Congratulations on your decision to start a blog! While there are design decisions and SEO strategies for blog posts, I wanted to focus here on approaching the writing of blog posts.
You should already have a plan for your blog
You should already know what the purpose of your blog is and the kind of content you’ll be including. If you haven’t created a plan, see this blog post, “Planning your blog content.”
Deciding on a topic for a new blog post
Now that you have planned the blog content in general, you can start writing blog posts. Your first blog post might be more of an introduction about who you are and why you're writing the blog. From then on, you’ll want to choose a topic that fits into the focus of the blog, which you should have determined in advance.
Beyond that, ideas for blog posts can come from questions your clients or potential clients ask, something you’ve learned or experienced in your business, or comments and questions you see in industry-related forums. You might also find ideas through relevant news you come across on social media sites and industry blogs or that you hear in podcasts or videos done by others you follow in your industry.
I keep a running list of blog post ideas as they come to me. That way I can look back at the list when I’m ready to write something new. Try to vary the subject of blog posts as you plan the next one so you don’t write several blog posts in a row about the same subject.
Organizing the material
Each blog post you write should focus on a single topic or idea or tell one story. A traditional blog post has an introduction, supporting paragraphs that describe the idea, and a short summary. You can also include short videos in blog posts.
The length of a traditional blog post can really vary depending on how much you have to say, but somewhere between 6 and 20 paragraphs would be typical of most blog posts. Unlike an essay, you’ll want to keep each paragraph fairly short (four or five sentences at the most) to avoid presenting the reader with an overwhelming block of text.
Other types of blog posts that highlight creativity or are more of a personal journal don’t have to follow these rules. I’ve also seen blog posts used as the container for podcasts, where there is only an image, a short description, and a link to the podcast.
Add visual interest
Posts often have at least one image for visual interest. If you're using a Squarespace website, you'll also want a social sharing photo and a thumbnail. You should also add tags and categories to assist in searches and to give you options for organizing posts later.
Get help from headings
Regardless of the format you choose, I also recommend putting in headings around sections of the post if it has multiple paragraphs. That allows readers to scan the headings to see if they're interested in that section of the post. Many people these days skim written material rather than reading it in its entirety. Search engines also pay more attention to keywords in headings than in regular text.
How often should you write a new blog post?
In addition to the topic of what to write about, the second question I get most often from clients is how often they need to publish new blog posts.
Once a month is my recommendation
After blogging now for many years, my advice is to aim for about once a month if you can. Some ambitious solopreneurs choose to blog more often—twice a month or even once a week. Unless you have a lot of information to convey quickly or your posts are mostly off-the-cuff thoughts, I find blogging more frequently than once a month is daunting.
Choose an interval that’s right for you
Think about all that you’re handling, in your personal life, attending to clients, running your business, and creating social media posts. Now consider that a new blog post usually takes between three and five hours, more if there’s a lot of research involved. Then decide on an interval that feels right to you.
Consistency is more important than frequency
If once a month is sounding like more than you can manage, aim for a less frequent interval that works for you. Each blog post adds content to your website and gives you cumulative client-attracting and SEO benefits. Whatever you decide, try for consistency. It’s far better to write a new blog post once a quarter and continue doing it for many years than to write five monthly blog posts and then give up.
Don’t forget to increase the reach of your blog post
Blog posts are useful additions to your website, but there are other ways to take advantage of the work you’ve done to create them. Any time you can draw people to your website, where they’ll find out more about you and your services, is a chance to convert visitors to clients.
Post the link to your blog post on social media
When your blog post is published, you’ll want to post the link to the blog post on your social media accounts. If you have a Squarespace website, include a horizontal social sharing image as part of the post settings. That image shows automatically as a link preview on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
Include the link to your blog post in your email campaigns
If you have a mailing list, include a section in your latest newsletter that highlights and links to the new blog post. You don’t need to repeat the full blog post in your newsletter, but write an inviting description, add a link, and perhaps an image to highlight the blog post and draw them to your website.
Re-post your blog post on social media as evergreen content
If the blog post continues to be relevant after the date you created it, treat it as evergreen content and post a link on social media again some time later. It’s a good idea to check the blog post before you share it again and add any updates if needed.
Cross-link your blog post on other blog posts
Like the section called “Other Blog Posts You Might Like” at the end of this post, you can add links to related blog posts in the text, the sidebar, or at the end of a post. If people are interested in the subject matter, they may read another blog post. That gives them more information and helps them further understand your expertise. It also has the added benefit of lengthening the “bounce rate” of visitors on your site. That makes your website look better to search engines like Google.
Clip bits of blog post content for social media posts
You can often clip multiple small ideas from a blog post to share in a coordinated social media campaign too. That helps you re-use your work efficiently and ties everything together for that time frame.
I’ve enjoyed blogging as a way to share information, because that’s something I love to do. It often leads me to researching more about the subject and learning new things that I find myself folding into my business as I help website clients. Your blog is a part of your online presence and however and whatever you choose to share, it will be a valuable asset for attracting your ideal clients.
