The first blog post is often the hardest to write, with no guidance or set-in-stone instructions for bloggers to follow. Luckily, I’ve made a list that includes 20 first blog post ideas that you can use to get started off strong.
I’ve also made sure to include tips and tricks along the way to help you write the best possible first post.
Remember that all these ideas are just examples, and you still need to do keyword research and find what’s relevant in your own niche.
You’ll likely be posting articles that no one can find without keyword research, so it’s an essential part of blogging.
Let’s get started!
What should my first blog post be?
You’ve probably had this question for a while, but I have to let you know that there isn’t really a set answer because all niches are different.
For myself, I just wrote a simple list post as my first blog post. It wasn’t hard to write, but it got the ball rolling on this blog.
You could choose a different route, like writing a personal story as your introduction to blogging.
It could include a summary of yourself, your goals with the blog, and a way to connect with the audience.
Personally, I recommend to start writing like you’ve already got 100 posts under your belt; this will make it seem like you’re an experienced blogger (fake it till you make it).
I have to admit that everyone is different, and you may find it easier to write about yourself initially.
A must with blogging is to do keyword research. Without keyword research and implementing SEO, your blog will most likely never rank for organic traffic.
What is keyword research?
Keyword research is the process of looking for keywords that people type into search engines (like Google or Bing). It uncovers the number of people that search for specific terms in your niche and will help you find topics to write about.
Without keyword research, you may write about topics that no one is searching for. This makes your writing a complete waste of time and energy.
How to do keyword research for free
Here are a few free keyword research tools:
– Wordtracker (12 keyword searches a day)
– Ubersuggest (4 searches a day)
– Wordstream (shows top 25 keywords)
To use them, simply search up a phrase or term in your niche and choose a location (where you want your traffic to come from).
The tools will spit out dozens of related terms and ideas to show you the volume of searches, SEO difficulty (lower number = easier to rank for), and the paid difficulty.
You can then use these keyword tools to figure out what to write articles on (this is just the bare minimum for keyword research).
Now enough with keyword research, here are the first blog post ideas to help you write your first article.
I’ve also made sure to include 6 different blog post types, so you’ll be sure to find an idea!
20 First Blog Post Ideas
Lists
Lists are a great way to get started with blogging and an easy way to write. This is because they’re everywhere and an easy way to take in a lot of information.
People really like reading lists, and they’re an easy way to get your first blog post done and out of the way.
Simply choose any topic in your niche, and answer it in a list format like 1, 2, 3, etc. It could be about hacks, tips and tricks, roundups, or more!
Funny enough, the post you’re reading right now is a list post; another example would be my 15 blogging tips for beginners article.
List ideas:
- 10 [Niche] Tips & Tricks You Must Know
- List of Hacks for [Niche]
- Top 20 Must-Have __________ | Tech gadgets, Amazon products, productivity books, clothing items, etc.
- My 5 Most Used Tools as a __________ | Photographer, blogger, makeup artist, writer, etc.
How-to Guides
How-to guides are another insanely popular blog post format, and they’re one of the best first blog post ideas.
They involve explaining something that you’re already confident or familiar with and can generally be about anything.
Remember that people search for the answer, so don’t fill the content up with fluff to hit a higher word count. Answer and break down the how-to question to show that you’re knowledgeable in your niche.
Also, explain the topic in the simplest way possible. People searching for how-tos generally don’t understand the subject yet, so make sure it’s easy to understand.
Example how to: How to Stay Productive Blogging [10 Effective Ways]
How-to guides:
- How to Become a Better __________ | Leader, writer, investor, video editor, etc.
- How to Stay Organized as a __________ | Mom, social media manager, personal trainer, small business, etc.
- How to Make Money as a [Niche]
- How to Get Clients as a __________ | Photographer, personal trainer, nutritionist, graphic designer, financial advisor, etc.
↓ Like free stuff? ↓
What is Posts
These articles are about providing an answer to a ‘what is’ question. These blog posts have to be specific and give the answer quickly into the article.
If you were searching ‘what is a backlink,’ you’d expect to find the answer within the first few sentences. Any longer than that, and you’d probably move onto another post.
The blog post doesn’t have to be short, though, because you can explain the topic further through statistics and information.
