Today it seems like everybody is blog, blog, blogging away. So it’s very easy to write a blog post just for the sake of it, without really knowing what you’re blogging or why. However, for best results it’s always a good idea to ask yourself these five basic questions before writing your next (or first) blog post:

– Why are you writing this blog post?

Always have a reason in mind …. always have an objective. Be quite clear what you hope to achieve as a result of writing this blog post. (Just because blogging is the ‘in’ thing to do isn’t a good reason!)

Are you positively trying to sell something? Are you trying to build a mailing list, or followers etc.? Are you trying to raise your personal/company profile? Are you just trying to generate traffic for your blog or website.

– Who is going to read your blog post?

As with any kind of marketing-orientated copy your blog should always be written with a specific readership in mind …. not just anybody and everybody. To make it easier have your ‘typical’ reader in your mind’s eye when you write.

Think about exactly what sort of content will appeal to your typical reader …. and what won’t?

– What sort of blog post is it going to be?

Deciding this in advance will make your blog post much easier to write. There aren’t and hard and fast rules on what your blog should be, but try to keep to the same genre throughout.

For example is it a news-based post? It is an opinion piece …. perhaps giving your views on another news story? Is it a forecast? Is it is diary piece? Is it an advisory piece?

– Where is your blog post going to be posted? And what sort of post will be best suited to that location?

Will your post be posted to your own personal blog, a corporate blog or a guest post to another kind of blog, probably a third party blog. If a third party blog, what kind of a blog is that …. and who is going to read it?

Bear in mind that posts to social media are also a kind of blog post, eg. Twitter is a form of microblogging.

(Remember that blog posts may be shared and shared again. So also think about where it might end up …. although it is pretty much impossible to control.)

– Is whatever you are planning to say in your blog post really worth saying?

There’s a huge temptation today to blog just for the sake of it …. or to blog as much as possible just to get a high volume of content out there. While there’s something to be said for quantity as much as quality, blog posts where there is something really worth saying are more likely to be effective …. and are also much easier to read.

Ask yourself, if my blog post had been written by somebody else would I really want to read it? (If you don’t, chances are your readers won’t want to read it either!)

For more useful articles, help and advice keep dropping by my blog at www.markhempshell.com