So you’ve set up your WordPress blog and are done with the mechanics part of the game. Now it’s time to get done to the actual writing process. So many new bloggers out there spend so much time researching WordPress, what plugins they need to have, how to make it attractive, how to generate keywords and how to get SEO for their new blog right that they actually forget that the whole thing is basically about writing. Here are a few pointers on what you should do when you get down to writing your first post on WordPress.
1. Have the draft plus images ready
A lot of new bloggers try to get into the spirit of blogging by writing directly into WordPress. This is a big no-no. The most effective way to blog is to have your post all written up in the proper format with an appropriate title, tags and category. Having a copy saved on your system will help keep your work safe in case of network failures or WP glitches. Also, it is a good idea to have all the images that you want to use in the post ready, cross checked for copyrights, resized, edited and saved in an easy to reach folder to make the process of posting easier.
2. See if the title looks fetching
Even if the title of your post looked good when you viewed it on your word processor file, it may not look as impressive when previewed in WP. If the title looks unattractive or bland, you should change it while posting.
3. Ensure that the keywords appear in the first paragraph
The very act of writing may have the problem of keywords out of your conscious mind but you will have to remember to ensure that these are placed within the introductory paragraph of your new WP post to make your blog more effective.
4. Keep the tone conversational
Most new bloggers often have a lot of trouble finding their own voice. If you don’t have any experience in writing a blog, you may find your words sounding very “Wikipedia-ish”. Remember that you’re speaking to your readers through your blog and the more personal the tone of your post can be, the better it would appear to them.
5. Remember to be brief
Brevity truly is the soul of good writing and this remains especially true for new blogs. Unless the topic you have chosen for your first blog requires to be explored through a 2000 word mini-essay, you should try to stick to a word limit of 300-500 words. Also, remember not to go under that limit either unless you are doing a picture based post.
6. Create category and add tags
After you have put the title and the content into the WP page, you need to add a category for the post. Categories are important because a few months down the line, the blog might be so heavily populated that you and your readers might not be able to find the relevant material in there. Think long and hard about what category your post can go into and refrain from putting it in two categories. Then, you need to add the relevant tags to the post to make it more search friendly.
7. Add images
As a rule of thumb, you should try to insert the best image you have right after the introductory paragraph but before the break. This will help make it attractive for readers who come to your blog a few months down the line and are going through your older posts. Then you need to keep in mind whether your post is a pictorial (more images, less content) or a regular post (more content, less images). The former is more applicable to lists, top 10s, how to, etc. while the latter should use images more sparingly but precisely. You would need to remember that the image you post should be located close to its description in the content i.e., just above or below the paragraph that mentions the content of the image.
7. preview, edit and post
To make sure that your first post on WordPress looks as good as you imagined it would be, you need to preview it. During the preview, you should check the copy for spelling and grammar mistakes as well as for how it looks. And then you can hit “publish” and enjoy the thrill of having your post out there!
This Post is written by Brianne. She is a writer/blogger. She writes articles on Technology, social media, wordpress, Gamification, website development and software development etc. These days she contributes on Devrover.com
More quotes by Ernest Hemingway
Original Content by SEO Andy @ Expert tips on writing your first WordPress post
