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By: David Subers

While there are no hard and fast rules about how to write and structure your blog post, there are a few guidelines you'll want to follow so your post doesn't suck.

There has been a lot written about what goes into making a great blog, but in turning it around it may open your eyes to a few new ways of thinking about making your next blog posts the best they can be.

The headline captures your attention
Think about it, you were intriged to see the reasoning behind the title. The headline is so, so important because it serves as the 'face' of the post on social media sites, search engine results and RSS feeds among others.

It's done in an easy to scan format
We all love bulletted lists. It's the easiest way to digest the huge amount of information we process daily from our research on the internet. It makes a post easy to scan so we can quickly determine what (if any) information is important to us.

It's original
While there are thousands of posts about how to write a good blog, I've tried to make it more original so that the potential exists that readers like yourself will see new information when it's posted in a new and unique manner.

It's well layed out
I spent 10 years as a typesetter before transitioning the business to a digital medium. The layout of your blog should ALWAYS be carefully considered. Think about when you get to a particular style of page layout that instantly turns you off. The first thing you say to yourself is "Ugh, I'm not picking through this novel to find the tidbit of information I'm seeking". If you deliver your content in a warm and inviting layout your readers will appreciate it and reward you by hanging around longer to digest all of your wisdom.

It's engaging, unique and my wife loves it
Still here aren't you? I researched pretty extensively to make sure this information has never been presented quite like I have presented here. This blog also offers a few bullet point titles that capture your attention to grab you in. As far as my wife goes, it's important to always run your work by a trusted confidant.

Intriguing Introduction and Conclusion
It's important to write a short introduction and conclusion to draw people into your meaty center. The majority of folks are only going to scan your post, so it's important you hook them in early on. A well written, intriguing conclusion will ensure that the folks who scanned your content will potentially pick up something they missed and scan back into the middle again. A blog's most valuable asset is contained in the amount of words read. The more content of a blog that your readers read, the more likely they will share that information.

It's short
I'll never understand why some posts go on for pages. If you have a lot to say, break it up into several digestable posts. When you come upon a really long post your first thought is, "I don't have the time for all this, let's check for something shorter". Keep it short, enough said.

CONCLUSION
Let's face it, nobody wants to write a sucky blog. These things are hard enough to write and research without ending up with bunch of words nobody cares about. Hit most of the points outlined in this blog if not all of them and you'll be successful. Most subjects have been blogged to death, so it's important to heed this advice with every new blog you write. If you liked this post, please share it; if not, no worries, I had fun writing it. Have a great day.