Writing is an art that needs more than simply putting words together; how you structure your writing can significantly affect how your audience will react. Whether you’re a student, blogger, or professional writer, formatting is fundamental to writing. Learning the craft of formatting is necessary for clearly presenting your thoughts.
Proper formatting can make your writing more visually appealing by helping you grab your reader’s attention, emphasizing key points, breaking up dense paragraphs, guiding them through your message, and leaving a lasting impression.
It’s not just about aesthetics; formatting can make your writing easier to understand and retain. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the value of formatting in writing and offer helpful advice to help you become better formatted. You’ll be able to advance your writing and enthrall your readers by the end of this article.
What Is Blog Formatting?
Blog formatting is the act of structuring and organizing your blog post to emphasize the critical messages and enhance the reader’s experience. While there is no one-size-fits-all format for blog posts, most successful ones follow a similar structure.
It involves mapping an attention-grabbing header structure, an engaging introduction, a body with relevant and valuable content, and a conclusion summarizing the post’s main points. This structure helps in improving readability.
Employing visual cues to direct the reader, or infographics, bullet points, or numbered lists to break up the text and following uniform style rules, writers can create a well-formatted blog post that keeps readers engaged and coming back for more.
Ultimately, how a blog post is formatted affects how effectively an idea is conveyed.
Importance of Blog Post Formatting
Blog post formatting is essential in creating engaging and compelling content. A proper blog format makes a post visually appealing and more accessible for readers to understand the content.
- Formatting helps to capture the reader’s attention. A catchy headline and visually appealing featured image can draw the reader in and entice them to read further. Subheadings, bullet points, and bold/italicized text also help to break up large blocks of text, making it easier for readers to scan the content and find the information they need.
- Formatting makes the content more readable and understandable. A clear structure with a logical flow guides the reader through the content, making it easier to follow and comprehend. Using images, charts, and infographics can help illustrate complex concepts and data, making it easier for the reader to understand.
- The proper blog post format improves search engine optimization (SEO). Proper formatting, including subheadings, meta descriptions, and alt tags on images, can improve the chances of ranking higher on search engines.
- Good formatting establishes credibility and professionalism. A well-formatted blog post with good grammar and spelling demonstrates that the blogger takes their content seriously and has put effort into creating high-quality content. It can help to build trust with readers and establish the blogger as an authority in their niche.
All these and more are why formatting a blog post is essential.
Types Of Blog Post Formats
The three main types of blog post formats are as follows:
- Standard format
- List format
- How-to format
Standard Format
The most popular blog post format is the standard format. If you’re new to blogging, this is the most accessible format and a wonderful place to begin. Simply compose a headline and begin with an introduction when writing this manner. After that, you’ll begin the post’s body and finish with a summary or call to action.
Additionally, this is a fantastic option if you’re producing a post that doesn’t need specific formatting (such as a list or tutorial). You typically utilize the following types of content in this format:
- Your thoughts,
- Stories,
- News reports
Although there isn’t a set pattern for blog postings, a few components are frequently present.
The headline or title of most blog articles informs readers of the post’s topic. They often also have an introduction that gives readers a summary of the subject.
Most of the text is located in the post’s body, frequently separated into sections with headings to make it easier to read. Finally, the conclusion of most blog entries includes a call to action or a recap of the key ideas.
Although there is no correct or incorrect method to write a blog post, including these components can make your content easier to read and keep your readers engaged
List Format
You have two writing options: write in length or write succinctly. Employ a range of formats in a single post to shake things up. The list format is frequently disregarded.
The list format can be compelling, even though it may not be engaging. It is highly scannable, which is significant given that most readers merely skim blog content. Additionally, it is simple to comprehend and retain, making it perfect for anyone wishing to remember an article’s essential ideas.
Finally, the list format is flexible and may be applied to various subjects. The list style is a terrific choice whether you want to offer your best money-saving advice or your go-to summer barbecue recipes.
So keep the power of the list in mind the next time you come up with blog post ideas.
How-To Format
The how-to format is a fantastic choice if you want to publish a blog post that is both educational and beneficial.
This post takes readers step-by-step through a procedure, such as launching a blog or preparing the ideal green smoothie. Ensuring understandable and straightforward directions is essential to crafting a good how-to post.
You may give readers the necessary information to act on your advice by writing a well-written and valuable how-to piece. You should also provide many images or videos to help explain each step. Last but not least, make sure to review your post before publishing thoroughly.
