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Here are the characteristics of an ideal blog post!
I'm a solutions engineer lead, GitHub Star, Director of WomenDevsSG, and co founder of ragTech. I work at the intersection of tech, systems, and leadership, and this blog is where I share my journey through all three. Expect honest reflections, real experiences, and thoughts that are still forming rather than polished career advice.
Thanks for reading Desmond 😊
Thank you so much Victoria your article has always been a great help to me and this one no doubt was ....It is very insightful and informative...
I love it and I hope to make use of what I've learnt.❣️
Awesome! Glad it helps! 😊😊
Wonderful!! Thanks a lot sharing... Will definitely check this post every time before I start writing something new :-)
My pleasure! Thanks for reading 😊
Really insightful article, I've learned a lot from it Victoria Lo. Thanks for sharing this, and thanks for the mention too.
My pleasure! Your article is definitely one of my inspirations to write this one :)
These are wonderful insights to make an impressive article. Thanks for sharing this useful content. Wow. Victoria Lo 👏
You're welcome! I'm glad it did! :)
Haha aww thanks a lot Rutik :)
Nice that you backed it up with statistics. I didn't know them.
Useful article for beginner & experienced writers! 👏
Thanks Catalin :)
I absolutely enjoyed reading this article Victoria Lo. You highlighted really amazing points. Love it!
Thanks Didi :) Glad you loved it!
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Welcome back to another Blogging Tips Series article! In this article, let's discuss what makes a great and engaging blog post.
A great blog post starts with an interesting topic. Within your target niche, find out what is trending and what your community is talking about recently. Search the hottest keywords and topics in your social media platforms and get inspiration from there.
Here are some articles to inspire you to brainstorm blogging ideas:
Surveys have shown that 35% of people often skim a blog post before actually reading them. The quality of a great blog is characterized by clear outlines and headers. Use them wisely to give your article more organization and structure; so that anyone who skimmed through your article may stop and read when an interesting header grabs their attention.
A typical format of a good blog post may look like:
Source: coschedule.com
Without a doubt, a great headline will invite more clicks, reads and shares. Here are some well-known statistics on headlines:
An ideal headline is one that can accurately communicate the objective and purpose of the article. The expectations on your article depends on your headline. If your headline is catchy like "How to become an amazing developer" but your article barely provides any value about the topic, then readers will ultimately be disappointed. In short, a headline should not be treated as a clickbait. It should genuinely deliver readers' expectations.
Do not overuse "Top ..." in list-based headlines. People will eventually grow tired of reading articles with headlines like "Top 5 Things to Learn in React" or "Top 5 Free CSS Templates". Try to be more creative in making headlines for list articles. For example, "5 Things to Unlearn in React" is an interesting title because instead of the typical expectation that an article will teach you something, it is saying to unlearn, which will pique curiosity in most people.
A technical blog post should be written to solve a problem. In the introduction or opening paragraph, a good blog post will outline the problem and explain how reading the article can solve the problem.
An introduction does not have to be too long or fancy. It just needs to present a problem in a concise and relatable manner for the readers to be engaged from the start. Then the rest of the article should deliver on the promise to solve this problem for the reader.
This article by Uduak Obong-Eren has one of the most amazing, relatable and engaging introduction that I read recently.
I love how he starts off with a question as a way to present the problem to the readers. Then he went on to describe his personal story and outline the problem in a very engaging way. Finally, he stated the goal of the article and his solution to the problem presented. A perfect introduction indeed.
Each paragraph should contain a single idea or point you want to make. No more, no less.
Putting so many ideas and irrelevant sentences into an entire paragraph will not only make the lower the perceived quality of your article, but also lesser reads. Who can read a 1500-word article that only has 2-3 paragraphs? It's disorienting and difficult to focus.
In some cases, you can even isolate one sentence to make it really stand out.
Like a punch line.
See what I did there? Also, use font styles such as bold or italic sparingly. They should be used to emphasize certain points and to direct attention towards those points.
After a great introduction and body, all you need is to wrap up your amazing blog post with a conclusion.
In general, a good conclusion will re-iterate the problem outlined and summarize the solutions mentioned to indicate that the problem is now resolved. Then, it should suggest the next steps or actions the reader can take. Like maybe providing some extra related readings on the topic or asking them to share the article or reach out if they have questions.
Apart from text, an ideal blog post would have several non-text elements to make the article more visually appealing.
Non-text elements include:
Knowing when to strategically use these non-text elements can increase the potential readership of your blog post. Some useful statistics regarding them:
If you are worried about how to create custom cover images or pictures, there are plenty of free tools such as:
For free images and illustrations, I love to visit resources such as:
You can visit my resources page to find more free tools to help you.
Finally, let's talk about the ideal length for a blog post. According to research by Orbit Media, the most popular articles have grown longer in the last 5 years. In 2021, a typical 1500-word article gets the highest reads and most engagements.
1500 words seems like a lot to write, isn't it? Statistics for blogging in 2021 have shown that most blogs take 3.5 hours on average to be written. That's not including researching for ideas and information.
So yes, writing a blog consistently is a full-time commitment. To be able to publish once a week, you will need at least 4 to 6 hours of spare time to write. And writing an ideal blog post is would take even more time.
At the end of the day, good habits and discipline will be the greatest contributors to your blogging progress. Thanks for reading. I hope this article has been helpful. If it is, do leave a like and share it around for more reach. Please ask any questions or share some great blog articles in the comments below. Cheers!
