How to Write Your First Blog Post

Your first blog post! That’s where it all starts.

Your blogging journey, your online business journey, your journey to the laptop lifestyle all starts with your first blog post.

But then, writing your first blog post can be intimidating, especially if you are just getting started in the online space and really don’t know what works.

DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links to products or services I use and recommend. I may make a small commission on any purchases you make using these links, at no extra cost to you. Read my Disclaimer for more information.

Why is this My First Blog Post? A Little Bit of a Story-

You have dreamed of starting a blog or starting your online business and blogging about it for a long time. You’ve purchased a hosting, domain name, bought a beautiful theme, and finally set up your blog. You have pictured yourself as a successful blogger, making 5 figures in less than no time and you believe that blogging is everything you need. Now, all you need to do to get started is to write that first blog post, but you are stuck and wondering what you should write about.

I get it. Totally.

Because I’ve been there. And it is the very thing that led to making this post the first post on this blog.

Before I met my husband, I had been blogging on and off for 5 years and more. I’m really good at starting stuff but never consistent enough to stay in them long enough to see desired results. This means I’ve started and deleted, sold, or abandoned about 6 blogs from 2014 till now. This doesn’t include blogs I had on free platforms like wordpress.com or Blogspot. 

Blogging is like that lover I can’t seem to let go of, that somehow, we always get back to each other.

 I always seem to get back to blogging, and now, I’m here again. With a new blog for our VA business, and stuck at what my first post should be.

Then I decided to do something about it to help another blogger who finds herself in the same shoes– not knowing what her first blog post should be.

Why Your First Blog Post Matters- 

Getting started is one of the hardest parts of blogging ( for most people though). 

If you are serious about blogging and you want to use it as a platform to market your business, services, or brand, then your content has to provide a massive amount of value to your reader. 

And the best place to start is your first blog post. Something about creating a good first impression. 

Wow them with something that they’ve never read before. Get to know their needs and offer them an amazing and quick way to implement solutions.

If you ever dream to become an authority or seen as an expert in your chosen niche, and you want to get organic search traffic to your website plus rank on search engines, then I recommend to be strategic about it from day 1. 

What Should Your First Blog Post Be?

Your first blog post can be about anything you decide it should be. Most bloggers start their blog by casually introducing themselves.

Maybe something like this:

“Hi everyone! My name is Grace. I started this blog to talk about making money online for introverts. I’ve been working in making money online for 5 years.”

At this stage, no one cares who you are.

In time they will.

But first, you need to show you care about them, or rather about the things they care about.

People care about the problems they’re facing. Problems that are preventing them from getting where they want to be. Problems that are keeping them awake at night.

So you should think about identifying a problem your readers are facing. This will be the topic of your first blog post.

When Writing Your First Blog Post I Would Consider the Bigger Picture.

Your first post could be an introductory style post about your background life story, which can then become part of your About page and be linked under your profile picture wherever you introduce yourself as the author of the blog.

Or that first post could be chapter one of a 5 part email course or free report you are going to compile. The next 4 blog posts can complete the series, so you’re not just creating great blog content but also creating a ‘content asset’ — something you use for years to come as a giveaway to get people to sign up to your email list.

My main advice for any new bloggers is to always view your blog posts not just as standalone blog posts, but as part of a bigger strategy you have. Everything is connected to a goal.

Types of First Blog Posts– 

There are two popular approaches you can take with your first blog post. 

• The first is to use your first post as an introduction to your blog, yourself, and what you intend to do on your blog.
• The second is to jump right into your content as if you’ve been doing it for years.

There are pros and cons to each one, but the second option is my favorite because, with it, you get a better chance of writing a post with the potential of getting traffic over time, which you can also use as part of an opt-in offer, rather than something that gets buried on your site, never to be seen again.

For example, if you’re starting a recipe blog, and your first blog post is an “about me” style introduction to your blog and why you’re getting started, eventually that post will get buried underneath all the recipes you publish.

But if you just get to the point and make your first blog post a recipe on something like the best chocolate cake recipe for Christmas, that post can eventually get traffic for a long time, whether that’s from Google, Pinterest, etc.

Put it this way: your intro post won’t do much for you, but getting to the actual point can help you create something that can potentially get traffic and income.

