How to Write a Compelling Blog
Structure, Readability, and Writing to Make a Genuine Connection
I know there’s been a lot of talk on this blog lately about, well… blogs.
It’s a little on the nose. I’ll own it: talking about blogs on a blog is perfectly on-brand, like comparing playlists in a record store or getting plant tips at a nursery. Home turf for this conversation.
Where else would we start?
We’ve been tracing their history back to the good old nineties, when things felt less complicated and overwhelming. If you haven’t already noticed, I’m very nostalgic for the seemingly simpler times of the late twentieth century.
In my last blog, I went over what a blog is and what it isn’t. And as you can tell, if you’ve been on the internet for the last couple of decades, blogs are pretty ubiquitous.
They’re written by ordinary people like you and me to share unique ideas and educational content. They’re also used by organizations or non-profits that act as thought leaders to share the latest updates on their service or product, or to provide unique insights into the latest industry trends.
Blogs are multifunctional and appealing all across the spectrum.
FYI, AI Can’t Do What You Do
Sure, anyone with a computer, internet access, some basic website skills, and unique ideas to share can write and publish their own blog.
But there’s more to writing a blog if you want to engage your reader on a deeper level. I introduced and emphasized this point in my first blog. Applying storytelling methods to connect with your audience is one of the key features (if not the most important element) of content marketing.
Remember, if you have a compelling story to share, one that resonates with your core audience, you’ll keep the reader on the page wanting to learn more.
And as I’ll detail a bit more in an upcoming post, even AI can’t write something as engaging and captivating as you can.
Why?
Because AI doesn’t have its own story to tell.
AI lacks tangible experience. It doesn’t offer a unique, human background or perspective that makes the reader think, “Wow, this person really gets me,” or “I feel totally seen here.”
Connecting with your target audience means understanding their pain points and priorities. What resonates with them and piques their interest. You’re offering a solution, a new and better approach, because you’ve been there.
You know what it’s like. AI doesn’t “know.” It imitates “knowing.”
In order to captivate your readers, whoever your core audience is, you need to speak in terms they’ll understand, and in a way that makes them want to read and learn more.
Connection over Conversion
Depending on your offer, product, or solution, it’s not always about making a sale or increasing traffic. It’s about making a human connection, from a genuine and authentic place.
And I know “authentic” has become a buzzword these days, but in the age of AI and robotic-sounding (inauthentic) content, people are yearning for something deeper, more real.
More… human.
This is where it should all begin, before you ever consider how to influence, persuade, or, dare I say, “manipulate” your target audience.
Connect with them before you try to “sell” to them.
On the other hand, writing a blog can be fun.
You’ve got all these ideas in your head. All these cool things you want to share with those who are willing to listen. Something you can spill out onto the page. There’s a better and more effective way to move from your thoughts to the page and to the screen.
Ready to learn how to craft an engaging and value-driven blog? Let’s dive in!
Structuring Your Blog
As someone who loves experimental forms of art, including writing, I was never one to subscribe too heavily to formulas—like my writing hero, Charlie Kaufman, in Adaptation.
But if you don’t want to lose your reader, regardless of how promising or interesting your ideas or solutions are, you’ve got to properly structure your blog.
And do it in such a way that the reader doesn't fall asleep at their keyboard because they were so bored by your writing.
How you format your blog makes all the difference in keeping the reader on the page.
There are several variations on what to include in a blog post, but ensuring some key structural elements are effectively integrated is a sure way to retain the reader’s attention and get them to keep reading.
Bear in mind that many readers don’t have a whole lot of time to read through every single blog. If they land on your page, that’s a huge plus (after all, they clicked on your page for a reason).
Often, though, people skim pages to find exactly what they’re looking for, so we need to make the page skimmable.
Choose the Right Subject Matter or Topic
If you’re aiming to expand your audience (or if you’re looking to monetize your blog by generating more traffic to your page), then one of the first steps is keyword research.
Keyword research is a way to find the exact words or phrases people type into search engines.
It’s a great way to choose a blog topic that your target audience cares about. Not to mention, you can use keyword research to learn how many people search for the topics you’re writing about—a way to see what the competition is like.
Ultimately, when it comes to keyword research, the goal is to create blog posts that align with what your readers want, which involves integrating specific words they’re searching for.
In simple terms? Keyword research, done right, makes your content easier to find.
If you’re interested in doing a deeper dive into keyword research, you can learn more about it here.
In another blog post, I’ll discuss how to conduct a content gap analysis for a more thorough topic ideation process.
Create a Headline or Title that Grabs Your Reader’s Attention
Once you’ve narrowed your topic down and set aside the relevant keywords and phrases for your blog, it’s time to come up with a title.
The title or headline doesn’t need to be the first thing you think of before drafting your blog. Sometimes it takes writing the entire post for a title to come to us.
This is also where your copywriting skills need to kick in.
Because it’s going to be the first thing your readers see, you want to make sure the title is captivating enough to hook your audience.
Even if you’ve written one of the most engaging blogs that’ll keep your readers on the page from beginning to end, you might not grab them right away if the blog title is vague or boring.
