How to Write Your First Blog Post

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Here is a blog-writing process that will help you create blog posts that are professional, searchable, and attractive to readers right from the start. Once you learn how to write your first blog post, all the rest will be easier!

When I tell people that I blog, so many tell me that they would love to start a blog. I always encourage them to give it a try.

I first wrote this post in 2017. Here it is October 2023 and I am still writing blog posts following these same suggestions. 

Starting a blog is relatively inexpensive and it is a great outlet to express your opinions, develop your voice, and connect with your creative spirit.

Yet, getting started can be scary and for whatever reason, something most people do not do—however much they express that they want to.

Setting up a blog is fairly straight-forward. However, getting to the writing part is where a lot of people get stopped in their tracks.

They spend a lot of time thinking about what to write. In fact, they spend so much time thinking about just the right thing to write about; that they never get around to writing.

I don’t want you to be one of those people.

You Want to Write Your First Blog Post Right from the Get-Go

Writing and posting is how you learn to blog and from what I’ve heard from every blogger I’ve talked to—there is no other way.

So, the first thing to do, is accept that it takes time to develop a blog and to grow into your blogging presence. It just does. You have to write blog posts to learn how to write blog posts.

At first, not many people will read your blog. This is normal and expected. However, you don’t want to stay at this stage forever.

Trust me on this—as much fun as blogging can be—it starts to be NO fun if no one ever starts reading it. You want people to read it; that’s why you started writing in the first place.

To make that happen faster, I’m going to teach you how to write your first blog post so that you’ll be searchable and attracting readers from the beginning.

Not sure where to get ideas? I’ve got you covered here!

It’s true it takes time to gather a following. But it doesn’t have to take forever, does it? No, you want to write like a blogger from the get-go!

Getting Started

Most people have some general ideas about what they want to write about when they start to blog. Try to settle on about 4 to 5.

You can change or narrow your focus later as you get deeper into your blogging journey. But it’s a good idea to give yourself some direction without narrowing it too much at first.

These will be your categories. For examples, I have categories on weight loss, grand-parenting, and blogging.

For your first post, let yourself write about whatever you want to write about. There are usually some stories you’ve been wanting to share or you wouldn’t have started the blog in the first place.

This is really the first thing. If you aren’t sure of how to come up with a blog topic—read this first.

At the beginning because you may not be 100% sure of what you want to write about. You have lots of general ideas floating around and you might not know where to start or even where it will go.

That’s okay. These things will work themselves out.

But they won’t work themselves out magically. You work them out by writing and then writing some more, and writing even more.

I’m giving you the tools I use for every blog post in the general order that I use them. At times I may do things in a little different order. You may do that too.

If you follow this blog-writing plan; you can write a blog post that is more professional, searchable, and attractive to readers right from the start.

To begin your first blog post, you will need to settle on something to write about.

Pick anything you want and I’ll help you turn it into a real blog post. After you have a general idea of what you want to write about; follow the following ten steps.

Ten Steps on How to Write Your First Blog Post

  1. Write your post in Word
  2. Write and write fast—aim for 750–1000 words
  3. Decide whether the post is going to entertain, inspire, or educate
  4. Pick one main point that you are going to get across
  5. Go back into your blog post and edit with #3 and #4 in mind
  6. Add Keywords and SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
  7. Write in short paragraphs
  8. Use headings to invite skimmers to read
  9. Group things into lists
  10. Create graphics that attract page views

Write your Post in Word

I always write all my posts in a word processor. I especially like Word but you can use any processor that you enjoy.

By writing in a word processor, I can really watch my spelling and grammar as well as easily look up synonyms. In the end, I have the document saved to my own files.

If something happens when I’m putting the post up on my blog—no problem because I have my own copy I can retrieve.

Plus, it allows me to really edit and fine tune my posts.

Write and Write Fast

Don’t overthink your writing at first. It’s a good idea to get as much of your inspiration down on the page as possible.

It’s much easier to clean up a big post than expand a short one. If you think too much, you’ll stop the ideas from coming out. Let them come and write them.

The more you write; the more confident you’ll become. Writing is an art and a skill. And it’s something indefinable as well.

There is a mysterious part of it that calls forth ideas and words as you go along. That’s why I am a fan of writing as you feel inspired at first.

