Topic Research

You now know what subjects you want to cover, and you can start planning your blog post on one of these topics.

Determine the Message You Want To Get Across

Remember the essay advice you got at school about keeping to the question? Your blog post should focus on one goal or message.

You may come up with a subject idea and then have many subtopics underneath it. If you try to cover everything, you won't do it justice, and you'll also risk straying from the central message of your post.

Keep what you want your target reader to take away from this post in mind. Save those other ideas for later articles, where you can delve into them properly.

Free Hints From Google

Google already has many answers to the types of questions people are asking about a topic. When you type something in Google's search engine, scroll down to see the People Also Ask Section. Scroll further down, and you'll find Related Searches.

If your content answers these common questions, you're providing valuable information for your readers, which will help your article rank higher. 

Keyword Research

Keyword research is a component of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Many platforms are available (some free) to help you with keyword research. 

Identifying the words and phrases your target audience uses when searching for information related to your business can help you incorporate these keywords into your content. By using these keywords, your post will stand a better chance of reaching higher rankings. 

Short-Tail and Long-Tail Keywords

Short-tail keywords are broad-ranging and have high search volumes. They will generally use less than three words. For example, towels could be a short-tail keyword.

Trying to rank on the top page for towels will be a high ask, but if you can get more specific, you will have less competition. Long-tail keywords do just this. Use Egyptian cotton towels, and you've narrowed it down slightly. But if you want even less competition, you could drill down further by colour, size or GSM.

While ranking on short-tail keywords is doubtful, it doesn't mean you should omit them completely. Use a combination of both long-tail and short-tail keywords in your content.

Your keyword list will be a guide once you begin writing your article. Don't include keywords at the expense of the content's quality. If you can't insert a keyword without it looking clunky or irrelevant, don't force it in. It's easy to get distracted in pursuit of satisfying the algorithms and forget about the person reading your content. 

Data Research

If you're writing a blog post to inform and educate, ensure you have your facts right. Even if you think you know everything about a subject, background research helps you confirm what you know and fill in any knowledge gaps.

Having facts and statistics to refer to in your article also helps your content's credibility and impact. 

Suppose you're writing about the growth in urban areas. You could say most people in England live in urban areas. The statement is true, but it probably doesn't say anything that the reader doesn't already know. 

But if you stated that in 2019, 82.9% of England's population lived in urban areas, the statement leaves more of an impression. Sites like Statista are helpful resources for finding facts and figures about numerous subjects. 

Providing evidence to support your claims will also boost your position as a reliable source of information. If you want to talk about the health benefits of being around nature, link back to research that supports this. You can search for academic studies using Google Scholar.

Creating a data dump file for all your research is helpful, as it lets you have everything in one place when planning your article.

A Note on AI

Irrespective of our opinions, artificial intelligence (AI) is here. AI platforms can help you search for points or topics to cover in your article. But, be careful of any facts and figures quoted in the information, as it currently doesn't always get things 100% accurate. 

It's always worth doing secondary research to double-check facts and have a source you can link to. You also might need a greater depth of knowledge on particular aspects to ensure your content provides value. 

As a practice, it's wise to conduct comprehensive research from several streams rather than relying on one information source, even when you are not using AI.

Content Outline

It's tempting to start writing once you have finished researching, but create a content plan or outline before diving in.

Content outlines can help you structure your article for a better flow and ensure all points are covered.

The prospect of a blank page can be enough of a writing deterrent to send you off to clean the kitchen, sort out your sock drawer, or other procrastinations. An outline helps overcome writer's block and makes drafting less daunting. 

My content outline consists of creating headings for each area I want to cover and noting the points I want to include within each heading. It's about getting down the gist, even if that is just particular keywords or subheadings. Now is not the time to craft grammatically correct sentences and paragraphs. 

It's also helpful to paste in the URLs of any links you want to refer back to. It makes it easier to insert a backlink to the source or check information when you're drafting. 

Once you have this down, you can get an idea of whether your order flows or if you need to swap headings around. 

Your content outline will evolve, and you'll find a way of doing it that works for you. It might seem like a pointless extra step, but having a structure planned out will make your drafting process much more manageable.

Now You're Ready to Go

You should now have all the components to start writing. To avoid the dreaded blank page, paste your headings into your document. 

As you write, you may need to look up additional information or change things slightly. That's normal. Your preparation won't always capture everything, but the process will become easier as you get more experienced.



Creating content that serves a valuable purpose cannot be churned out conveyer-belt style. It requires time and attention, but investing some of that time before you start writing will improve your finished article.