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How to write a blog that people read
How can you avoid having your research article remain an open, unread tab on someone's internet browser?
I’m afraid I have some bad news.
I know that getting that journal article published was gruelling, but one effective solution is to rewrite your research in a different format. With over 600 million blogs worldwide as of 2024, translating academic work into engaging blog content is key to reaching broader audiences. This is crucial in an era of short attention spans, especially among pivotal readers like policymakers who value concise, digestible content.
Based on my experience writing blog posts, managing multiple blogs and editing 50+ research-based blog posts, this post outlines five tips to turn your research into compelling blog posts, ensuring your findings don’t just stay as unread tabs.
Five tips for writing a research-based blog post
#1: Know who you’re talking to
If you’ve ever been in a communications meeting, someone has almost certainly asked: ‘Who is your target audience?’ Painstakingly, all too often, answers are something like this, “We’re writing for academics and policymakers, the press, and you know the general public. It’s a mix!”
Consider your target audience like a research question: a general research question leads to less interesting and informative results, while a specific one makes your work more focused and informative. So, when writing a blog post, you have to know who your target audience is (you can have two max—a primary and a secondary) and then your entire post—from what you say to how you say it to how to structure it—needs to be geared to this person. Your job is to translate your findings in a way that makes sense to that person.
#2: Write as if people are going to scan your post. Because they are.
Do you want to know a secret writing for the web?
Research shows when people open a page, they don’t just start reading left to right, working their way down the article. Nope, instead, they scroll; they do so in different patterns, but either way, people scan first and then, possibly, read.
You can leverage this tendency by:
- Chunking your content—break it into small, distinct groups with clear headers, use bullets or lists when possible.
- Use informative headings and subheadings
- Bold key phrases and main arguments
- Use images, charts, or graphics instead of tables
#3: Pick one key message from your research
To write a strong research-based post, you need to pick one aspect from your research to focus on. Make what people will learn by reading your post clear in the title. Don’t try to cover everything in your 20-page paper—that’s what a 20-page paper is for.
#4: Your opening paragraph needs to be the star of the show.
Theatre may award grand finales, but in a blog post, it’s the opening paragraph that you want to be the star of the show. In journalism they call this the nut graph.
A good opening paragraph needs to:
- hook the readers and make them want to read more.
- establish essential facts of your piece, answering the Five Ws: who, what, where, when, why, and sometimes how.
- share what’s new, relevant or surprising; why does this post matter, and why now?
#5: Write like you would talk, but keep it brief
Write like you were talking to a friend at a café:
Use the active, first-person voice: I found, we learned, what this means for you
Use language that your grandmother would understand: complex ideas are fine, but explain them in straightforward terms. Hyperlink to references instead of using footnotes.
Make it relevant: Readers want to know: What are the findings? What can people do with this? Why does this matter?
Are you ready to get started?
Use the tips above to start writing a blog post to help more people access, understand, and utilise the hard-earned research you have produced. If you don’t know where to begin, try in one sentence to explain the key point of your blog and why someone should care. If you can’t do that it means you haven’t focused your blog post topic clearly enough. From there, after you have a draft, use the checklist below for a quick reference guide to see how you’re doing.
Research-based Blog Post Checklist
Key message: You should choose one main finding or argument to discuss. Do not try to summarize an entire article.
Research-based: The findings or arguments you pose should be rooted in research findings (yours or others), not your opinion (that’s what an op-ed is for).
Titles: Keep your headline simple and direct – it should be seven to ten words at most, with the most relevant and important words at the start.
Style: Write like people talk. Complex ideas are fine, but explain them in simple terms.
Referencing: Back your statements, facts and figures with research. Hyperlink keywords to the referenced article instead of using in-text citations or write out who you’re referring to in the text (e.g. According to sociologist, Bob Jones… ). Try to avoid pay-walled references.
Charts: Use charts or figures, which are easier to read than tables.
Headings and subheadings: Use descriptive headings and subheadings. Bold key phrases.
Chunk: Break information into smaller pieces. Use bullets and lists when possible.
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