Blog posting is just as much a science as an art, and for that reason, I want to go over some of the (mostly) immutable laws that govern it. If you’re blogging a lot or have just started, you should know what your blog posts need to look like and how to manage them day in and day out to get the best possible results.
I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t always follow these rules myself, but for the most part, I find that they work wonders when I do. There are always exceptions, just don’t get too lazy with your formatting.
Frequency
There are two rules here. First, don’t post too much. Second, don’t post too little. The latter is the biggest problem for many posters and I see it on pretty much every blog once in a while. The ideal blog has between 2-5 posts per week. Less than two posts per week and it doesn’t seem like you have much to say (and Google starts to forget about you). More than 5 posts a week and your blog gets a bit wordy. Only news sites should post so much, and only when there is news to be posted.
Length
You have to watch the length too. The magic length for a blog post (in my eyes) is 250-500 words. Less than 250 words and what was the point of the post. More than 500 words and you’re starting to drag it out a bit. There are two exceptions to this rule. First, your post can be shorter if you have images or videos to share. Second, your post can be longer if you make it scannable, with long lists, subheaders or tutorials. These are always special posts that need to be labelled as such and broken up carefully.
Headlines Matter
Your headlines are a huge part of your blog posts. They are what captures attention and draws people into the text. They also are a major part of what Google sees when indexing your content. Having a blog post title that says “Playing Golf” doesn’t provide any information, whereas “5 Ways to Improve Your Chip Shot Game in Golf” is very specific and tells the reader exactly what they will get. Of course, you also want that headline to be engaging and to draw the reader in. Information is good, but engagement is vital.
To add to the value of your header,The Perfect Blog Post Format make sure that first paragraph is dynamite. It needs to be on topic, interesting, engaging and a million other things all at once. In short, it needs to make the reader keep going. If it’s boring, you’re dropping the ball.