An example would be my what is the ideal blog post length in 2021 article. The question was answered in the first section and bold, so it was pretty easy to find.
What is posts:
- What Is The Best Product for [Niche-related issue]?
- What is a __________ ? | Blogger, photographer, social media manager, etc.
- What is The [Niche-related Question]?
- What Is The Best Technology for [Niche]?
Personal Stories
A personal story could be an excellent first blog post idea for beginners.
Simply share a personal experience or story that can allow readers to connect with you. These posts may not rank well in search engines but could be an excellent post to link to future articles.
Don’t use this post to promote affiliate links; just use it as a way to build a solid connection with your audience. To get people to buy from you as a blogger, they first need to trust you.
Personal story ideas:
- Why I Started This [Niche] Blog
- My Personal Growth Story
- How I Became a/an __________ | Journalist, entrepreneur, fashion designer, vegetarian/vegan, etc.
Checklists
A checklist post covers many things to do before completing a specific task.
These are one of the most simple articles to publish, as all you’re doing is writing a checklist for others to use.
The great thing about checklist posts is that you can also include a free checklist printable through an email opt-in. This will help in building your email list from day one.
Checklist post
- 25 Essential Items to Pack Before __________ | Camping, traveling, a business trip, a cruise, etc.
- 15 Things to Include in a __________ | Resume, budget, business plan, etc.
- __________ Checklist | Spring cleaning, writing, wedding, moving, etc.
Reviews
The last of the first blog post ideas is doing a product or service review.
It’s pretty simple, write a comprehensive review of a product you use and would recommend to anyone.
I haven’t gone without buying something over $100 before reading a review in the past few years, and they’re as popular as ever.
Writing a review also allows you to include affiliate links to the product and potentially make money.
Fun fact: The first-ever affiliate sale I made (a whopping $2.09) was from a review post I wrote.
Example review: Shopback Review: How to Shop Online and Earn Cash Back
Review post ideas:
- [Product/Service] Review: __________ | Should you buy? What to expect. 1 month later. (Could also just leave blank)
- [Product/Service] vs [Product/Service] – Which is Better?
3 First Blog Post Tips
Here are three tips that I’d give to anyone about to write their first blog post. I wish I had this clarification as a beginner, so implement them wisely.
1. Make your content skimmable
The first of the blog tips is to make your content skimmable, so when people are reading your article, they don’t get lost or confused about where they’ve read up to.
An excellent way to make your content skimmable is to break up sentences into an easier-to-read format.
As you may have noticed with my blog, I try to keep paragraphs at around 2 – 3 sentences max.
I also like to bold particular essential phrases so that if people skim the post, they can find the answers as efficiently as possible.
Being a blogger, you want your user experience to be excellent, and this is one of the easy ways to achieve it from day one.
2. Write like how you usually talk
The second blogging tip I have for your first blog post is writing like you usually would talk.
Before I started blogging, I always thought I’d have to write in intricate and sophisticated ways.
Man, was I so wrong.
I learned that you write like how you’d usually talk to someone; this allows readers to easily connect with you, making you seem more human. It also allows your blog to be read by more age groups without being too confusing.
A good practice is reading your blog post aloud after it’s finished. I usually pick up on so many mistakes reading aloud than just reading in silence.
3. Don’t aim for perfection
The last blogging tip is not to aim for a perfect first blog post (for generally any post).
As humans, we often want to aim for perfection, but it isn’t attainable.
So with your blog posts, aim for about 80% perfect. Make sure to write to your best knowledge, but do not stress if it isn’t as good as you initially hoped.
With time, you’ll become a better writer.
And guess what!
You can continually update your old posts.
Just make sure that the original post has good punctuation and spelling, and you’ll be good to post it.
Conclusion
So there we have 20 first blog post ideas and tips and tricks to make it a great article.
Remember to not worry if it isn’t perfect; aim for about 80% perfect, and then post it. Just like with anything, practice makes (near) perfect, so your 100th blog post will be a lot better than your first post.
The great thing with blogging is that nothing is really permanent, so you can always go back and update your older blog posts to revamp and revitalize them.
I hope that this article has also helped you figure out what to write as a beginner blogger.
What do you plan on writing for your first blog post?