Comparison/Review Articles
Comparison articles are a tried-and-true structure for comparing goods, services, or people. They are designed to draw attention to the similarities and contrasts within each category, making it easier for the reader to skim and grasp the significant ideas swiftly.
In the end, these articles assist readers in reaching their own personal best decisions.
Factors to Consider When Choosing The Right Blog Post Format For Your Content
Engaging content that connects with your audience requires the right blog post style. Determining which format is appropriate for your material can be difficult, though, because so many possibilities are accessible.
To help you make an informed choice that will maximize the effect of your material, we’ll go through the main variables to consider when selecting a blog post style in this section.
Think About Your Blog Post’s Objectives
Consider the goal of your blog article. Do you want to inform or enlighten your audience? Are you attempting to start a conversation with your reader? If so, a round-up or Q&A format could be appro. A list of articles might be suitable.
Your blog topic is likely already chosen when you compose guest blog posts or compile your first ideas for blog posts.
Consider your target audience
Next, think about who you want to reach.
What kind of content evokes a response? Look at some of your most well-liked blog posts. Which format do they use? Consider utilizing Google Analytics.
You may learn from this data what kinds of material your viewers are interested in.
Take Your Blog Post’s Length Into Account
Second, think about how long your blog article will be. An article style might be ideal if you have a lot of material to discuss. On the other hand, a list structure can be more suited if you only have a few essential points to express.
Numerous free blogging platforms for search engine optimization are available. Remember that most search engines prefer to display shorter blog posts in their search results if you strive for SEO.
Consider The Blog Content
Finally, think about the blog’s actual content. What kind of data are you disclosing?
A video or photo lesson may be the most suitable option if the information is best given visually, such as a recipe or how-to guide. However, a standard blog post format might be appropriate if it could be explained through language, such as a list of suggestions or thoughts.
When selecting the appropriate blog post format for your material, there is no right or wrong choice. The most crucial thing is to choose a format suitable for your post’s subject and goal. You may write a blog post that is educational and entertaining for your reader by taking the time to accomplish this.
Tips for Effective Blog Formatting
Below are a few tips on blog formatting.
Analyze the Search Intent of Your Target Audience
Your primary goal as a marketer is to give a precise and in-depth response to your target demographic’s inquiry or search query. When someone searches for information or enters a search engine query, their main objective is to fulfill their search purpose.
Google displays the most relevant results for any search query to fulfill search intent. You can evaluate how content is best delivered to meet the expectations of your audience by examining other articles that are ranking for your target term.
The elements below can be examined:
- What format do these articles follow? (Are blogs mostly “What is,” “how to,” or list-based?)
- What other structural components do they employ? Are there tabs or lists?
- What visuals are included there? (Are there a lot of pictures or videos?)
- How long are those blog posts?
- What kinds of questions and subtopics are they addressing?
By researching what your competitors are doing, you can keep your readers engaged while passing out the information they need.
Pick the Relevant Blog Post Format
After examining the search aim, you can choose the best blog structure for your circumstance.
You may have seen some typical formatting patterns relating to the subject of your blog in the preceding phase. For instance, do all articles with high rankings appear to be lists of things, or do they concentrate on describing a specific workflow?
The most shared article forms are shown below to aid you in creating an initial foundation for your piece:
- Listicles
- How-To Articles
- Comparison/Review Articles
- Guides
Use A Catchy Headline
A compelling blog title should grab readers’ attention and deliver the information they seek without delay. If your title is unique, people are likelier to click on your blog article in organic search results and social media. And take note: Blog titles with 6-13 words draw the most traffic, according to Optinmonster.
There are three primary purposes for blog post titles:
- Captivate your audience’s attention and encourage clicks
Your title must be precise and emphasize the benefit the readers will receive from doing this. A good title should pique readers’ interest, and it can do this by utilizing one or more of the following strategies:
- Point out a knowledge gap the reader may have.
- Give an intriguing viewpoint.
- Being contentious in any way
- Share something that will have an impact on the business or neighborhood.
- Link to a significant news item or a well-known person
- Clearly state the article’s subject
Articles must fulfill the promise made in their titles. Anything deceptive or “clickbaity” will probably have a negative reading experience and a high bounce rate.
- Obtain organic traffic using SEO.
Your title must contain your primary keyword to maximize SEO. 71% of blog entries with low ratings fall short in this regard. The title must be no longer than 60 characters to appear correctly in search results. The competitors should be studied and used as inspiration.