Honestly, sometimes you will get it right on the very first go around. Other times, you’ll have to clean it up a bit. But write and write whatever comes up.

I usually consider this part of the process, the rough draft. But often it’s surprisingly good.

Writing a blog post isn’t the same as writing a novel. Whatever you write can be edited and changed at any point. For example, I am editing this three years later!

You can always go back and improve what you write. But you have to write something first.

Decide the Purpose of Your Blog Post

Your post needs a purpose. You’ve written it with the idea that you want to share something with other people.

Most people are not interested in your day-to-day goings on. They come to blogs to either be entertained, inspired, educated, or have a problem solved. They are looking for a purpose.

You will attract more readers by having a purpose for each and every blog post you write.

Blogging is not writing a diary

Most new bloggers start with the idea that they’ll write about their lives and share that journey, whether it’s motherhood, travel, saving money, or cooking, with others.

And you will be…

BUT, and this is a BIG but. No one, at the beginning, knows who you are or why they should read you. They won’t come searching for you, because frankly, they just don’t care about your life. YET.

However, your story IS important because it is what you will use as a backdrop to whatever it is you want to write about.

So, you decide on the purpose of this blog post and then you use the story to illustrate it.

Let’s say for example, you’ve written a post about how crazy your mornings can be and somewhere in your post you talk about the ways you’ve made your mornings easier and you now get your family of five out the door on-time every day.

Looking at that story, you could decide the purpose is to entertain and you make this story as funny as possible, hoping people will laugh and share with their friends.

Or you decide it will inspire. You describe how life used to be and how it is now, with the purpose that it will give others hope.

Finally, your purpose could be to educate or provide information. You have a system that you want to share and teach others. Sharing that system or process is the main focus of the blog and you use your personal story to illustrate how effective your system is.

The other reason most people come to a blog post though is to solve a problem. It could be what to cook for dinner. It could be how to lose weight.

Choose a Focus: Pick One Point You Are Going to Get Across

Another place a blogger can get lost in is by trying to get too many points across.

Maybe in the example above you talk about the breakfasts you make in the morning, your beauty routine, your kid’s calendar, etc. You put it all out there! However, that is a lot of information for one blog post.

So, instead of writing about everything all in one blog post; you can pick one area to focus on. That will make writing, titling, SEO, and graphics much easier.

Delete everything else from the post. Save the other ideas in another document and you have the basis for your next blog post or two. (Another reason that writing in a word processor can be very helpful.)

Even when you only have one focus, you will be able to find lots of ways to write about it.

Go Back into Your Post and Edit with #3 and #4 in Mind

You’ve got the bones of your post written. Now go in clean it up a bit. Pick your purpose and your focus. Cut everything else out. If you’ve got another strong focus or two in there, be sure to save in a new document for a future post.

This is important because each and every blog post needs a reason for existing. Random thoughts, musings, and diary-like writing don’t typically do well. Because you don’t want to write just for the few people that care about your specific life.

You are writing for a potential audience of thousands. You need to write something that has the potential to attract many many readers. If your blog post isn’t designed to do that—what’s the point of writing it?

There isn’t.

So, when deciding your purpose and your focus, remember this post being written to appeal to thousands of people—not just people who know you personally.

Divide and Conquer—Smaller Paragraphs, Headings, and Lists

When you write a blog post, you’re going to be writing a little differently than how you wrote for English composition classes.

You’ll still follow basic grammar rules and use good spelling. However, you will divide your blog post differently. You’ll be writing for modern readers and you’ll want to use some tricks to help them read your post.

The next three tips deal with the structure of your post and making it easier to read: Headings, paragraphs, and lists.

Write in smaller paragraphs

Now you need to make your post readable to the modern reader. We do that by dividing our writing into small blocks of text.

If you have big long paragraphs, go into them and see if you can divide them into shorter logical chunks. Blog paragraphs should be short, about three sentences at most.

Sometimes I will even do one or two sentences.

Use headings

Headings do two things: they allow readers to skim your post and decide if they want to stay and read and they break up the text so that it is easier to read. Both of these things are very important.

Headlines allow you to inform readers about what good stuff they are going to get from your post and they allow you to create some curiosity about what you’ve written.

Your headlines are the first thing potential readers see. Make them good. Try to capture the essence of the section without giving it all away.

