A blog can be a great tool for small businesses. You need to check many boxes and details. This blog post checklist will be your best friend.

Why start a blog

There are three main benefits to having a blog for your small business.

• This is a great tool for SEO. This means there is more potential traffic.

• Blogs are a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your area. This will allow you to differentiate your business from others. For inspiration, look at popular blogs and blog niche ideas.

• Blogs can create a connection between your brand’s audience and you. You can build trust by creating a blog that connects your brand and your audience.

• A blog can be a great way to generate income. 

Do you want to build a blog and make it successful? Take a look at our Create Your Blog online course.

These 21 tips will help you to create a blog that’s relevant to your business.

1. Use clear language to communicate your purpose

A blog that changes directions halfway through is not something that anyone wants to read. Make a list of blog post ideas with a clear purpose. Ask yourself if you are helping others achieve your purpose. 

2. Create an outline

To help you get started, you can download our blog template. 

3. Do SEO research

There are many methods to make sure your blog posts rank well. The primary keyword should be in the title and the body of the post. 

A variety of keyword research tools are available to help you get a deep understanding of the terms you are trying to rank for. This information can be used to optimize your blog post.

4. Make a catchy title

Your content may be informative and interesting, but it is unlikely that people will read it. This is not a good idea for your business blog.

Inspiration can come from these headline tips or this title generator

5 Credit for the sources

Blogging is all about creating content. If you don’t credit, you could get in trouble with the law.

6. Use internal links

Make sure you include links to other blogs within your posts. These are simple strategies that can add value to your website’s visitors. 

7. Open external links in a new tab

No matter if you give credit to an Amazon product or source, linking to other websites is a natural part of the internet. You don’t want readers clicking on links from the same browser window as you are.

8. Get to 300 words

How long should a blog post be? It is not necessary to be long. You can increase the word count by providing useful details and explaining in ways that will benefit your readers.

9. Divide long posts into sections

Intimidation and boredom are guaranteed when large blocks of text are used. Sections make your blog more accessible to your readers.

Every section should have a title. This title should describe the content of the paragraphs. The heading tag will be used to format the text.

Make sure to wrap up all ideas by the end. 

10. Use smaller paragraphs

Use smaller paragraphs to make your blog stand out. This type of block allows you to quickly skim through articles.

11. Use bullet points and lists

Long paragraphs can often be broken up with numbers or bullet points To make your post easier to understand, 

Lists and bullet points are great for SEO as they increase your chances of getting a featured snippet on Google.

See the section “Optimize Your Images” below for an example of a bulleted list.

12. Go straight to the point

Most likely, you’ve searched the internet for a simple recipe and found a blog post of 2000 words about the grandmother who wrote it. It makes you feel warm and fuzzy. Scroll to the bottom for the 70-word recipe.

Don’t do this.

If you have a point, make it clear. Fluff can make readers abandon your blog very quickly.

13. You can add a CTA at the end

Your blog posts should inform and empower readers about your industry’s businesses. Encourage people to follow the sales funnel by placing a call-to-action (CTA) at the bottom.

14. Pause from the post

If you have trouble writing a blog post, you don’t need to stop. This will allow you to see the post again and you may spot an error you didn’t know about. 

15. You can add value to the post.

If the photos aren’t clear enough, you can use examples to convey your message. These examples will help you establish yourself in your field and keep your posts engaging.

16. Optimize your images

Images can make your blog visually appealing and more accessible. These are some image optimization tips.

To make your photos load quickly on your blog, you should resize them. Your blog will not display the 40-megapixel image that you took with your Canon DSLR at its full resolution. It will instead appear as a small rectangle, approximately one-sixth of its original size.

Include your keywords in the title of your photograph. Google search bots can see the filename of your photo, which is an additional SEO ranking opportunity.

Alt-text refers to alternative text that is added to an image. This allows you to describe the content of an image. Search engines can rank images.

17. Be a scholar but not a writer

Don’t use complex words to figure out what you can do to write a blog post. It is possible to encounter complex terms in the industry, but you should be able to explain them clearly

On the flip side, you should not write as though you’re speaking. Urban Dictionary may not be the right place to go if you need to learn slang.

18. Write your introduction last

Once you’ve written your conclusion and body, you can start writing the introduction.

19. Proofread proofread

While you might be proud of your blog post, and happy with its results, it won’t make you happy to return to it a week later to check for spelling or grammar mistakes.

Proofreading your blog is crucial. 

Bloggers need to read their blogs aloud. This will help spot errors and make it easy to fix them.

20. Tag and categorize your posts

Once you are done writing your blog, tag or categorize the content. This makes it easy for readers to find similar content to their blog posts.

21. Last proofread

Don’t think you are ready to publish a blog post. You should double-check your headings to ensure that they are correct. Make sure your final draft passes an extensive inspection.