Here you will learn how to write a blog post with illustrated examples of how to prepare a sandwich. Yes, you read well. We are going to follow a sandwich recipe while learning how to write fine posts for a blog. Curious? Keep reading!
Know the audience
Before starting with the good tips: as mentioned before, this is a blog post on how to make, yeah, a blog post. The thing is that some people have problems when writing, expressing themselves, giving structure to a document, and looking for information on a chosen topic. That is why we want to share these tips, so they don't experience the same problems some of us have gone through.
We must know whom we're talking to.
In the first place, it's important to know whom we're talking to. For example, in this case, our target audience is people with cooking skills. So, if we want to precisely target our message, we must - at least - know our audience's age, role, and location; e.g.
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Audience | People with cooking skills |
| Age | 29 years old, or older |
| Role | Chef |
| Location | Mexico |
| Workplace | Kitchen |
The cool thing is that with this information we are able to know which words, examples, images, tips, and links to use in order to deliver an effective message and eliminate clutter. For example, when writing the sandwich blog post, to indicate our audience to cut some vegetables, we might choose the word 'chiffonade' instead of just asking for slices (as we said before in our profile audience, we expect that they have certain technical knowledge).
Start with an outline structure
We have to be careful because diving right into writing a blogpost can not only be challenging, but also take us where we don't want to go. To avoid these issues , an effective tool is to think about the topics we would like to cover in the shape of bullet points and list them as if they were the actual paragraphs of the text. For example:
- People currently do not know how to make a sandwich.
- In order to make a sandwich you need the corrects ingredients, utensils and time.
- Another option to make a sandwich is to use a griller.
Writing a list of bullet points allows us to narrow the scope of our text
Thus, starting with a list of bullet points allows us to narrow the scope of our text and be specific and clear when sharing our ideas.
Things to consider
Introduction, body and conclusion
Another key point is to consider the introduction, the body, and the conclusion of our text because the structure is the most important part of a blog post.
The structure is the most important part of a blog post.
The basic structure of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion is effective at conveying the most structured messages. For example:
a) Use the introduction to give context
“People currently do not know how to make a sandwich. This could be caused by fast food companies, food delivery apps or long working hours. In this article, we will share how to easily make a healthy sandwich.”
b) Make use of the body to develop the idea
On the body, we develop the main points. That is to say that we need to write two or three sentences that summarize the main point of the text:
“In order to make a healthy sandwich in an easy way, you need the correct ingredients, basic kitchen utensils, and around twenty minutes to prepare it and eat it. For this sandwich make sure to have bread, cheese, tomato and lettuce. You will need a grater, a knife and a plate to serve. Lastly, make sure to spare about five minutes to prepare your meal and some fifteen minutes to relax and eat.”
c) Conclude as a champ
Finally, in the conclusion part, we wrap up, give extra details and encourage further discussion:
“This is one option to make a healthy sandwich quickly. Some other options could be to use a grill sandwich maker, a panini maker or just a regular pan.
How did you like your sandwich? What do you think is missing? If you had more time, what would you add to your sandwich?”
Search for information
Blog posts are often enriched by including information from external sources.
A blog post is often enriched by including information from external sources. This is necessary in order to be able to have a reference for what is being talked about, to give reliability to our documented work, and allow the reader to expand on certain sections of the work.
"We will use the following ingredients taken from the BBC Goodfood website:
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 3 slices bread
- a little butter
- ⅓ carton of cress
- 2-3 slices of tomato or a lettuce leaf and a slice of ham or cheese
- crisps, to serve
Fuente: BBC Good Food
We don't have to forget to consider an appropriate balance for including external references! It is not a good idea to have the blog post full of references because we can get the reader distracted or even more confused.
Always use trusted sources and include them in the blog post as a reference.
It is also important to always use trusted sources and include them in the blog post as a reference. Indeed, we can check if a source is reliable by looking for its recommendation on books, magazines, other blog posts, famous sites, and other several sources.
Evoke discussion, action or thought
A blog post has the benefit that it can create two-way communication by allowing readers to comment. However, not everyone will do it. Whether our blog post gets actual comments or not, it should be our goal to encourage some kind of action on our reader. It could be an actual discussion, performing some activity, or just motivate them to think about something.
Blog posts has the benefit that it can create two-way communication.
We have to make sure to inspire our readers beyond the contents of our blog post. In our sandwich example, this was done in the conclusion. Remember?:
“This is one option to make a healthy sandwich quickly. Some other options could be to use a grill sandwich maker, a panini maker or just a regular pan. How did you like your sandwich? What do you think is missing? If you had more time, what would you add to your sandwich?”
Ready to write a blog post?
Now you have some additional knowledge to create a blog post. Way too often, on spoken and written communication, messages get lost if we wander outside the point. Starting with these base tips gives you visibility and keeps you focused. You must find your style, while trying to align with the concepts previously mentioned and in that way, being able to deliver the desired message.
What other tips for writing a blog post do you think are important?
Thank you for reading!
