How to Create a Blog from Scratch: A Step-by-Step Guide

9. Writing Posts

Now we’ve finally reached the point where you can start writing blog posts.

But once again, and since this is also a crucial part of the success of any blog, there are loads of things to consider and boxes to check, so let me run through it all with you and get you on to writing your first post.

Where to Post?

Firstly, let’s look at how and where you should post your articles on your blog.

This is done in the WordPress backend of your blog.

Click on “Posts” in the left sidebar of the WordPress backend of your blog.

Then click the “Add New” button at the top of the page to add a new post.

And there you have it. Here is the area where you will put the title, sub headings, body text and pictures that will become your first awesome blog post!

Post Titles

Every blog post that you will write needs a title, and a good one while you’re at it!

The title is important, mainly because it is what will entice the reader to click on your post when it appears in the search results or not.

It has to be inviting and interesting, but also, to some extent, accurately describe what the article is about.

But first, let’s look at the technical aspects of placing your title in your post in WordPress.

To add the title of your post, click inside the “Add Title” box and type in your title.

And there you have it. Your first post has a title and you can now focus on writing the rest of your first post.

Things to Keep in Mind When Choosing Titles for Your Posts

• Keep it short (under 60 characters)
• Make it interesting and inviting so the reader would want to click on it to read further
• Don’t mislead the reader just to get a click, it might end up harming your blog in the long run instead

Post Sub Topics (Sub Headings)

This would be the “meat” of the blog post.

What would you write about under your main topic? What are the things that your readers would want to know about the topic of your post? How do you come up with these sub topics?

Give it Some Thought

Since you have a basic understanding of the main topic you are writing your post about, you should be able to come up with a few sub topics that are related to the main topic, so just think about it a write them down.

I usually tend to go through the what, when, where, how, why questions related to the main topic to see which ones would apply.

There are also some other places where we can find some ideas as to what related things people are interested in, based on your main topic.

Google

Once again, back to Google for some more insight.

“People also ask” and “searches related to” are great places in the Google search results to find sub topics to cover in your posts, but only if they are relevant.

Go to Google (incognito or private mode) and enter the query that you will be writing about and press enter.

Scroll down to the “People also ask” section and look for related queries that could fit nicely into your post. Maybe it’s something that a user will think to ask while looking for information on the main search query.

Clicking on the queries will not only show you a result to that specific query, but also expand the section by adding additional rows of queries.

Similarly, you can scroll down to the “Searches related to” section and look for related queries that could fit nicely into your post.

Top Posts

You can also go through the top search results on the first page of Google and make notes of the topics those top posts cover.

If you find sub topics that are covered by most of them, it would be good to cover them in your post as well.

But in general, try to add ones that the top post have missed as this will only add more value to the reader and make your post a more comprehensive resource for that topic or search query.

EXAMPLE POST

Based on the examples, here is an example of the post that I would put together on “are meditation cushions necessary.”

Post Length

Post length should be judged by the top performing post from the Google search results.

If the top posts are 500 words, you can write a post with 1500 words by adding more value.

If the posts are long, comprehensive and covers all related topics very well, then the competition might be too strong to compete.

But even if the top posts are 1500 words, writing a more comprehensive, 3500 word article could get you on the first page if not number 1.

Post Structure

Let’s look at how to structure your blog posts in WordPress.

Images

We will get to images in more details a bit later, but let’s take a quick look at how to add an mage to your blog post.

It is quite common to have a picture at the top of your post, just after your awesome title you have just written, so let’s add the block so long where we can place the image later.

To add the image block, click inside the “Start writing or type / to choose a block” section.

After clicking inside the block, click on the + (plus) sign that appears on the right.

This should bring up a grid of options of various blocks that can be added to your post.

Select the “Image” block by clicking on it.

You should now see a grey block like the one in the above example.

Sub Headings

Now let’s format your sub headings in WordPress so Google can understand them as well.

Once again click inside the “Start writing or type / to choose a block” section.

Now start typing your sub heading.

After you are done typing your sub heading, click on the “paragraph sign” just above your sub heading.

Select the “Heading” block by clicking on it.

WordPress will now automatically format your sub heading to be a heading (H2).

It is important to structure your post’s headings and sub headings correctly, following the right hierarchical structure.

All sub headings should be H2.

