8 Must have Elements For every Blog Post

Hey blog fam wanted to check in with you on a topic that’s been on my mind for some time now. The elements of a good blog post!

Are you new to blogging?

Wondering what you should be writing about, and how to structure your articles?

Those were definite concerns of mine as a new blogger, How do you write a blog and what the heck will I be writing about?

Related Reading: How to Write More Engaging Blog Posts

When it comes to blogging I find my-self reading (studying) content from different writers with the hope of understanding what makes there content great.

From my perspective blogging has a sort of a”wild wild west” type appeal. In the earliest days of settlements in the United States the eastern part of the country is where people landed.

As settlers moved west they found open territory and had the freedoms of exploring and creating there own way of doing things.

What Does A Good Blog Post Consist Of

So in reference to blogging yes there is a structure, or a format to follow. There’s SEO, mobile responsive theme’s, and making sure your website provides a good user experience.

When it comes to the writing part you will see a different flavor (so to speak) from blog to blog.

Reading the same topic on different websites you find so much variation it’s like a virtual open territory, and that’s the good thing about blogging.

That’s also how I describe it being like the “wild wild west”.

Elements Of A Great Blog Post

To attract an audience you will want great quality content. You want to “wow” your readers with your work.

Many years ago I worked in a hotel and as I went through the training process we learned in order to be successful in hospitality you need to “wow” your customers.

What about your service or product will make them want to come back?

With so many choices out there you have to deliver significant value, and great quality.

When it comes to your blog content you have to give your readers nothing less than than your best!

Write each article on a single topic based on your niche. Present a solution to a problem, or provide answers to a question that your audience has.

You want to write useful and meaningful content that your readers can understand, learn from, and even share with others.

Every successful blogger writes in there own tone. They also follow a format which we will jump into in this article.

Killer Title

First impressions do matter!

When a website visitor see’s your title they need to feel compelled to click through to your article.

A catchy title should read like a tabloid headline. This gives the feeling of “I wonder what’s this article all about.”

FYI-whatever you title your article make sure to give your reader just that!

If your visitor feels let down or like your article didn’t really live up to it’s title you will loose them.

This is something we cannot afford as bloggers.

A Banging Introduction Paragraph

With so many choices on the web to get information you have to make your presence known.

A typical web surfer will come to your website for the first time and quickly scan your content.

With a great catchy title you increase the odds of the reader clicking through to your site.

Once on your site you need a great opening paragraph to “hook” your readers attention.

Let me suggest that you don’t beat around the bush or tell an unrelated story.

Tell your reader what they will get if they stick around and read your post to the end.

You can ask a question as an example: “Did you just launch your website? and need to learn how to get more visitors to your site”

I blog about blogging, and teach others how to start, grow, and monetize their website.

That would be a great lead question in my opening paragraph because it tells the reader what the post is all about.

It also solves a problem because they have a new site with no visitors.

Think of something creative related to your topic and crush those openers.

Proper Blog Structure

I’ll keep this part simple. When it comes to blog structure you want to create an outline. In your outline include subtopics to support your main idea.

This is all structured using headings. Headings are a great way to break up your content so it’s not a huge block of text on a screen.

That would be boring and a complete turn off to your readers. Proper use of headings is important.

You have an H1 tag. The H1 will be the title of your article. Then we have an H2 tag.

The H2 heading can be used to signify a main idea in your article. The other lower level heading’s are H3, H4, H5, and H6.

A good use of the lower level headings would be to use an H3 tag inside of your H2 main idea section.

The H3 will represent supporting topics to your main idea.

On the topic of blog structure each of your articles may be related in some way. You should also interlink related articles to improve user experience.

So in this example you write a slammin’ post on Instagram Marketing that includes step by step instructions on using Instagram to market your brand.

You can also write a post on best times to post images, or ways to brand your Instagram to stand out.

These are separate posts that are related. You can include a link in your Instagram Marketing post from all other Instagram related posts.

This is a great way to keep readers on your site longer, as they are able to easily go for post to post on your site.

This is also good for Google. You send a signal to Google that you have a good amount of content that covers a specific topic.

Blog Post Images

Depending on your niche you can be really creative here. Using images in your blog posts help to do a couple of things.

1. They make a better story. We all have heard the saying a picture is worth a thousand words!

This is very true and when it comes to blogging your images will add much value to your content.

2. Using images is good for Google. I have had blog posts that rank on Google SERP’s and even had images that rank on page one.

This is an opportunity to enhance your content make sure to use great looking images include your keywords in the alt text area and optimize.

Pinnable Image

I am an active user on Pinterest. If you aren’t using Pinterest to promote your blog you are definitely missing out on some potential website traffic.

Your website visitor will land on your page and read your content and want to share to Pinterest. Having a great looking pinnable image will solve that issue.

I have had people comment on a blog post of mine and suggest adding a pinnable image because they were really interested in sharing my content.

Don’t miss out on this important element!

Social Sharing Icons

Make your blog posts completely shareable. Use social icons on your site to encourage readers to share your content.

There are a number of plugins both free and paid you can use. I prefer the Social Warfare plugin.

This plugin is one of those free with extra paid options.

If you give it a try you can use the free version and have the basic options which would be like the share buttons at the beginning and end of this post.

You can get started with Social Warfare here

Use Opt-In Forms

An opt-in form is the perfect way to grow your email list. Using an opt-in the right way makes the difference.

So how do we implement this? Most visitors to your site will not be moved by a sign up box on your page that says sign up for newsletter. Instead create a “freebie”

A freebie or lead magnet is something that offers value to your visitors for free in exchange for their email.

A free downloadable ebook that helps a visitor loose weight is great if you have a fitness blog.

Something that readers will see value in. To use opt-ins on your website you need an email provider.

I use MailerLite and they have a new blogger friendly service. You can sign up totally free and your account will remain free up to your first 1,000 subscribers.

You can get started with MailerLite here

Call to Action

Okay so here’s a big one. In my former sales career teaching sales people all the techniques to close sales would lead up to this point.

Asking for the sale!

Most people presented the product just fine and wondered why they walked out of the house without the sale?

The secret was they never asked for the business. I think many bloggers do a great job at delivering good content, but still end up with very few email subscribers, a purchase for a course, or a book they offer.

The reason for this is they don’t ask for what they want or in bloggers terms, use a “call to action” (CTA).

This is where you need to move your visitor to make a decision. By giving them specific instructions you can increase your engagements.

Here’s a simple example to use at the end of a blog post:

“If you enjoyed this post please share it on your favorite social site!” or “If you have your own experiences share them in the comments below!

In Conclusion

There you have it! The 8 elements of a good blog post

1. Killer Title
2. Bangin’ intro paragraph
3. Proper blog structure
4. Blog post images
5. Pinnable images
6. Social sharing icons
7. Use opt-in forms
8. Call to action

Now with this guide you can write killer blog posts. You have a structure to go by and reduce the amount of times you may get stuck trying to come up with a great article.

As you get this down begin to add your own style and make it your own complete outline for writing great content all the time.

Now over to you

I’m curious? What are some of your best tips when it comes to pumping out great blog content? Leave a comment below, it would be great to hear from you!

If you’re reading this post and have not started a website-enroll in our FREE go at your own pace course.

In this course we guide you step by step and assist you with creating your very own stunning website!