Let’s get deeper into this;

Your first blog post as an Introduction– 

If you are going to do the “Welcome to my blog” introductory post, you may want to cover any or all of the who, what, why, where, how, and when in your first ever blog post:

• Who: give a brief info about yourself and anyone else relevant to the blog– like your family or co-founder.
• What: describe what you will be writing about – this is good practice and helps build expectations for anyone who sees your first post. Let your readers know what to expect from your blog.
• Why: talk about why you decided to start a blog and what inspired you to start, Why people should read it.
• Where: you can talk about your goals– in terms of where you are going with the blog, or you talk about where you’re at– in terms of something you struggle with and are on a journey to overcome, thus inviting your readers to join you, or without giving specifics, you can talk about your location. This wil help you to quickly attract and build a community of like-minded readers. Whatever you chose, the choice is yours.
• How: how are you going to go about blogging? Will you post weekly posts, or daily or monthly? Will you be asking your readers for ideas (things they want to read next) for your posts?
• When: if you plan on using a blogging schedule, let your readers know what it is. Some bloggers like to publish posts on certain days of the week, or have specific types of content, like videos or Q & As, go out at certain times of the month. Telling your readers about your schedule can help you stick to your plan.

This is the route I took for my first and second blogs. I shared what inspired me to start a blog and my blogging goals.

For your call to action (Pro tip: ALWAYS include a call to action at the end of every post you create– you’ll thank me later) at the end of the post, you may want to pick one of the following:

• Direct readers to subscribe to your posts (and an explanation for how to do that)
• Direct readers to your “About” page so they can learn more about you.
• Direct readers to another relevant page, for example, “Start Here” or “Work With Me”
• Direct readers to your next blog post (you can always come back to this post and link to your next post when you’ve published it).

 Pro: 

writing an intro style blog post can be a quick and easy win to say you’ve officially started your blog

Con:

 in time, your intro post will be completely buried and won’t get traffic or generate income

Recommendation: 

The idea of introducing yourself, your blog, and your intentions, is great.  But I think that goes on your about me page, where people will visit over time.

Most welcome posts get buried and never seen, so, I’m not a fan of this approach.

Your first blog post a real post–

Instead of writing a welcome post, your first blog post can get right to the point. But with careful keyword research and appeal to your target audience.

This is my preferred approach for a first blog post because it skips the fluff and gets right down to business.

• If you’re creating a food blog, this means starting with a recipe right off the bat.
• If you’re in the DIY, crafts or home decor niche, it means doing a tutorial or how-to project as an example of what your blog will cover in time.
• If you are in the personal finance niche, it means creating that post on budgeting for beginners

I also like this approach because the more you blog, the more you are able to figure out your writing style, preferences, and voice. 

If you’re going down this route, it’s important to find the balance. You don’t want your post to be rushed or low quality, but equally, you don’t want it to be the thing that stops you from launching because you’re a perfectionist and you’ve chosen a topic that needs 3,000 words to do it justice.

You can use the same call to action I recommended for the welcome post and also convert your first post to a pdf file and offer it as a freebie to your readers.

Pro: 

writing “real” content will help you get to the good stuff faster – this is how you get traffic, readers, income, and momentum.

Con: 

writing a full blog post can be difficult, especially if you’ve never done it before. And there is every tendency to procrastinate or wait till things are perfect before launching.

Recommendation: 

start by writing real content, but tackle an easy topic or subject first, instead of attempting a massive blog post on your first try.

How to Write Your First Blog Post:

There’s no “right or wrong way” to write your first blog post other than to get your thoughts out there.

This section and the ones after it is only helpful if you chose to write your first post as a ‘real’ post.

1. Have the Right Attitude

If you don’t have a writing background, putting yourself out there for others to see/read can be a scary experience.

But it’s good to remember that everyone, even famous celebrity bloggers, once had to write their first blog post. And it’s also safe to remember that most of them were not writing pros. Their writing only got better with time and practice (more writing).

Accept that your first blog post may not be perfect. But that doesn’t matter as long as you are making progress and not waiting to be perfect. The first faltering steps you take will one day produce the polished, confident, and seasoned blogger that you will soon be.

2. Understand who your ideal audience is. 

Before you write something, take the time to learn about your target audience and understand who your there are. I know you want to skip over this tip because you think you know, but you likely don’t. 

I’ve found that a lot of bloggers out there generate content for the wrong audience (I used to too).

