The Ultimate Blog Post Writing Formula

The Ultimate Blog Post Writing Formula

You and I are not that different.

We both know that writing high quality blog posts is essential for our business.

The only problem is, it can be an enormous challenge to consistently publish blog posts that generate…

• leads
• sales
• and customers

… for your business.

To make matters worse, there are over 300 million other blogs online.

This means you’ve got to put in the time, energy, and effort to make your blog posts stand out from your competition.

But without a proven step-by-step formula to help you write high quality blog posts…

… you’ll end up wasting valuable time creating blog posts that don’t convert your readers into leads or customers.

However there is some good news here… you’re not alone!

Fact is, I used to struggle when it came time to write blog posts.

I’d wring my hands and get knots in my stomach when I sat down at my computer to stare at that dreaded blinking cursor.

That is until I developed the Ultimate Blog Post Writing Formula that I’m about to share with you.

Using this blog post writing formula I’m now able to consistently create high quality blog posts that draw in readers…

and turn them into laser targeted leads and highly profitable customers.

So if you want to be able to crank out high quality blog posts in hours instead of days…

… check out the Ultimate Blog Post Writing Formula below.

Ready?

Let’s dive in!

The Ultimate Blog Post Writing Formula

As you keep reading I’m going to dive into each section of the ultimate blog post writing formula in more detail.

But here’s the basic outline of the formula…

1. Headline
2. Featured Image
3. Introduction
4. Lead in Paragraph (optional)
5. Talking Points
6. Additional Media
7. Conclusion
8. Final Call To Action

Let’s cover each of the sections one by one so you’ll know exactly how to crank out share worthy blog posts that get you more exposure, leads, and sales!

Starting with…

1.) The Headline

The first element of our ultimate blog post writing formula is the headline.

Your headline is arguably the most important aspect of any blog post.

Consider this quote from famed advertising tycoon David Ogilvy…

What does that quote from Mr. Ogilvy tell us?

Headlines matter… a lot!

The last thing you want to do is spend a ton of time and effort on your blog post…

… and then come up with a headline as an afterthought.

Why?

Because the headline is the first thing your potential reader sees and the primary gauge they use to decide if they want to read your blog post or not.

Simply put, your headline is calling out to your potential readers and promising them what they’ll get in return if they click on over and read your blog post.

[Pro Tip: For SEO optimization and to increase the readability of your blog post… be sure to make your headline an H1 tag. For more info on this see the image below]

[RELATED: CLICK HERE to learn more about how to write attention grabbing headlines for your blog posts]

After our headline comes the next phase of our ultimate blog post writing formula, the Featured Image.

2.) Featured Image

The second aspect of the Ultimate Blog Post Writing Formula is the Featured Image.

The Featured Image is used at the top of every blog post.

(To see an example of a Featured Image scroll back to the top of this post to see this blog post’s Featured Image)

I want to use this image strategically in the same way I use my headline and my introduction.

I want it to pull my readers into my blog post.

Make sense?

Just for a moment, think about pretty much any magazine you’ve ever read.

You’ve probably noticed that at the beginning of most articles there’s some sort of imagery.

Do you want to know why?

It’s because pictures have a way of grabbing people’s attention in a way that words can’t.

And as marketers, we want to grab our audience’s attention.

The tool we use to create our Featured Images is called Canva

3.) The Introduction

The introduction comes next and it’s where you’ll introduce your reader to your blog post.

Keep in mind that your introduction is almost as critical to your headline when it comes to reeling people into your blog.

So how do you write a good introduction?

Two ways…

1. Make it short and punchy
2. Make it curiosity inducing

I like to use the P.A.E.S. Introduction formula for most of my blog posts.

P.A.E.S is an acronym that stands for…

P = Problem
A = Agitate
E = Empathize
S = Solution

First you want to identify a problem you know your target audience is suffering from.

Next you’ll want to agitate the reader to help them realize that this problem needs to be solved.

Believe or not, most people wont take action even if they recognize they’re suffering from this problem.

By agitating the problem (i.e. pouring salt in their wound) you’re helping your reader realize just how bad this problem could potentially be IF they don’t take steps to fix it.

Once you’ve agitated the problem it’s time to add in an empathy statement.

Empathy statements are useful because they can…

• Lower your reader’s guard by helping them realize they’re not the
  only one dealing with this problem
• Help your reader to resonate with you more

Finally, you want to provide them your solution.

In this case, the solution will be to keep reading the blog post to discover the solution contained within the body of the post.

Here’s an example of the P.A.E.S. formula in action.

Building a business online can be exciting but it can also be nerve
wracking. [PROBLEM]

One wrong move and your business can be toast, along with all the time
and money you’ve invested getting your business off the ground.
[AGITATE]

However, you’re not alone. Thousands of business owners who we work
with and mentor have these same worries. [EMPATHY]

The good news is this article will teach you the same 7 step business
building process we’ve used to help those people successfully get
their businesses off the ground and into profitability. [SOLUTION]

Pretty cool, right?

