[ Action plan for a blog post – Digital Marketing – Part 4 ]
“Personal blog”, a set of terms we often come across on social media. You would see it under categories like travel, writing, arts, crafts and for every other human curiosity which can be documented and told like a story.
Social media has changed the way people “blog”. It is no longer limited to a domain, sub-domain text based activity. People are free to choose a category, a format, a platform and just share.
However, it’s advisable to have more control via a domain or subdomain based blogging to reduce complete dependency on the platform.
A “blog” can take any shape, but planning for one will often tread the same path. Let’s break it down to actionable items so you know how to create a blog post, properly.
#1 Find blog post topic
What you care about is what you write best. Irrespective of the fact that whether you are building your blog post as a part of a series or as an independent post, a topic with which you don’t personally connect would rarely make an impact with your audience.
Consistent posting is key to a good readership, and that demands a well-loved topic which will never exhaust you.
Pick something you really know, something you have worked on for a considerable amount of time or something you have picked up as a hobby and worked on.
#2 Research your topic well
A good blog post is free from fluff.
A blog post either solves a problem or it is well expressed. While categories like poetry or stories need not link to external entities, it is ideal to have external references for informative blog posts or posts that are both informative and expressive.
These support content could be numbers, other articles under respected domains or other independent research.
A good research-based blog post has a timeless quality to it and stays relevant for long.
#3 Decide on format
Format inclines with what you feel most comfortable with.
There are three formats which are commonly used:
- Text
- Image
- Video
Some topics fit well with a particular format while other few can be mixed.
E.g. Travel blogging can be a typed blog, pictures of visited places or a video capturing the whole experience. For a category like visual art or paintings, it would make more sense to have an image-based blog before you entice someone to watch a video about it or read.
#4 Match post format with the apt platform
Don’t post about your love stories on LinkedIn.
Social media platforms can give your blog post a good organic boost, provided you choose the right platform for what you promote.
- LinkedIn – Promote what fits your career or gets you hired. It is ideal to keep personal, political or religious postings away from it.
- Instagram – Works wonders for travel and visual arts. Also works great for short stories or poems with a good visibility factor.
- Facebook page & groups – Facebook groups have high community sentiments for any category you blog topic might belong to. Great for generating organic traffic to your page or website.
- YouTube & TikTok – Video engagement has seen an uptick over the years. While YouTube may demand quality and stick to the topic, TikTok is an easy and trend-following platform.
Map your blog posts with the right platform. When cross-promoting, make judgments based on the audience type you are serving to.
#5 Appropriate time of posting
Timing is key.
Often bloggers post as and when they want. Platforms have their own peak times.
Hootsuite compiled a list of the best times to post on social media and it serves as a good reference point to start.
However, it is more beneficial to experiment and note what day and what time works for your blog post and make future posts accordingly.
#6 Explore free and paid platforms
Explore more publishing options.
It’s great to have a good number of blog posts on your site to drive initial traffic and provide information on your niche.
With time, as your thoughts mature on a category, you might develop more insights. Feel free to put some of those content behind a paywall or for members/subscribers.
There are many platforms available for free or with a price for you to make a decision. More on that here – How to make money from blogging.
#7 Organize everything in content calendar
Organized spreadsheet for visibility.
All your future blog posts will follow the same path if you are writing informative or information-expressive-mix type blog posts. Your topic category may dictate some more steps or let go of a few from what’s listed above.
Eventually, no matter what you create, it has to be consistent in terms of topic and posting. Create a spreadsheet so you can track your topic ideas, date of posting, status, and links.
This is more or less you will need to get keep in mind when it comes to planning a blog post. Good luck with your blogging future!
Older posts in Digital Marketing series
Digital Marketing – Part 1 – Digital Marketing for Artists
Digital Marketing – Part 2.1 – Blog – Everything to know before starting one
Digital Marketing – Part 2.2 – How to make money from blogging
Digital Marketing – Part 3 – 3 Basic SEO tips for beginners