I will outline the steps I take when putting together an article to help you come up with a good method for consistantly writing well thought out posts.
Click the link below to read my next guide entitled “How to Plan and Structure a Great Blog Post“.
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