 A personal finance blogger whose main audience (and buyers) is looking for resources to help with budgeting and controlling their spending habits, creates various recipe posts and probably a ‘how to lose weight’ post. 

They get traffic, but that traffic doesn’t lead to subscribers or sales and they are frustrated. They skipped this step.

3. Understand your target audience’s pain points. 

Now, you need to research your audience deeper to really understand what keeps them up at night. This will help you write content or create products that address their specific needs and pain points.

Find one question your audience- has in mind that is holding them back. Answer that one question with detailed step-by-step instruction. Rinse and repeat.

4. Find a topic that people are searching for on Google

Do your keyword research.

Don’t make the mistake that most bloggers make–  writing posts that don’t solve any problem or answer any question. Every time you publish a post, you need to make sure it is answering a question, solving a problem, or providing a solution for your audience.

If your blog is your business and you are looking to become an authority or become the go-to blogger for your audience in any chosen topic, you must employ this strategy in all your posts- be it the first blog post or the 100th. 

And the way to find those questions that people are asking is through keyword research.

You can use a keyword research tool or you can simply use Google. Type your main keyword into Google Search. Then look at the long tail variations that Google comes up with within Google Auto Suggest.

The more words in your keyword phrase, the easier it will be to rank on Google for that keyword.

5. Choose a Type of Blog Post

Choose what type of blog post you want to write. Here are some of the main types of blog posts you’ll find in the blogging space:

List Posts

These blog posts have titles like 11 Things to do before you start your blog’. List posts are easy to write, easy to read, and a quick way to share helpful, educational, or fun tips with your audience.

‘How To’ Posts

The ‘how-to’ post shows you how to do a specific thing, such as create an optimized Pinterest account. They usually contain step-by-step instructions and screenshots.

Interview Posts

Interviewing other bloggers or experts in your niche is a popular type of blog post. They’re easy to write, as the content comes from the expert responding to your questions and your job would be to come up with the questions.

Tutorials and Guides

These are in-depth blog posts that cover an entire topic in depth. This post you are reading right now is a guidepost.

Roundup Posts

Ask a range of bloggers or experts in a particular niche to give a one- or two-paragraph response to a simple question. Then compile their responses into a blog post. Or you ask a number of bloggers in a certain niche say Food, for their links to a certain recipe, say ‘chicken recipes for the holidays. Then you compile the recipes and links into a blog post ‘’ 20+ food bloggers share their best Chicken recipe…’’

Review Posts

Review posts compare two or more products and tell the reader which is best and why. Review posts are great posts to write if you are marketing affiliate products.

This section can form an entire post on its own. So I’m going to reserve the other tips for a different post– How to write a blog post. Check it out.

Moving on—

Where to Find Ideas For Your First Blog Post or any other Post– 

Keywords! Keywords research is one of the best ways to get ideas for your blog posts. But the term ‘keyword research’ is scary and intimidating to a lot of new bloggers. 

So, how and where do you get ideas for your blog posts that don’t involve keyword research? 

Inspiration abounds my friend. But sometimes we don’t know where or how to find the right ones. So, let me help you by sharing a few places you can get ideas for your first blog post. 

1. Steal Ideas for Posts From the Sidebars of Your Competitors

Sounds very basic, I know. I also know that a lot of bloggers will advise you to remove the sidebars from your blogs so your readers can focus on the one thing they came to do –’ read, learn’ without being distracted by your sidebar. 

There is a lot of sense in that. But the sidebar still serves many purposes. One of which helps your content (the ones listed on the sidebar) rank higher since it gets more eyes (and more clicks) than other pieces of content on your blog. The other purpose is the reason for this point. The blog posts on the sidebars of most bloggers are either their top-performing posts or their recent posts. The owners of these blogs have studied their analytics over time; they’ve learned which of their posts receives the most traffic and shares and they add those posts to their sidebars in order to improve their positions in the search engine results.

Use this information!

If you can tell your readers more about any topic in their top-performing post, and in greater detail with your own twist and unique experience (using your competitors’ articles on the sidebars), start there.

2. Facebook Groups

Join Facebook groups. There are tons of them. Pay attention to questions people ask in those groups, struggles they share, and courses/programs they are willing to pay for. This will give you an idea of what problem your audience is looking to solve. Write a post about it.

Another way to get blog post ideas from Facebook groups is to ask questions, take polls and surveys. You can create a number of posts from the responses you get.

3. Reddit

Get on Reddit if you aren’t. Join subreddits that are both specific to your niche and address general topics like writing, entrepreneurship, blogging, business, marketing, etc. Look for the most popular posts that were only published on the subreddits (not shared links).

Repurpose the popular Reddit posts by interviewing the original authors or doing more research to make your own original version, and then publish it to your blog.

4. Quora

Get on Quora. Yes, blogging or running an online business is going to make you sign up for lots of platforms, not necessarily to share and build a following, but to get ideas for your content and digital products. So, get on Quora and find a topic in your niche that lots of people are asking questions about. Run through the responses, research, and create a post.

5. Buzzsumo

Use Buzzsumo to find topics that are generating lots of shares on social media and posts that are most popular in your niche. Then write a similar but better post. You don’t have to offer the same advice or share your thoughts, but you do have to cover the same topic.

First Blog Examples: First Blog Posts of 11 Bloggers in Various Niches–

We asked 100+ bloggers “what was your first blog post?” (In Steve Harvey’s voice). Here are a few we got: 

1. Level Up Your Finance by Erin

A personal finance blog. She starts things off with Budgeting 101 for beginners. This is a great way to set the stage and expectations for your blog while also building your pillar/cornerstone content.  

2 Blog Accelerator by Yugen

We love how Yugen kicks things off by exploring and recommending a variety of tools and resources in his first blog post to help new bloggers get started on their blogging journey.

3 Kelly’s Classroom Online by Kelly

You can already tell what she’s about from her website name and first blog post. She dived straight into teaching her readers how to make a playdough and went ahead to create an infographic.

4. The Serenity Room by Gayle Walker

Gayle uses the introductory approach and uses an inspiring welcome post as her first blog post. We love that she talks about resolutions and commitments which is elaborated in her second blog post.

5. Living Peacefully at Home by Stephanie

The first blog post on living peacefully is a recipe post. Stephanie shares her first-time experience working with yeast and baking bread. As a baker who has had her first time experience and epic failure working with yeast and making bread, I completely relate to her post and experience.

6. Just Jass by Jasmyn

If you are an introvert like me, you will definitely love Jasmyn’s first blog post. She writes about how introverts can confront and overcome their fears. She shares tips that I find will be very helpful for introverts and anyone struggling with fears of any kind.

7. Mind Body Soul Family by Rachel

The first blog post on Rachel’s blog offers basic stretches and tips for people who work out without stretching. She starts off her blog with this valuable advice and then does her welcome post in her second blog post. 

8. Small Business Minded by Alissa

Alissa’s Small business-minded blog get’s right to the point: educating her readers about a great tool I’ve used for so many years in my business and personal life– Trello! She explains what the tool is and the different ways you can use it to stay organized and also manage your business. It’s not a long post, but it’s a great example of the kind of post her readers should expect from her blog.

9. Dumbbells not Blonde by Jericka

Here’s a solid intro post from Jericka that covers a little background, a little story – as well as a call to action to follow her on socials, see her product recommendations, and more.

10. Productive Journey by Olga

The first post on the productive journey blog shows 21 ways to be more productive while working remotely. This is an excellent way to introduce your audience to what your blog is all about while also creating content with high traffic and income potential.

11. Ladies Make Money by Marie

Ladies make money has a quick and easy first post that tells readers how bloggers make money. Making money as a blogger is a big topic and Marie chooses to unmask the topic in her first post.

What will your first blog post be?

It doesn’t really matter what your first post is. What matters is that you write it and that whatever you choose to write has a value of some sort to your audience.

But don’t let writing a perfect first post become the reason you put off starting your blog. Whatever you write, make it good and valuable. We’re sure you’ve gotten enough ideas for first blog post or at least a few to get you started. It doesn’t matter if you are writing your first personal blog post, or first fashion blog post, or your first post for whatever niche you’re in, you can always take the same approach and write something that will give your audience value.

Please leave a comment below and let us know what you thought about this post and what your first blog post was!

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog! Please share this post to Pinterest and any other platform you chose.

Pin this post to Pinterest: Hey, Thank you for reading this post! Would you mind sharing on Pinterest so others can see it too? Pin any or all of the images below
Thank you for sharing this post. It means a lot!!

Pin

Pin

Pin