Investigate your topic’s most read and link-generating headlines with the Topic Research tool.
Make your blog content easy to read.
When they read an article, readers want to know exactly how to solve an issue or carry out a task. Make your blog article skimmable by splitting up phrases and paragraphs to create white space on the page. It will prevent text from overwhelming your readers. Use the following best practices to break up your content:
- Use bullet points
Readers can quickly and simply scan content with the use of bullet points. For the following reasons, you should include at least one bulleted list in every blog post:
- Creates additional space
- Differentiates itself from the rest of the text
- Makes ideas easier to understand
- It’s quick and straightforward to read
You get the idea. A longer text could have covered the same ground, but bullets are more efficient in getting the point through. You can use numbered lists and bulleted lists to organize consecutive items.
2. Use headers and subheaders
Headers give a blog post structure and direction for readers, allowing them to instantly understand the material without reading it all.
Headers are known as H tags in SEO vocabulary, and they refer to the HTML tag that controls title order. Therefore, your H1 is the page’s title, followed by your H2 headers, H3 subheaders, etc. Use a variety of headers in each post; they not only make it easier for readers to scan articles but also make it easier for search engines to recognize and rank your posts. Keep headers concise, precise, and to the point because of this. You most certainly don’t want to mislead Google or your audience.
- Bold or italicize critical information
Bold a fact or point you want the reader to remember or take away from your blog post. When skimming a manuscript, readers can rapidly identify important information by highlighting a sentence.
Use this strategy carefully, though, as not every sentence is necessary for your blog content. Avoid bolding entire paragraphs or too many consecutive sentences. Simply italicize the critical details that support the idea and make sense on their own. Italics can also accentuate content, but only for select words or quotations. It can be challenging to read if a sentence or paragraph is entirely italicized.
Include a table of contents.
A table of contents gathers your headings and subheaders to demonstrate how you arranged your post. The reader can see what to expect from your article by clicking the table of contents. The table of contents alone can give the reader a solid impression of your work’s length and level of depth, even better if your table of contents includes hyperlinks to each appropriate section. It makes it simple for visitors to get the content they want to read.
Use Visuals
A blog post’s views rise by 94% when photographs are included. In addition to breaking up text, well-designed visuals, infographics, films, or practical charts and graphs can make the content easier to understand. What purpose does a blog serve if it can’t be read easily? In fact, according to 32% of marketers, photos are the most crucial type of marketing for their company.
Your content should begin with a compelling featured image. Insert photographs inside the text, either in the middle or aligned. Video content is 50 times more likely to generate organic visitors than plain text.
Only 19% of bloggers use videos, so include one in your post to help it stand out.
Use Readable Fonts
A non-standard or challenging-to-read typeface can draw attention away from your material. Consistently use sans-serif fonts, such as Helvetica, Arial, or Geneva, which don’t have tiny feet on the extremities of the letters. You can alter the font to make your title stand out, but avoid doing it too frequently on a single page.
It matters what font size you use. Readers who don’t want to strain their eyes will click away if your text is too small. Depending on the typeface you’ve chosen, your blogging platform, and whether a desktop or mobile browser is used to read the page, you might need to modify the size. An excessively huge typeface may appear yell-like.
Add pertinent links
Internal and external links support the SEO of your blog and tell readers about other resources for a particular subject mentioned in a post. Additionally, you can provide links to advertise other blog topics or goods. Links stand out since they typically display in color other than your primary body copy, much like bolded or italicized text does.
Highlight your CTA
The calls to action in your blog article should be obvious. Make your call to action as straightforward as possible, whether to join your blog’s mailing list or fill out a contact form. Make your CTA stand out to readers using various fonts, contrasting colors, forms, or buttons. It may appear at the end of the piece, in the opening sentence, or even as a pop-up window as the reader scrolls down the page.
Be careful not to be too “in your face.” Again, you don’t want to annoy your reader, but you do want them to be aware that they can take an optional action concerning this blog post.
Conclusion
Formatting is a critical aspect of effective communication in writing. Using the advice in this article, you can make your information more readable and visually appealing, making it simpler for readers to comprehend and interact with.
Keep in mind that effective formatting can help you establish credibility, boost your SEO, and gain the trust of your audience in addition to its visual benefits. Take the effort to format your writing correctly, and you’ll be well on your way to producing material that draws readers in and helps you reach your content marketing objectives.
