This is not your typical growth hack BS guide. Instead, I will show you what actually works right now—step by step.

I've used this strategy to get millions of reads to my blogs. Hope you like it. :)

Watch my video version of this post here:

1. Choose a topic

It all starts with choosing a blog post topic.

To see results, you can't just choose a random topic and write about it.

Instead, your topic should be "in-demand." Your post should solve someone's problems.

• A topic like "How to clean shoes" might be a good topic.
• A post like "I went to dinner last night" is a very bad idea.

Long gone are those days when you could just write random posts about yourself or your thoughts. That's what platforms like YouTube and TikTok are for.

But how can you come up with your topic if most of the content ideas are bad?

Choose the topics based on data.

Here are my main ways of finding blog post topics.

1. Google Recommendations
2. Competitors
3. Google Trends

Let's take a closer look at each method.

1. Google Recommendations

To find in-demand blog post topics, just see what people type on Google and write about it.

To do this, open Google in an incognito mode where your history doesn't impact your recommendations.

Then just type something related to your niche or topic.

The suggestions that drop down are search terms people type on Google. Most of these are good blog post topic ideas.

To find more topic ideas with Google, you can search for something and check the People Also Ask section:

These are questions that people also ask related to your search term. In other words, these are good topics to cover either in your post or as separate posts.

If you scroll down a bit further, you will find even more related terms to target.

Of course, not all topic ideas like this are good for blog posts.

For example, if you search for "How to draw a cat" you will only find videos in the search results.

This suggests that a blog post will probably not rank at the top of the search results.

In other words, it might not be a good idea to write about it.

But then again, if it's an essential topic related to your niche or business, you should write about it.

2. Competitors

My favorite strategy for finding blog post topics is by stealing them from my competitors.

Find your competing blogs and see what they've been working on. Take their topics and write about them. For example, here I'm checking the blog page of TennisLeo.

These are good blog post topic ideas.

If I were to start a tennis blog, I would take all of these topics and write my own version of them.

To find the blog posts of a website, you can use a couple of tricks.

The most obvious way is to just check the blog archive pages. Usually, you can find it from the navigation menu of the website. However, the blog page might not list all the posts.

To this end, you can try to access the sitemap of the website. For most blogs, you can find it from target-site-url.com/sitemap.xml or /sitemap_index.html.

For example, in a popular tennis blog, tennisleo.fi, the sitemap is located at tennisleo.fi/sitemap_index.xml.

Then just choose the post sitemap to find all the blog posts.

I usually use the sitemap if possible, because that neatly lists all the blog posts in one place.

3. Google Trends

Another epic blog post topic strategy is using Google Trends.

Google Trends shows you current trending topics across all industries—including your blog's niche.

This helps you identify less competitive topics to write about. It's especially great for short-term results and your blog's initial growth

To use Trends, type in your industry. For example, if you're writing blog posts related to AI, type in AI.

Then choose proper search filters. To find newly rising topics, I recommend choosing a short time range, such as 30–90 days.

Then scroll down to find the Related Queries section.

These are new trendy topics that started trending during the time you chose.

In other words, these might be topics worth writing about. There's usually relatively low competition for topics like this.

Of course, you still need to do some validation, and not all topics are worth targeting.

To learn how to use Trends to find good blog post topics effectively, check this video:

Anyway, I like Google Trends for finding topics. But it's not a must. The best two strategies are Google suggestions and competitors' blog pages. That's all you need.

Don't waste money on expensive tools!

2. Mind Your Experience

Consider your expertise about your topic before you write.

In some topics, it's fine to write about something you're not familiar with. In fact, beginner bloggers can connect with other beginners better than professionals.

For example, if you're writing a product review, it's best if you're just a traditional consumer. That gives a more authentic vibe as your audience can relate to you.

If you're not an expert, don't pretend to be one.

Your readers can smell dishonesty from miles away. For example, if you use AI to write, it's obvious after the first couple of sentences. Don't do it! It doesn't work.

Also, don't target topics that only experts should write about.

For instance, forget about writing online money-making guides, health-related stuff, or financial content unless you have proper education or years of experience.

Before you write, ask yourself: "What can I bring to the internet with my post?"

If all you can do is summarize what others have said, that's no good. Your post should always add something completely new to the internet.

For example, I write a lot of AI product reviews.

Unlike my competitors who just list these products, I thoroughly test every one of them. This gives me a unique touch that nobody else has.

