Annie is the driving force behind content strategy for clients. She uncovers insights about what motivates buyers and uses that knowledge to shape client websites and editorial calendars. Annie brings several years of PR experience gained from working at the amusement park, Cedar Point.
10 Killer Tips: How to Format a Perfect Blog Post
When it comes to content marketing, appearances are everything. Taking the time to format your articles into the perfect blog post can be the difference between website visitors who convert into leads, and readers who get bored after just a few words. Adam Thompson points out that “if [your blog] doesn’t look inviting, attractive, and easy-to-read, you’re less likely to earn social shares or natural backlinks.” Failing to format can ruin your best intentions of growing an audience and subscribers, improving your SEO, and generating leads.
Plus, formatting the perfect blog post is relatively pretty easy. Conceptualizing, researching, writing, and publishing high-quality content can be pretty darn time-consuming. Separating your content into easy-to-digest chunks and formatting for publication can generally be accomplished in as little as 15-30 minutes, tops. Here are the sharpest tips we’ve found anywhere for ensuring your content’s user-friendly:
1. Use Subheaders
If you had to pick just one type of formatting to include in each perfect blog post you publish, it should be subheaders. Check out the remarkable difference in the image below, where the same content is displayed both with and without subheaders:
2. Keep Your Posts Narrow
If you’re using a WordPress or Blogger layout with a particularly wide content column, you could be detracting from your user experience. Pick a new layout, or adjust your column width. Annabel Candy recommends 80 characters or less in width. Consider the big difference between the images below:
3. Bold Text
Is there anything more attention-grabbing than bold text? Writing an entire piece of content in bold would definitely be overkill, but using this tactic to highlight important sentences is a brilliant formatting technique. Occasional bolded sentences have a place in the perfect blog post, and can improve the stickiness of your content marketing.
4. Use the Right Images
That being said, not all images are created equal. Marketing Experiments found in a study that pictures of actual employees have a 95% higher conversion rate than stock photos. Their conclusion was that there’s nothing inherently wrong with stock images, but there is a problem with pictures that don’t look believable. Don’t pad your blogs with pictures of smiling models eating salad, especially if they don’t enhance your comment. Rely on images that fit and further the message of your perfect blog post.
5. Use Graphs
For content marketers in technical industries or covering data-heavy topics, graphs can be a crucial tool. Data visualization can break up the monotony of dry articles, and they’re perfectly primed for sharing. Whether you’re creating or curating graphics, they can add significant visual interest and depth to your perfect blog post. The graph below is a fine example of data that’s relayed in a visually-appealing and easy-to-share way:
6. Use Lists
Does anyone need convincing that modern blog readers love list posts? They’ve got serious viral appeal – as evidenced by the ultra-popular websites Buzzfeed and Cracked. Whether or not you format your entire blog as a list, including bullet points (as shown above) can allow you to convey important messages to visitors who are just skimming your article.
7. Use Short Paragraphs
You don’t need to apply traditional rules of composition when creating the perfect blog post. Short paragraphs draw emphasis to important points. As Darren Rowse points out, “large slabs of text” can be downright unappealing to blog readers.
8. Leverage Text Call-Outs
9. Use Image Captions
When a website visitor starts reading a blog post, where does their eye go first? To your header image, of course. Including image captions can allow you to hook visitors who aren’t entirely sold on the idea of your article, and convert them into readers.
Your image caption should fit the theme of the picture, but it should also be descriptive of your article and engaging. Ask questions, include power stats, and strive to be intriguing. Image captions are nearly as important as blog headlines, so they shouldn’t be neglected.
10. Use Multiple Sizes of Subheaders
If you’re writing a long or complex piece of content, consider including different sizes of subheaders. Start your article off with an H1 tag, separate larger sections with H2 tags, and initiate paragraphs with H3 headers, a concept that’s illustrated below:
Create An Outline
Have you ever received a really awful gift? I mean, a gift so inconceivably terrible, so obviously not you that you had a difficult time concealing your surprised disappointment? It would be ungrateful and selfish to admit you didn’t like a gift another person went out of her way to purchase, wrap and present to you, so you graciously accept, oohing and aahing over the unwanted item.
This is the critical paragraph where you get right to the point following your intro. It sets the expectation for the reader by telling them exactly what they’re going to learn. It should also carry over the theme of your intro; in this case, gift-giving:
When you fail to use personalization, that’s precisely the sort of question echoing in the minds of your customers and prospects. But use personalization well, and your customers will light up like a child on Christmas morning — and trust your brand to deliver the software solution they can trust to meet their needs. In fact, a study released by Demand Gen Report shows personalized experiences can increase sales by as much as 20 percent.No matter how successful your company, everyone is looking for a final-quarter bump. Let’s look at a few of the ways you can use personalization to boost sales — fast.