In addition to providing a glimpse into the post, when a visitor to your blog decides to stay and read; headlines make the actual reading easier. I love a well divided post!

Group things into lists

Lists are a great way to organize and present information. You can use bulleted or numbered lists, or you can just use your headings to separate list items. Lists can also serve as on outline as you think about the information you want to write.

In this post, I decided beforehand that I wanted ten list items. I came up with them and I used that outline to write the rest of the information.

Sometimes, if I’ve been free-writing, I will see how many points I have and form the post into more of a list format.

Adding Keywords and SEO Components

To help with SEO (Search Engine Optimization), I use a free Word Press plugin called Yoast SEO. I highly recommend this plugin because it will make your blogging much easier.

It not only helps with SEO, it integrates with Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. It even helps you write better!

Now that your post is taking shape, it’s time to pick a keyword or short keyword phrase.

This is a word or phrase that you will use in your title, in headings, in your meta-description, and within your post. It is a short phrase that is searchable and will hopefully bring folks to your blog.

For this post, I’ll be using, “How to write your first blog post.”

Create Graphics to Attract Page Views

We live in a highly visual world now and the graphics you use in your posts will make or break you. If you are doing food, craft, or decorating posts, you already know that your graphics are essential.

However, to get shared on social media and especially Pinterest, you have to use a great looking graphic.

You are putting a lot of time into writing a good post and you want it to get shared as much as possible.

Since this post is primarily about writing, I am not going to go into a lot of detail here. But trust me on this—this is huge.

You want one primary graphic that is specifically tailored to Pinterest. Pinterest is the biggest driver of traffic to most bloggers. Right now the style on Pinterest is vertical pins. Use attractive graphics, and easy to read fonts.

How to Write Your First Blog Post

While there is much to learn as you progress in blogging, the most important thing at the beginning is to consistently create content, your blog posts.

No other activity is as important. Concurrently, you’ll be getting acquainted with social media and growing your presence there. But this information will give you a head start.

You have to start somewhere! I’ve seen too many potentially great bloggers either give up or worse never even start. Don’t be one of those people!

I do hope if you feel the pull to start blogging that you give it a try. Blogging is rewarding in so many ways and well worth the time and effort.

If this post helps you write a better blog post–please put a link in the comments below. I’d love to see what you are working on!

How to Write Your First Blog Post is a blog-writing process that will help you create blog posts that are professional, searchable, and attractive to readers right from the start.

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Keep showing up my friends,

Sara

Sara

I'm a certified life and weight loss coach who helps women feel better and get the most out of their lives! The process of life coaching teaches you to love yourself and gain self confidence in a safe effective way.

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8 Comments

  1. Kristy on November 13, 2018 at 9:08 pm

    What is SEO?

    • Sara on November 14, 2018 at 11:05 am

      Search Engine Optimization. It’s how search engines find your work.

  2. […] are my favorite posts to help you become a real blogger. How to Start a Blog for Profit and Fun How to Write Your First Blog Post How to Let Blog Topics Find You How to Go from Beginner to Blogger How to Use Pinterest to Grow […]

  3. […] might also like this post from My Think Big Life about how to write your first blog […]

  4. […] more about how to write your first post with this guide from My Think Big […]

  5. Sandy on June 17, 2017 at 8:41 am

    Such a great post!!! I started my blog in 2015 mostly cause I kept hearing about WordPress and wanted to check it out this thing people were talking about. As a wanna-be techie nerd, I just like playing on the computer and figuring things out…so have just been learning the ins and out of using WP…and maybe in the process writing some stuff. Loved the video on Yoast SEO. I do aim to get the green lights but it’s more by default than actually knowing what the heck I am doing 🙂 I didn’t really know about changing the FB and Twitter stuff….so learned a new thing!! Thank you 🙂

  6. Jehava on June 14, 2017 at 5:20 pm

    Great tips! I wish I had this last year!!

    • Sara on June 17, 2017 at 9:03 am

      Thanks Jehava! Glad it helped.

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Hi, I'm Sara Garska and I'm so happy you're here! Big changes can happen with a shift in thinking. Over time, you transform your life into the one you always dreamed of having. As a certified life and weight loss coach, I can help you create a life you love. Click here to schedule a free 50-minute coaching session.