What Goes Into a Blog Post

As I’ve been blogging over the past few years, I’ve had a few people ask me about what goes into each blog post.  While the contents of a blog post vary from blogger to blogger, some of the general items are mostly the same.  Such as SEO strategy, researching the topic, word limit, etc.  I like to focus on all these items and some extras.

I’ll be going over the items that I like to make sure I have in each blog post and my reasons for it.  Although I have changed the way I blog since I started, I’ll be going over the items I like to currently make sure I have in each one of my recent blog posts. 

So, without further ado, check out my list of items I like to have in each one of my blog posts.

Grammar Check

Having good grammar is key to a blog post.  People won’t read your post if it has improper grammar or sentence structure, etc.  For someone like me, who doesn’t always have the best-written grammar, this is hard to do.  I used to have friends or my husband peer review my blog posts before they went live.

However, over the last couple of years, I have been using Grammarly.com*. This is a free website that allows you to spell check, grammar check and so much more.  I like to use the website to make sure that my post is cohesive and has a good understanding.  

Pictures

A blog post isn’t successful unless there are pictures in it.  I have yet to see a blog post without pictures.  Most blog posts include pictures as that’s what keeps the readers interested in reading the blog post and the blog itself.  I have received many compliments on the quality of the pictures on my blog.  Believe it or not, most of them are taken on the phone.  You have no idea the power of your camera on the phone until you utilize its full capacity! 

Some bloggers go to websites that allow you to use their stock images.  Ultimately, for me, I use my pictures for all my blog posts.  It’s a personal choice which way you choose to use images for your blog.  However, I like to use my images as it gives me more freedom to edit the pictures the way I like.  This also allows brands to see my work not only through my writing but also in my pictures; and thus, it allows for more brand offers.

Research

This goes without saying but tons and tons of research go into a lot of my blog posts.  Whether it’s’ a fashion topic or a travel topic, I spent many hours researching these topics for my blog posts.  For me, I like to learn about what I’m talking about in my posts.  Since most of my posts are centered around providing tips and teaching my readers, researching the topics is essential for me.

In my research, I also get inspired to write about other topics since I end up in a research hole.  Sometimes, finding new topics through researching a current one is such a great inspiration for me.  This allows my creativity as a blogger to grow. 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of those things in blogging that you learn as you go.  I’m still not sure how SEO works but I am learning it each time I put together a blog post.  In simple terms, SEO is mentioning keywords in your blog post that show up on a search engine such as Google.  For instance, in the case of this blog post, I can search “what goes into a blog post”.  When those searches come up, they get sorted according to how many times my search word appears in the article.

Anyway, without getting too complicated, that is the basics of SEO – in the best way that I can explain it.  For me, I use the YOAST SEO plugin offered in WordPress to help each the use of SEO words in my blog posts.  It’s the easiest and simplest way for me to work with SEO in a way that I don’t have to alter my blog posts much. 

Word Limit

Last but not least, the word limit in each blog post is key!  The longer the blog post, the better.  But you want to make sure that it’s not too long so that you don’t bore your readers.  I like to keep mine between 1000 – 1500 words.  Occasionally, I’ll have a shorter blog post under 1000 words.  However, for the most part, I like to keep my posts within the 1000 – 1500 word range.

The more words in your post, the more likely you can hit a google search (refer to SEO above, for more info about Google search).  In addition, more words in your posts allow you to express and explain your ideas more clearly to your audience.  For me, having more words is getting my thoughts across more easily.

Honorable Mentions

I would love to mention each and everything that goes into each blog post.  However, that list will be extremely long so I kept my top items on this list.  But I also wanted to mention a few more key elements to each of my blog posts so check the honorable mentions below:

• Engagement:  Engaging, commenting, and liking other bloggers’ posts is key to having your blog seen more by others.
• Outfits links:  This is only applicable to fashion bloggers.  However, having links to your outfits will interest your audience to keep on coming to your page more often.
• Photo editing on Canva:  If you haven’t used Canva as a blogger then today is your day!  I love to use Canva for Pinterest Pins, Instagram story highlights, Instagram Reel Covers, Instagram Story Templates, etc.  The possibilities of templates on this website are endless!
• Promoting on other socials (IG, Pinterest, FB groups):  Don’t just post your blog post and leave it.  For others to see it, you have to do some promoting.  Some of the ways I like to promote my blog post is via my Instagram, Pinterest, and blogger groups on Facebook.

I hope you enjoyed my list of what goes into each one of my blog posts.  As someone who loves to blog and enjoys her blog, I hope these tips were helpful to you.  Which one of the elements mentioned above, do you use in your blog posts?  Let me know in the comments below!

Much Love,

* This post is not sponsored by Grammerly.com.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.