It can be lonely to start a parrotfish dive blog.
Your goal is to create great content that provides useful information and inspires your audience.
But how do you get the best from every one of your blog posts?
More importantly how do you reach the people who really want to read what you have to say in your blog?
Well that's what I'm here to help you with. These guidelines will help you increase the reach of your blog posts if you follow them.
Blog Post Checklist
1. Blog Title
When writing a title for your blog post you need to give it some serious thought. The title is your headline, it is the thing that will make people decide if they want to read further or just pass on by. Keep your title brief and to-the-point. Always include your main keyword within your title in order to improve your posts SEO. If you are struggling to come up with a title you like try 'Portents content idea generator' for some alternative and often amusing suggestions.
2. Content
Make sure the main body of your blog post is clear and easy to read. Keep paragraphs under five lines. keep sentences short - twenty words or less is recommended. Plain English is best - you don't want to display your knowledge of the most complicated words in English. Break your text up with sub-headings - this not only makes your readers experience easier to take in it also makes your post look more interesting.
Your blog will be read by people like you who are interested in your content, but you must still ensure that the content is engaging enough to keep their attention.
3. Images
Include at least one featured image. Humans are visual creatures and an eye catching feature image will get their attention. Uploading an image should not exceed 256kb in size to ensure it loads quickly. Don't forget to fill in the alt attribute box for your image and be sure to include your keyword's in the description.
4. SEO
SEO stands for search engine optimization. Basically the better your SEO the more chance your blog post will have of appearing higher up in search engine rankings
There are a number of things you can do to improve your SEO.
Your main keyword/s should be included in your title and in the first paragraph of any post. Also, make sure you use it often throughout your posts.
Ensure your post is at least 1000 words long as search engines like a decent amount of content.
Include alt attributes in the images you use so this will display in the event of your image no loading.
Include your keyword/s in a brief meta description. The meta description is the text that appears under your main title in search engine results.
5. Links
Include links whenever you can in your posts. You can link to external websites as well as direct people to other relevant sites on your website or blog posts that may be of interest to them. Your SEO will be enhanced by including links.
6. Credit Your Sources
If you have done research for your blog post or have used quotes or content from other places, be sure to give credit to your sources. This will give credibility to your content and show readers that you have reliable sources.
7. Social Sharing
When you set up your blog be sure to have social sharing buttons available from the start. This gives your readers the ability to share to their chosen social platform with just one click.
8. End and Publish
End your post by asking your readers a question in order to encourage them to comment. You can also make a call-to-action related to your post, e.g. Download your guide now.
Before you publish, proofread the entire thing. If you need to make changes do so, then proof read the whole thing again to be sure it is all as it should be.