Sub sub headings under those H2 Sub headings should be formatted as H3, and sub sub sub headings under those as H4, etc

To change sub headings to H3, H4, etc, click on the H2 button above the text, as seen in the above example.

Once the box pops up with heading format options, select the one that applies to your hierarchical structure.

Above is an example of that.

Lists

You can also create lists to make some content easier to understand for the reader.

To add a list, once again, click on the “Start writing or type / to choose a block” section.

Then click on the + (plus) sign to add a new block.

Select the “Lists” option by clicking on it.

A list with a bullet point will appear.

Start typing your list.

You can also change your list format to display numbers instead of bullets.

Simply click on the numbered list option as seen in the above example.

You will now have a numbered list.

Tables

Sometimes a table is needed to better relay information and make it easier for the reader to understand.

To add a table, once again, click on the “Start writing or type / to choose a block” section.

Then click on the + (plus) sign to add a new block.

Expand the “Formatting” options by clicking on the arrow on the right and then select “Table” from the options by clicking on it.

Once the table block appears, type in the number of columns and rows you need for your table, and click “Create Table”.

Your table will appear in your post.

Click inside the blocks and start filling out the table with your awesome and insightful content.

And there you have your first table.

Links

Another important thing that can really help your blog to grow, is by putting link in your posts that either links to other post on your blog, or to external sources.

Linking to other posts and/or pages on your blog is great because users stay longer on your site and this gives all the right signals to Google that people are enjoying your blog.

Linking Outside of Your Blog

Although it’s better to try and keep people on your blog as long as possible, sometimes there’s a lot of value to the reader to link to an external source or another website.

If your post is about how to apply for a credit card at a specific bank, you’ll want to link them to the application page on that bank’s website at the end of your post for example.

To create a link, simply select the text that you want to add the link to. In the above example you can see that I have selected “another site”.

Click on the “link” button as seen in the above example.

You will now see a block that appears where you can start typing the url of where you want to link to.

After typing in the URL, you can select the option for the link to open in a new tab.

This is highly recommended, otherwise, it will take people away from your post completely.

Now click on either the “enter” sign at the top right of the block or click on the link (URL) button that appears under the URL you typed.

Your link has been created.

Linking to Your Other Posts

Linking to other posts and/or on your blog is done exactly the same way as above, just copy the URL of the relevant posts and/or pages when inserting the link.

Embedding Videos in Your Posts

Embedding videos, specially from YouTube, is another great way to add value to your post for the reader.

If you don’t have your own videos to add, use a video from someone else’s YouTube channel if it is relevant to your post.

To do this, once again, click on the + to add a block.

Look for or search for “video” and select it.

Then you can either “Upload your own video”, which would make your post very heavy so it’s not recommended, or simply insert a YouTube, or other, URL.

Clicking on the arrow will then embed the video into your post, where it will play for your reader to enjoy without having to leave your post.

COMPLETE EXAMPLE POST

You can check out the complete example post here, or by clicking on the following title: “Are Meditation Cushions Necessary? All You Need to Know!” or one of the below links.

https://ultimatebrandbible.com/are-meditation-cushions-necessary-all-you-need-to-know/

Are Meditation Cushions Necessary? All You Need to Know!

Grammarly

An absolutely fantastic tool to incorporate with your writing is Grammarly.

If you prefer to write in a Microsoft Word document before pasting it into your “post” in the WordPress backend, you can simply copy and paste the text into the Grammarly app on their website and fix your articles there, before copying it over to WordPress.

I prefer to write all my posts directly in my WordPress and make use of the Grammarly Chrome extension, which lets me fix anything directly in my WordPress as I am writing my posts.

I personally have the Grammarly premium version (paid version) and it’s absolutely worth it.

Feel free to check it out here, sign up for a free account and test it out. Definitely get the Chrome extension. And if you feel it could benefit you, try out the premium version of Grammarly.

Disclaimer: I am an affiliate partner of Grammarly and do receive a small commission if you sign up through my link.

Post Schedule

When it comes to the post schedule for your blog, consistency is absolutely key.

Usually when you’re just getting started, it’s recommended to post as much as possible, at least 3 posts per week, until you reach about 50 posts I’d say.

After that, you could scale back to about 1-2 posts per week and maintain that over time.

This should give your blog the best chance of growing quick enough to bring you some benefits after about 1 year of blogging.

Obviously there are many factors to consider and not all results are guaranteed, but this is a good estimate of what could be possible for you.