(go back to the start of this blog post and see if you can identify the 4 elements of the P.A.E.S formula in the introduction)

So now that you’ve got your introduction, it’s time to move onto the Lead In Paragraph.

5.) Your Talking Points

Your Talking Points are the ideas you’re presenting in your blog post.

So “Talking Point 1” will be the first idea, “Talking Point 2” will be the second idea, and so forth.

It’s very important to keep one idea per Talking Point so you don’t confuse or overwhelm your readers.

The amount of Talking Points may vary from one blog post to the next.

For example, if I’m writing a blog post about “5 Tips To _______ ” then there will be 5 talking points.

If you’re writing a list blog post, e.g. “The Top 10 New Tools For Your Business” then your blog post will contain 10 talking points.

In this case the “talking points” are each of the 10 different tools.

If you don’t have a specific number (i.e. “5 Tips” or “10 Tools”) then a good rule of thumb to go with is three talking points.

Additionally, an individual Talking Point doesn’t need to be long.

Typically, your Talking Points should be anywhere from 1-3 paragraphs.

Any longer than that and you run the risk of losing your reader’s attention.

Pro Tip: Help your reader know you’ve moved on to the next Talking Point. Start each new Talking Point as a sub headline by using the H2 tag as shown in the image below.

6.) Additional Media

I always look for opportunities to add in media (images, graphics, or video).

Although I only want to add them when it’s appropriate…

… and only if the media can support the talking point (more on this in a bit).

Truth be told, I used to think it was cool to add images for sake of adding images.

I was like “Ohhh… look at me! I know how to add images to a blog post… I’m sooo tech savvy!”

And then I’d have all these blog posts with stock images of eagles soaring (to depict motivation or overcoming obstacles) and people typing on a lap top (to convey… pretty much everything else business related).

It was so cliche and cheesy!

I look back on those blog posts now and cringe.

The point is… you should add images to your blog posts.

But only if the images are supporting the point you’re trying to make (and not just there because you know how to add an image).

To break up the blog post and make it easier on my reader’s eye I like to add…

• Images
• Quotes
• Calls To Action
• Click To Tweets

… strategically placed throughout the blog post.

Why?

Because it can be tiring on your reader’s eye if all they see is paragraph after paragraph of text.

The images, quotes, CTA’s, etc. break up the blog post and add a visual element which will help prevent the reader from getting overwhelmed.

See what I mean??

[RELATED: For the ultimate guide to write a Pillar Blog Post CLICK HERE]

7.) The Conclusion

The Conclusion is where you wrap up your blog post and provide closure for your reader.

One of the more common ways to do this is to summarize the main points of your blog post for your reader.

If your Introduction is “here’s what you’re about to read”…

… the Conclusion is “this is what you’ve just read”.

Additionally, your Conclusion can help to reestablish a main point or theme you want your reader to takeaway from your blog post.

Lastly (and perhaps most importantly) your Conclusion should transition your reader to the next step in the process.

Specifically, a good Conclusion will position your Call To Action as the next logical step for your reader to take.

So while your Conclusion doesn’t have to make your readers stand up and give you a rousing ovation…

… it should at the very least wrap up your blog post and lead them in the direction of your Final Call To Action.

Which brings us to our last step in the Ultimate Blog Post Writing Formula… the Final Call To Action.

8.) Final Call To Action

The last phase of the Ultimate Blog Post Formula is the Final Call To Action.

The reason I call this the “Final Call To Action” is because it’s totally acceptable (if not recommended) to have more than one Call To Action (CTA) within your blog post.

In fact, I always place CTA’s throughout the blog post prior to the reader seeing the Final Call To Action.

I typically have anywhere from 2-4 different CTA’s contained within all of the blog posts we publish.

Remember, your readers won’t click unless you tell them where to click!

So you need to make it both easy to see and obvious for your reader by adding several different CTA’s.

[CLICK HERE for more information on how to write a Call To Action to get more conversions]

Also, I’ll vary the type of Call To Action to appeal to different people.

Here are some different types of Calls To Action you might consider using in your blog posts…

1. Anchor Text Link: When your text is the hyperlink – make sure it’s blue and underlined
2. Buttons: We’ve been conditioned to click on buttons since the dawn of the internet
3. Images: People like to click images even if you don’t tell them to click on it
4. Videos w/ Play buttons: Seeing the “play” button automatically triggers us to want to click it (works especially well if you’ve imbedded a video in your blog that you want people to watch).

In conclusion, a  great blog post will…

• Be easy to consume
• Follow a clear path
• Lead the reader to want more

Remember, in order to create a great blog post that engages your reader and converts them into a lead or a customer…

… you’ve got to follow the formula we revealed here today: