Introduction
What You'll Learn
In this lesson you'll learn the fundamentals of a great "How To" blog post. We will walk you through the steps and tricks needed to format one of the most popular post in blog-sphere.
Why is This Important?
A “how to” blog post does exactly what it describes: it teaches the reader how to do something by breaking down a series of steps. Ideal for personal trainers who wish to share their expertise.
In this lesson you'll learn the fundamentals of a great "How To" blog post. We will walk you through the steps and tricks needed to format one of the most popular post in blog-sphere.
Why is This Important?
A “how to” blog post does exactly what it describes: it teaches the reader how to do something by breaking down a series of steps. Ideal for personal trainers who wish to share their expertise.
Historically, this type of post performs well for most bloggers, and with good reason. While we enjoy a good philosophical discussion or a hot debate that puts our cerebral cortex into overdrive, the fact is that we all want to learn how to get stuff done.
“How-to” type posts draw us like moths to a flame because we assume we’re going to learn how to do something faster, cheaper, or better than other people, or shave some time off a tedious, outdated process that makes us want to stick a fork in our left eye.
“How-to” type posts draw us like moths to a flame because we assume we’re going to learn how to do something faster, cheaper, or better than other people, or shave some time off a tedious, outdated process that makes us want to stick a fork in our left eye.
1. Plan Your Blog Post
Take several minutes to plan out what you want to write about so that you can stay on topic and keep your readers engaged.
Step 1: Identify Your Audience
Which buyer persona are you writing this blog post for?
Step 1: Identify Your Audience
Which buyer persona are you writing this blog post for?
Example: Jane, 30 years old, mother of 2, struggles with time and trying to fit the workouts in... |
Step 2: Identify Your Key Takeaway
What do you want your audience to know how to do after reading your blog post?
Example: How to create their own workout... |
Step 3: Brainstorm a Few Possible Titles
You don’t have to pick the perfect title before your blog post is done, but it definitely helps to jot down a few ideas to help keep you focused during the writing process.
Example: 5 Steps To a Perfect Workout... |
Step 4: Create an Outline
The typical how-to blog post consists of:
- An introduction: Sets the stage for what you plan to teach your readers how to do.
- A body: Explains the every step involved in learning how to do that thing.
- A conclusion: Wraps up your post with a brief statement that's reflective of what your readers just learned.
2. Start Writing The Intro
Use the guidance on the left to write your blog post in the space on the right. When you're done you can simply copy and paste your blog post in to your website editor.
Write a compelling opening that empathizes with the reader on a problem or difficulty.
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Explain the problem in further detail.
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Explain how you’ll fix the problem by teaching the reader how to do something.
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Transition into the body where you’ll explain the how-to steps in detail.
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3. On To The Body
Remember, the body follows through on what you promised in the introduction. Your body can be written in paragraphs, with bullets, numbered lists, multiple headings, or a mix of all of these. You can make use of whichever format is easiest for you.
Remember to include all the steps you need to explain in order to avoid confusion, and add any visuals that will make learning easier for your readers?
Remember to include all the steps you need to explain in order to avoid confusion, and add any visuals that will make learning easier for your readers?
Write a header that will indicate to readers you’re getting into the meat of your post.
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List out each step involved in the learning process.
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Transition into the conclusion.
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4. The Conclusion
Your conclusion is where you’ll paraphrase the key takeaway you outlined earlier in the planning stages and/or prompt your reader with a question.
Summarize what the reader learned or how they benefited from reading your post.
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Ask a question to encourage the reader to leave a comment or react.
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5. Link to Additional Resources
Sometimes it’s hard to say everything you want to say about a single topic in one post, which is why it’s helpful to your readers to identify additional resources you can link to for additional detail or credibility.
Hyperlinking to other blog posts or pages on your site can result in increased visibility in search engines, page views, and time on site. Hyperlinking to third party content can round out your perspective and help you appear more trustworthy to your readers.
Hyperlinking to other blog posts or pages on your site can result in increased visibility in search engines, page views, and time on site. Hyperlinking to third party content can round out your perspective and help you appear more trustworthy to your readers.
6. Revisit Your Title
Revisit your working title and see if you can make it more accurate, specific, sexy, concise, and SEO-optimized.
7. Add a Call To Action
Do you want your readers to sign up for your newsletter? Request more information? Tweet something? Download something? Buy something?
What do you want readers to do after they’ve read your blog post?
Once you know what your desired call-to-action is, include it at the end of your post.
What do you want readers to do after they’ve read your blog post?
Once you know what your desired call-to-action is, include it at the end of your post.
8. Optimize For Search
If you’ve spent all this time writing a great blog post, you’ll want to make sure it can be easily discovered in search engines. Make sure your keywords, or a variation of your keywords are:
- In the Title of the blog post
- In paragraph one of the post
- In a second header
- Written once in bold
- In your last paragraph
Frequently Asked Questions
HOW ARE "HOW TO" BLOG POST GOOD FOR PT'S?
Personal trainers have a lot of knowledge and skill to offer, so a how to post is just ideal for your audience. It answers those burning desires and questions of your clients, in a value added blog post, with great potential for sharing.
WHAT FORMAT SHOULD I CHOOSE FOR MY BLOG POST?
The structure should include a beginning+ Middle and Conclusion, like any good story. You can choose to write in paragraphs or bullet points for the main body. The header should always answer a burning question of your clients "How do I get a flat stomach?"...how do I build my stamina?".....
WHY SHOULD I ADD A CALL TO ACTION?
After a person reads t\your amazing blog post, they may feel ready to action what they have read and whilst they are in this state of action, you should seize the opportunity to gather their e-mails and get them to sign up to your mailing list.
Personal trainers have a lot of knowledge and skill to offer, so a how to post is just ideal for your audience. It answers those burning desires and questions of your clients, in a value added blog post, with great potential for sharing.
WHAT FORMAT SHOULD I CHOOSE FOR MY BLOG POST?
The structure should include a beginning+ Middle and Conclusion, like any good story. You can choose to write in paragraphs or bullet points for the main body. The header should always answer a burning question of your clients "How do I get a flat stomach?"...how do I build my stamina?".....
WHY SHOULD I ADD A CALL TO ACTION?
After a person reads t\your amazing blog post, they may feel ready to action what they have read and whilst they are in this state of action, you should seize the opportunity to gather their e-mails and get them to sign up to your mailing list.