Once you have your blog setup, niche chosen and website customized, it’s time to get cracking on the content. Your first blog post is a critical one because it introduces you and your vision to the audience.
When writing your first blog post there are two ways to get started. You can introduce yourself and talk about what your blog is going to be about. Or you can just get started writing content on the topics you plan on covering on your blog.
Table of Contents
What Should My Very First Blog Post Be About
A lot of people prefer to get started with the content for two reasons. Philosophically speaking, they let the content do the talking for them. It also captures the right keywords for that audience, gets them noticed and some traffic and potentially money too. This kind of post has a better chance at being seen on social media and making a mark on search engines.
On the other hand, a lack of introduction means even if the audience learns something from your post, they might not be able to come back to your website because they can’t recollect the name. This is particularly true for those who use their name as the blog title. Of course, you can add an introduction at the end and get the best of both worlds.
Ideas for First Blog Post
So, if you choose to go with a content post, there are many bright ideas that can get you noticed and build a potentially loyal audience for your blog. The best way to get started is to make a list of five blog topics you think will be interesting to your audience. Keep them short, publish them within short intervals, share them on your social media and see what the audience is responding to.
Listicles
Listicles are one of the easiest ways to do it because they are short by design. They are also one of the most easily consumed formats. Listicles don’t force people to think too hard and are quite enjoyable. It’s also great for you because you won’t have to do in-depth research and the turnaround time is short.
How-To Guides
But if your content does not allow you to do a good listicle, you can still make a short and easy to write post in the form of a how-to guide. For example, if you are running a home improvement blog, you might want to do a tutorial that is related to an ongoing trend.
Remember that people don’t read user manuals because of how badly some of them are written. So, avoid heavy jargon, break the process down into easy to follow instructions and use pictures to support your text.
This is also an easy format to consume and answers a specific question that your audience has. You will need to know what you’re writing about to be able to explain it to the readers. But this is your first post so you can’t already be out of your depth.
Comparisons
If our blog is going to be about products and services, you might want to kickstart your publishing with a post comparing one product or service to another.
Some of the most popular product wars have begun thanks to these conversations. It could be the best detergent for a fabric or a backpack for a winter trip.
If you get the format right, it can give your audience the information they need while also alerting potential paid partners for a collaboration.
Topics for First Blog Post
What’s mentioned above is the template of ideas for you to choose from. Even after that, there are many ideas that can bounce back and keep you from the results you wanted. So, pick your first idea wisely. Here are some thoughts that can be tailored to any niche.
What to Name Your First Blog Post
This is perhaps the most important part of any kind of writing. Your title typically tells your audience what the post is going to be about. But the very first title is pretty much the announcement of your mission statement. No pressure. There’s no need to get worried because today, there are many tools that will help you do exactly that.
Use Numbers
If you are starting off with a listicle, the headline will start with a number. Titles which start with a number are good for search engine optimization. They get you a good ranking on the Google search page which will convert into traffic.
These are also eye-catching and tell the reader right away that they don’t have to invest too much time but will get what they are looking for.
And remember that odd numbers are better than even numbers. That’s why you see lists of 9 or 99 things instead of 10 or 100.
Don’t Be Vague
The more specific your title is, the more it motivates your readers to keep reading. Otherwise, it takes them no effort to move on. Look at the headline from the reader’s point of view and ask yourself if you’d read it. One of the easiest ways of being specific is to write the headline after writing the post. That way you know you’re on point.
Keywords and search engine optimization is another important aspect of headline writing. You will notice that all authority websites add relevant keywords to their headlines. This not only sparks audience interest but is also good for the blog’s traffic. “Everything You Need to Know about [insert keyword]” is an example.
Be Aware of the Length
If you’ve ever noticed, magazine headlines are really short. They hardly ever tell you what the piece is about. But that’s because the entire piece with all the multimedia is in front of the reader.
Things work differently on the internet. In all likelihood, the reader is looking at your headline on the Google search results page. So you want to make sure they have as much information as possible without making the title so long that it gets cut off.
That display limit on Google’s SERP is 70 characters (up from 50-60 characters in the past) which is the best place to stop writing. The advantage with this length is that it makes for a good tweet too.
A lot of bloggers believe that the best headlines are about eight words long. So, if you are going to make it longer than that, you might want to think about keywords and engagement.
What to Put in Your Welcome Blog Post
Unlike the content route, if you are going to make your first post a welcome post, make sure you introduce yourself with credentials. Tell them why you’ve started a blog and what you aim to accomplish. You also might want to tell them why they should read it and should give them compelling reasons to read you.
Adding pictures that are relevant to your niche is a great idea. And in the end, add a call to action asking them to subscribe or redirecting them to an elaborate “About Me” page.