Blogging is one of the most popular content marketing strategies used by entrepreneurs and companies — and for good reason. Many individuals and businesses rely on news and long-form articles for industry insights, which makes it easier to promote products and services while educating your target audience.

But with so many blogs on the internet, how do you get your new blog to stand out? By creating an A+ content strategy, leveraging AI for search engine optimization (SEO), and maximizing the value of your content through research and expert insights.

We’ll show you what makes a blog stand out, how to write a good blog post using an AI marketing tool, and we’ll share a handy checklist to keep you on track.

Blog writing examples to improve your content marketing

Need some examples of blogs to see how our advice works out? Here are some posts that tick all of our boxes:

1. Jasper - 9 Powerful Steps To Writing An Ebook That Converts [+Templates]

In this well-researched post on our site, you’ll see that we’ve included subheadings, broken down the content into bullet points for readability, and added an unmissable CTA at the end.

2. Oh So Spotless - How to Clean Discolored Vinyl Flooring

We like Oh So Spotless’s use of a quick summary at the beginning of this post. They also have a solid intro and have made the post more informative by adding helpful YouTube videos for more in-depth explanations.‍

3. CareerFoundry - What Are the Main Marketing Channels? An Introductory Guide

CareerFoundry makes it easy to navigate their posts by using a table of contents, but they really shine with a detailed CTA at the end of every post to guide readers to their online courses.

4. User Interviews - How to Conduct a Terrible Focus Group Study For UX Research

This blog post from User Interviews knocks two things out of the park. One, the headline sets clear expectations for readers but also sparks curiosity by going against the usual “How to Conduct a Phenomenal Focus Group” approach. 

Two, the opening line works because it goes against the grain also. It reels readers in by making a controversial statement while also touching on pain points readers want to avoid. 

5. Hopin - How to Wrap Up Right: Your Free Post-Event Debrief Template 

We like this post from Hopin for a few reasons. The headline shows a bit of personality without comprising clarity. The intro gets readers engaged by putting them in an imaginary scenario that drives home the importance of the topic. Plus, Hopin makes great use of white space, headings, and lists to make the post easy to skim. 

6. LEON - Coinbase and How They Super-Power Performance Using This Playbook

LEON’s post on Coinbase is a home run, in part, because the headline mentions and peaks interest in the success of a well-known brand. You would also say it alludes to the potential for readers to be successful if they use the plays in the playbook. 

Additionally, it does a good job of speaking directly to a single reader and even making them part of an experience with an embedded, interactive demo. 

What makes a good blog?

There are three essential ingredients for creating a solid blog:

Quality content

They don’t say “content is king” for no reason. Regardless of how readers find your blog, content is the reason they stay. With today’s information overload, people want content that actually helps — no fluff. 

Readers need fact-checked articles, not fake or exaggerated reports.They want guidance that is easy to understand and implement. And you, as the blogger, want them to enjoy reading your posts so much that they happily stay on your website and take the next step.

TL, DR: High-quality content reaches a wider audience and is persuasive enough to convert. Your content should be enjoyable, factual, concise, and actionable.

Consistency 

When you have a personal blog, you can get away with posting sporadically. But that’s rarely true for business blogs. Imagine you found a great blog with practical content and then realized that the last post was published 3 months ago. Oh, and the one before that was published 6 months prior. Yeah, super disappointing. The best blogs post consistently — and frequently, too. 

Posting once a month is consistent, but not frequent enough for a successful blog. You need to post often for regular traffic, especially in the beginning. Aim for one post per week at least. To do this, you’ll need to plan at least one month of blog content ahead and make time in your schedule to create said content. If you need help thinking up blog post ideas, try using a blog idea generator.

TL, DR: Consistency is key, but it doesn’t happen automatically. Have a content calendar to stay full of ideas throughout the month.

Appealing interface

Some blogs post high-quality content every week, but they’re such a pain to read that visitors don’t enjoy the experience. Don’t be one of them. At a minimum, ensure that your blog is easy to navigate and read. Use legible fonts and don’t get so carried away with your blog design that your content is overshadowed or difficult to consume. 

You can find minimalist themes on WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or any CMS you choose. Content management systems like WordPress typically have several options for everything from lifestyle and food blogs to e-commerce and marketing blogs. So, no matter what type of blog you’re building, you’ll be able to find an appropriate theme that you can easily customize even if you don’t have web design experience. 

Organizing content into headings and bullet points can also help give your blog post structure and improve readability. Plus, using keywords in your headings and subheadings can boost search engine rankings. Finally, images and infographics add extra pizzazz and make reading your blog a pleasant experience.

TL, DR: User experience matters. Use complementary colors, minimize unnecessary pop-ups and sidebars, and use themes that allow your content to shine.

5 must-have elements of a good blog post

If you’re new to blogging, hopefully, you’ve already completed the logistics of starting your own blog, and you’re now ready to write your first blog post. Congratulations! But if you’re an old-time blogger looking to shake things up, you’re also on the right path. 

Before we go into detail on how to write a good blog post and share some blog writing examples, let’s break down the vital elements of a blog post that converts.

1. Irresistible headline

Headlines sell. That’s why you click on posts with subjects you didn’t even know you were curious about. Create a powerful headline by using numbers, power, and emotional words, and triggering curiosity (without clickbait). If you’re not sure where to start, try using a headline generator.

