Blog With Extra Va-Va-Voom

After watching Pretty Woman for the umpteenth time the other day, one line hit me – in the scene where Julia Roberts struts her way over to Richard Gere’s car, her room mate Kit De Luca shouts: “Work it. Work it, baby. Work it. Work it. Own it.”

Well, that’s the only way you’re going to make a ripple in the pool of blogging – by working at your structure and presentation.

Writing a good bog isn’t just about having an idea and running with it. Of course, great ideas are important but so is how you execute them to produce informative, well written posts that people are going to want to read.

I’ve been blogging for several years now. Coming up with a fresh batch of ideas is tough, but inspiration can come from anywhere – films (like above), conversations, letters, images, experiences etc.

So what do you do when you’ve got an idea?

How to shape a great blog post

As I see it, there are five main steps you have to go through to create a great blog. It’s a system that works for me; this is how it goes:

1.    Title

The title of your post is really important. It has to grab the attention of your reader – if it doesn’t they aren’t going to bother wasting any time over it. The best titles are ones that are very specific. Tell them what your post is about.

2.    A great beginning

Many people think a blog is just about writing. I would disagree with that which is why all my posts are preceded by an image. Using an image that is related to your post in some way introduces an instant link in your reader’s mind. But not only that, the beginning of your post must grab them immediately.

You can either dive straight in or, like this post, begin with a personal experience. But if you do, make sure you also explain what it has to do with your subject matter.

As with any form of writing, the initial paragraph or two is what will make or break your post. Make it interesting and your reader will stay with you until the end.

3.    Importance first

Pick the most important aspect that you are talking about and tackle it first. Explain concepts simply to your reader using simple terms and sentence structures. If you bamboozle them with jargon they’ll lose interest and go.

If your subject has more than one point, repeat this stage again until all your points are covered.

4.    Tell them what to do

There’s no point in writing about a concept and then not telling them how they can put it into action. Give an example of how it can work for them. Take this post for example; if you’re still reading it you’re learning how you can utilise these techniques on your own blog.

5.    Summarise

At the end of your post tell them why the information they’ve just read is relevant to them. Explain that when they put your tips into practice they will enhance their lives.

So as you can see. Being careful about how you create your posts paying attention to the heading, images and initial paragraph will help you write informative and enjoyable blog posts that people will want to read.