Tip: Including a number in your blog title (e.g., “3 Reasons to use a Number in Your Blog Title”) makes it concrete and sets clear expectations (i.e., list length or steps). By including a number in your title, you’re more likely to increase the CTR and traffic to your post by offering specific value. It also lends an air of authority and signals that the content is digestible and easy to read.
I’ll discuss more examples of what makes a great blog title or headline in a future blog post.
Craft an Introduction that Hooks Readers from the Start
After the title, the introduction is what helps readers determine whether they want to keep reading your blog.
Remember, the goal is to sustain the reader's attention and prevent them from clicking away.
Start with a hook. This can be a question, a bold claim, a surprising stat, or a very short story—everyone loves a good story.
You also want to start including some of your keywords in the introduction, showing your target audience that you understand their pain points. Give them something they can instantly relate to.
Ultimately, you want to keep the introduction brief, roughly 2 or 3 (short) paragraphs, and avoid any superfluous words (do as I say, not as I do—just kidding).
Once you’ve got a solid introduction, transition to your first headinf.
Use Headings and Subheadings to Break Up Your Content
As I mentioned earlier, most readers will likely scan a blog to find what they’re looking for. So you need to make it scannable.
Long, dense paragraphs can be pretty aversive, so they need to be broken up.
On a short side tangent, I won’t discuss the science behind attention span decline here or the fact that people aren’t reading as much as they used to.
But the reality is that it's becoming increasingly difficult to grab people’s attention through the written word alone.
Having said that, engaging and attention-grabbing content follows certain principles.
Dividing written content up into sections with headings and subheadings is an effective way to keep the reader focused.
Headings and subheadings allow your readers to skim your post. If they appreciate certain sections of your blog, they can easily go back and re-read them.
Try mapping out or outlining your blog before writing it. Coming up with headings and subheadings before you draft your blog will help you stay focused on what you’re writing about.
Then, the body under each heading should concisely highlight everything you need to say about that topic.
Properly used headings will also make your blog more readable and engaging, creating a natural flow for readers, making the reading experience more enjoyable.
Table of Contents?
Once you have all your headings and subheadings in place, you might want to include a “table of contents” at the outset of your blog post.
In addition to making the blog scannable, providing a “table of contents” would allow your readers to instantly jump to the section they’re most interested in reading about. It also helps search engines understand your blog content hierarchy.
Including a “table of contents” can earn what’s referred to as jump links on the SERP (Search Engine Results Page), which boosts visibility and CTR (Click-Through Rate).
Not to mention, it's great for UX (User Experience), which correlates with stronger SEO performance.
White Space is Your Friend
It might be a bit redundant to include this section here, but it merits further emphasis:
Keep your Paragraphs and Sentences Short.
Why? Frankly, it’s simply a matter of reducing cognitive load.
In simple terms, shorter sentences are easier to process, which improves comprehension and retention.
It also gives your blog content the breathing room necessary to improve readability and focus.
This is called white space (or negative space), the empty spacing around and between your text.
White space helps frame important ideas in your blog post, making subheads and key sentences stand out even further. Using the right font can amplify the white space, making your blog more readable.
On a side note, more people these days read on their smartphones, so a normal-length paragraph fills the screen. Short paragraphs and tight sentences prevent walls of text.
When it comes to engagement and SEO, easier reading also increases the likelihood that the reader will stay on the page longer.
Include Visuals for a Dynamic Experience
Everyone enjoys having something visual to look at. Whether it’s a graph, photo, or infographic, an image can increase the engagement of your content.
And if you don’t want your blog post to resemble an 800-page Russian novel, adding some visuals or images would be a great way to keep the reader glued to the page.
Blogs that include visual content to accompany the text receive much more organic traffic than blogs that don’t. Blogs with embedded videos receive even more traffic.
The type of visuals you use depends on the nature of your blog post.
Is it a “how-to” blog? A travel blog? A health and fitness blog?
Based on the type of content you’re writing about, an accompanying visual can further enhance your blog by making it more understandable and easier to visualize.
The visual itself doesn’t always have to be anything specific or directly related to your content.
Take my blogs, for instance.
Sometimes, visuals just make the text stand out more, rather than adding direct value for the reader.
Ideally, visuals can make the reading experience more dynamic.
Visuals boost engagement and recall in many respects by grabbing attention and enhancing memory.
Indirectly, it improves SEO by increasing UX.
Conclusion and CTA
Finally, we come to the conclusion of your blog post. No need to introduce anything new. This is where you quickly wrap up.
Here, you want to briefly summarize everything you’ve said in your blog—like I’m about to do.
In short: pick topics your audience actually searches for, write a clear, specific title, open with a tight hook, and make the post skimmable with subheads (and a table of contents when useful).
Keep paragraphs and sentences short, add visuals to clarify and engage, and always write with a human voice that speaks to real pain points.
Again: Lead with connection, not conversion.
By the very end of your blog post, you’ll also want to provide a Call-to-Action (CTA).
Suggest what the reader can do next, now that they’ve made it to the end of your blog.
Side note: It’s also a good idea to include a CTA earlier in the blog-reading experience, since not everyone will read all the way to the very end of your post.
Ready to write a blog? Don’t hesitate. Just go for it.
As the Taoist philosopher Lao Tzu once said: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
So go ahead and take that first step. You got this.
For more content marketing strategies and storytelling insights, feel free to explore the rest of my blog.