2. Riveting opening sentence

You’ve lured them in with your headline, but when you pass the baton to your hook, can it handle the pressure? Open with an empathetic statement, an intriguing fact, or just get straight to the meat of your article in under three sentences. Either way, be sure to avoid fluff that will bore your reader.

3. Highly researched and conversational content

In case you didn’t know, your blog post should not read like an academic paper. Whatever your brand is, conversational (but not overly casual) content sells. People want to feel understood, and most Americans grasp concepts best when presented at 7th-8th grade level anyway.

4. Digestible formatting

Varying your text formatting makes it easier on the eyes and also easier to digest. A long block of text without proper spacing would be intimidating even to strong readers. 

More so, because people are busy and often prefer to skim articles than do a deep dive, your article should let the main points jump out. Use bullet points, bolded phrases, etc.

5. Concluding call-to-action

What’s the point of a blog or blog post if you’re not using it to reach content marketing goals? Your CTA should tie in with your marketing goals. 

Want to sell your ebook? Add a CTA with an incentive to check it out. Need to increase traffic? Ask in your CTA that people share your post, and have easy-to-use share links nearby. Want more subscribers for your email list? You know what to do!

How to write a good blog post that generates traffic

1. Research 

We hate to break it to you, but you can’t write a great blog post without research. It all begins with keyword research. Using the keyword volume, you can find out how relevant your planned article will be for searchers. Then look for ways to get an edge over competitor articles already ranking. This research will also help you in the next step: outlining. 

2. Outline

Once you have your keyword and blog topic, it’s time to create a content outline. An outline is critical to smooth out your writing process. We recommend using an outline generator to speed things up. Jasper is our top pick. See what it does with this keyword:

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You can now flesh out the outline by adding brief notes on what you hope to cover in each subheading.

3. Focused writing

As a busy copywriter or content marketer, you don’t have time to dawdle. Focused work is more efficient, so it helps to have all your research, as well as your outline, on the same page while you work. Be as informative as possible, while remaining as concise as you can. If you need help writing long-form, Jasper, an AI copywriter, can also help. Jasper’s step-by-step guide for creating engaging, long-form content is invaluable.

If you’re writing to drive organic traffic from search engines, the Jasper and SurferSEO integration is also priceless. With it, you can enjoy several of Surfer’s content optimization features within Jasper. For example, you can: 

• See recommended headings and keywords
• Check competing pages on the SERP and see the quality of their content
• See how your content scores as far as quality and comprehensiveness
• Get recommendations for word count range, number of headings, number of images, etc. 

So, not only can you write faster with Jasper, but you can optimize your blog posts to rank for the keywords you’re targeting at the same time. And who doesn’t prefer killing two birds with one stone, especially with something like content creation, which can be time-consuming?

4. Revising

Revising is the perfect time to edit. Cut repetitive information and rewrite weak passive sentences to stronger active ones. It’s also wise to edit with a grammar checker to catch typos you might otherwise miss since you’re both the writer and editor.

5. Promotion and SEO

Just before you publish, there’ll be a few content optimization tasks to check off your to-do list. Add relevant internal links (links to related content hosted on your site), a meta description for your post, and alt-text for any images used. Then, hit publish! Once that’s done, don’t forget to share on social media to get readers’ attention. Well done!

Swipeable blog post checklist for SEO articles

We’ve shared a lot in this post, and we know it might be a lot to keep track of. Don’t worry, we have a nifty blog post checklist to help you step-by-step through the process.

• Keyword research (know your audience, search volume, see what competitors are doing, etc.)
• Choose a keyword and secondary keywords
• Draft first headline (with your keyword)
• Outlining (use Jasper’s Blog Post Outline template)
• Use your keyword in at least two subheadings
• Research your topic
• Write a strong intro (one of Jasper’s blog post templates is designed specifically for intros and can help you with this)
• Write enough content to answer searchers’ questions thoroughly
• Enjoyable, factual, concise, and actionable content
• Simple, conversational language
• Digestible formatting
• Use examples, statistics, and images where possible
• Include your main keyword naturally a few times
• Also, use the secondary keywords at least once each
• Edit your copy
• Remove unnecessary repetition
• Cut fluff (sentences that add bulk, but no value)
• Rewrite passive to active voice
• Use a grammar checker for typos and errors
• Add internal links
• Include outbound links to authority sites, if possible
• Add alt-text (add your keyword!)
• Write your meta description
• Add a CTA at the end of your post
• Draft more headlines that represent the entire article
• Choose your final headline
• Hit publish
• Share on Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media networks

Kick off your content marketing with winning blog posts

Blog posts are central to great content marketing. Whether you’re a beginner blogger or a veteran, there’s always room for growth. Jasper supports content marketers at every stage of the process with over 52 templates for every occasion.

Need help generating ideas, brainstorming outlines, or crafting sharp headlines — at scale, no less? You’re covered. There are plans for every level of use, including Boss Mode, which allows you to give direct instructions to the AI tool. You can also access training resources and tutorials to get the best out of Jasper. 

But the first step is signing up. Get started with Jasper today and take our content templates for a test drive.