Blog Structure Template Examples
1. List post AKA “listicle”
Listicle blog structure cheat sheet
| (H1) Title | |
| (P) Introduction | First of all, tell your audience what this listicle is about. |
| (H2) List item | Quickly introduce each list item. Keep the description short and build up to its main features or highlights — or both. |
| (H3) Pros | If you’re listing products, don’t forget to mention its advantages over the competition. |
| (H3) Cons | To make your listicle more authentic and compelling, don’t forget to mention some cons for each list item. |
| (H3) Pricing *if applicable | You can end each list item with a short summary of their pricing information. |
| Conclusion |
Examples of listicles
2. Product review
Product review blog structure cheat sheet
| (H1) Title | |
| (P) Introduction | Tell readers a little bit about the product and how you came across it. If this is a sponsored post, it’s also a good idea to mention it now. |
| (H2) Why you need this product | You can get your audience excited about the product by discussing the reasons why they should buy it. Keep this section short and try to focus on the reader’s pain points to get their attention. |
| (H2) Product features | This is typically the longest section of a product review, but it’s also often the easiest to write. As clearly and concisely as you can, describe the main selling points of the product you’re reviewing. |
| (H2) Pros | The pros are perhaps the most important elements of a product review, especially if you’re an affiliate. Avoid going overboard and exaggerating features just for the sake of generating more sales. |
| (H2) Cons | Even if you’re reviewing an affiliate product, you should at least try to mention some of its cons. You can make them sound less significant by sharing some workarounds and potential fixes to issues. |
| (H2) Pricing | Just like with listicles, the pricing section of a review must be short. Create a pricing table for a chance to appear via a table rich snippet in search engine results. |
| (H2) Alternatives | Feel free to avoid writing this section if you’re reviewing an affiliate product. But if you’re not, showing alternatives can maximize the post’s value to your readers. |
| Conclusion |
Examples of product reviews
3. Step-by-step tutorial
Step-by-step tutorial blog structure cheat sheet
| (H1) Title | |
| (P) Introduction | Start by introducing what readers will gain after finishing the tutorial. |
| (H2) Definition of terms | To help readers get results, write a short section that defines all the terms they’ll encounter. This is only necessary if you’re covering an advanced topic. |
| (H2) Step | When writing about a step, it’s important to use crisp and clear sentences. Use simple words to help readers understand the instructions. |
| (H3) What tool to use | Recommending a tool to use will maximize reader engagement and motivation to take action. Just share a few tips or perhaps a mini-tutorial to position them for success. |
| (H2) Additional tips | After laying down the essential steps, give your audience additional tips and reminders before they get going. Talk about the mistakes to avoid, best practices to follow, and tips for problems they may encounter. |
| Conclusion |
Examples of step-by-step tutorials
4. Expert roundup
Additional Tips for Your Blog Post Structure
1. Use a “Table of Contents”
2. Add images every 300 words
3. Add tweetable quotes
4. Insert dividers before headings and subheadings
5. Know the right way to use lists
How to build a WordPress website
The benefits of WordPress
6. Use transition words and phrases
| Type | Transition Words and Phrases |
| Similarity / Addition | Again, moreover, also, and, as well as, additionally, not to mention, together with, as a matter of fact, identically, equally, in the same way as, in addition, like, too, as, in fact, of course |
| Conditions | In case, given that, if, in view of, whenever, while, even if, if for some reason, as long as, consequently |
| Summary / Restatement | To summarize, therefore, in short, in summary, based on that, after all, as can be seen, all things considered, in essence, to sump up, to recap, to cap it off |
| Contradiction | However, conversely, on the other hand, rather, otherwise, notwithstanding, regardless, nevertheless, nonetheless, as much as, even though, despite, t the same time, in reality, regardless |
| Example / Emphasis | In other words, for example, to demonstrate, as an example, notably, particularly, in particular, to emphasize, to explain, including, like |
| Consequence / Result | Consequently, as a result, in turn, thereupon, in which case, for this reason, in that case, if that’s the case, under those circumstances, hence, in effect |
7. Use the Three Es when writing conclusions
Empower
Enforce
Encourage
Key Takeaways
- The title’s purpose is to grab attention, so keep it short and describe your post
- Write a short introduction that tells why your readers need to see your content
- Listicles discuss a number of related subjects that can be mentioned in any order
- Product reviews need sections that discuss pros, cons, tips, and possible alternatives
- Step-by-step tutorials should enable readers to accomplish a task by the end of the post
- When writing expert roundups, add a short introduction of each expert
- Write a FAQ section to address the most common concerns about an advanced topic
- Use a Table of Contents to allow readers to jump ahead to the section they need
- Add images or tweetable quotes every 300 words
- Try using dividers to make headings and subheadings more visible
- Bullet points are for unorganized lists, while numbers are for ordered lists
- Use transition words and phrases to improve your content’s flow
- In the conclusion, empower by restating the benefits they gained from your article
- Provide and enforce clear instructions in the conclusion
- Encourage readers to do easy tasks, like leaving a comment or sharing your post
Authorship:
https://writtent.com/blog/format-perfect-blog-post-10-tips/
https://www.kunocreative.com/blog/writing-the-perfect-blog-post
https://masterblogging.com/blog-post-structure/