Informational Blog Post Checklist

Use this checklist when creating informational blog posts:

• pick the topic or the keyword you will cover
  • in case you don’t have a topic or keyword ready, do some keyword research
    • think about some questions you had about the topic when you were a beginner
    • check some online forums and communities on the topic and see the most popular questions
    • enter the name of your niche or some of the most popular products into Google Keyword Planner, Answer the Public, or type it into Google and see the augocomplete, the “related searches”, and the “people also ask” section
    • check your competitor’s blogs or Youtube channels
• start a new post in WordPress
• add the placeholder title
  • use just the keyword itself
• research the competition and determine the requirements for your blog post
  • use an incognito browser, set the language to English and the region to US
  • take notes, you may use some of the points as headers or inspiration for content
  • type the keyword in Google
    • open each of the relevant search results into a new tab (some might not be relevant at times, ignore those)
    • take note of the headers, you may use some of them (but always change them at least a bit)
    • take note of the total word counts of the competing blog posts, find the maximum, and use that as a goal post for your own article and try to have at least 20% more words or at least a few more items in the list
      • use the Word Counter Plus browser extension
• research the topic
  • gather data and perform independent research if it makes sense
    • gather data about a certain aspect of the niche and extract conclusions from it, simply get all the data you can about the products in the niche and put it in a spreadsheet
    • outreach to people relevant to the topic and interview them if possible
    • perform the lab tests and the research yourself
  • think about your own experience and expertise on the topic, this can often be even more valuable than research
  • think laterally, think of points that may only be tangentialy related to the topic but still useful for your audience to know about
  • research Google Scholar, and cite and quote authorities on the topic
  • watch as many Youtube videos as you can
    • you can speed them up at x1.75 or x2 speeds to save some time
  • research all the relevant forums and online communities, including Quora, Reddit, and Facebook groups
  • see Google’s autocomplete options for your keyword and use the alphabet soup, but only take note of relevant points and ideas
  • see Google’s “People Also Ask” section for your keyword, and, again, only take note of relevant points and ideas
  • see Google’s “Related Searches” section for your keyword and only take note of relevant ideas
  • see Google’s keyword research planner results and only take note of relevant suggestions
  • see the results from Answer The Public and only take note of relevant ideas
  • research competing blog posts, but don’t read too much into their content unless it’s the only content available on the topic
• create the header structure
  • organize your notes in a hierarchical structure, use H2 headers for the most general points, and use H3 and H4 headers for the more specific points
  • as a very rough guideline, go for at least 5 H2 headers
  • group the points as best as you can, only make a point into an H2 header if you can’t fit it under an existing H2 or H3 header
• write the content
  • use the Grammarly browser extension at all times
  • you can leave the first few paragraphs for last, as they can be difficult to write first
  • start filling in the headers, simply fill in each header and subheader with content that explains, expands, informs, or educates on them
  • use short, clear sentences (if a sentence is too long, try to divide it into two)
  • use short paragraphs (sometimes a paragraph can be just one sentence)
  • use the “talk to your friend” writing techniqueuse a writing tone that’s professional, semi-official, but still friendly and warm
    • explain, inform, give your opinion and friendly recommendations
    • don’t judge, and don’t go out of your way to offend
    • don’t lie
    • use your personal perspective, but also refer to other sources and explanations when it makes sense
    • be specific and determined
    • avoid fluff, slang, cursing, and filler words
    • avoid sarcasm and humor
    • avoid overcomplicated words for the sake of just using them, although don’t fear them if they fit the context and they are the best choice
    • add relevant links as you go, both to other content on the blog and to external sources (you will do this again later, but this way you make sure you don’t forget any important links)
  • cut out words and phrases that are not necessary
  • if the header is a question, answer it immediatelly in a clear, concise, self-contained manner
  • if you get stuck, take another look at the product or go back to the research phase
  • write the first few paragraphs after you’re done with the rest of the articlefor the first paragraph, you can use the problem + connect + keyword formula (state the problem, connect with your reader, optionally use the keyword)
  • write the second paragraph so that it can win the Google featured snippet
    • answer the main question or summarize the entire article in a short, dry, almost boring way
    • use a lot of data, numbers, percentages, etc
    • try to not exceed 70-80 words
    • have the entire paragraph in bold
    • the entire paragraph should be very concise and not refer to any outside context (for example, don’t say “the product”, but use the product’s name instead)
  • use lists and tables as much as possible, and turn some of the other content into these formats when it makes sense
  • never copy content from elsewhere (we check the content for plagiarism, and if you do that you will get caught immediatelly and you will be permanently banned from the team)
• place the “Table of contents” widget before the first H2 header
• select all of the categories and subcategories that are relevant to the product
• link out to some relevant high-authority external sources, especially to research papers, studies, and content that supports the argument you are making in the blog post
• link out to other content from the blog if it makes sense
  • link out to other relevant informational blog posts to create a topic cluster and gain more relevance
  • link out to list articles whenever possible, especially from the sections near the end of the article
• create graphs, charts, inforgraphics, and illustrations for the article if feasible
  • try to create charts using the data for the research
  • try to create infographics whenever feasible
• add images
  • images should have a maximum width of 700-800 pixels
  • all of the images should be saved in the .jpg format
  • if you can’t find any relevant images, source them from stock image sources such as Pixabay, Pexels, Unsplash, etc, but make sure the images are at least somewhat relevant, otherwise don’t add them
  • set the featured image to be the best or the main image of the entire blog post
• highlight some of the most important points, ideas, and concepts from the blog post in bold
• correct the spelling, proofread the article, and edit it
  • read and check the article carefully (remember, if your content has too many mistakes for several times in a row, you might get rejected from the program, so make sure you are submitting your best work)
  • simplify the language you use if possible
  • if a sentence is too long, try to divide it into two
  • if a paragraph is too long, try to divide it into two
• briefly go through the entire article one last time, no need to focus on details this time, just make sure that the entire article makes sense as a whole and that the argument you are presenting is correct and has a nice flow to it
• craft the final title
  • the first part of the title remains the same, which is the main keyword
  • add the second part of the title, which can be the most important point of the article, the main conclusion, the most surprising fact, etc
• set the permalink, it should be the same as the main keyword but with hyphens instead of empty spaces
• hit the Publish button
• add internal links to the newly published article from other articles on the blog, especially from other informational articles that are related to the topic discussed. from parts where the topic is mentioned or covered
• share the article on social media, use the Blog2Social plugin in WordPress

It’s also recommended to go through the informational blog post writing guide previously.