This is why most of my AI reviews rank on Google (and some do well on YouTube too.)

I share experiences instead of repeating what already exists. That's what every single one of your blog posts should do.

3. Do the research

Blogging is spending time to save your audience's time.

One way to do this is by doing careful research so that your audience doesn't have to.

By this, I don't mean using the first Google results or asking ChatGPT. That's what anyone can do.

You need to dig a lot deeper.

My favorite example is a blog post my co-founder wrote about rental hot tubs in Finland.

The issue was that it was hard to find any information about these services anywhere.

We decided to fix this by creating a blog post that lists all the local services with contact information, pricing, and everything.

But that wasn't easy.

My co-founder spent a day sending emails, sifting websites, analyzing PDFs, and doing everything he could to gather the information.

Then he put together this epic listicle blog post that lists all these services.

I love this example because it perfectly illustrates what blogging is.

You don't need to be an expert to write a post like this. You just need to research so that your audience doesn't have to.

With every post you write, you need to offer something new. Something that no other resource has ever offered. It's a business after all. You won't stand out with a mid-tier post.

4. Check competing posts

Writing a blog post from scratch is hard.

What makes it even harder is that there are so many types of posts you could write.

You always need to choose the right blog post template before you write. Otherwise, the post is unlikely to meet the demand and get noticed.

So how can you do this? Where are those templates?

Just Google your topic.

This shows you exactly what your competitors have done to rank. This also gives you the specific blueprint you can use to write your post.

Then just remember that your post needs to be the best.

Look at the top 10 results on Google. Make sure your post is more informative and visual than any one of those.

5. Be the Best. Always

Before you write a blog post, you need to be clear on one thing: Your post needs to be the best post about that topic on the internet.

This is the mindset you have to adapt to.

You always want to rank in the top 10 on Google. Nobody will click a page that's on the second page of search results.

If your post ranks #15 in search results, you've done an amazing job. You've beaten most of your competitors!

But unfortunately, that's not enough. Nobody will find a blog post that ranks #15—even though it sounds like a high ranking.

You need to be #1.

That's the only sport you should go for. This means you need to be the absolute best resource on the internet.

But what does it mean to be the "best resource?". I will show you exactly that in the next steps.

6. Start with outline

Writing a useful, informative, and actionable post from scratch is hard. Very hard.

I mean where do you even start?

I always feel this way when I look at a blank page.

This is also the reason why I never start from a blank page. Instead, I write my outline first.

This helps so much. Essentially, it splits one big blog post into smaller sub-posts. It's easier to write a 150-word post and repeat that 20 times than writing one huge 3,000-word post in one go.

This is not only helpful to you but also to your readers. It's a lot easier to digest a post with 10–20 clear talking points than a big blob of information.

To write an epic outline, you need three things:

1. Common sense
2. Competitor analysis
3. AI

First, think about your topic and the audience. What do they want to see? What's useful and what's not? This helps you create the first outline draft.

Then, check your competitors and see their outlines. Use these as your guidance to form a similar logical outline.

Lastly, tell AI you want to write the best post about your topic on the internet. Tell it to include absolutely everything that might be useful for the reader.

Please be careful with AI, though.

Most of the time, it adds some repetitive or inconsistent talking points. So you need to edit it to make sense and avoid useless points or repetition.

By combining common sense, AI, and your competitor's ideas, you can form a solid blog post outline.

7. Write listicles only

People are drawn to numbers.

Instead of writing a long post, split it into 5–15 actionable steps. This makes your post look like an actionable and easy-to-follow step-by-step guide.

This type of blog post is called a listicle.

Here are some example titles for a listicle:

• 7 Steps to lose weight
• 10 Productivity tips for home
• 5 Best tennis shoes for beginners

Google loves listicle posts because they know users want to read them. For example, look what happens when I search for "How to use AI to make money:"

Almost all the top 5 results are listicles.

The best part is that listicles are also easier to write and read. So it's a win-win situation for you and your audience.

• As a writer, you get to split your post into smaller sub-posts that are much easier to work with.
• As a reader, you'll enjoy a clear and actionable list. Also, listicles are easy to scroll through while having a good idea of what's going on.

What's even more exciting is that you can turn almost any topic into a listicle.

For example:

• How to peel an orange → 5 Steps to Peel an Orange
• How to play tennis → 10 Tips to Become a Tennis Player
• Where to go in Helsinki → 8 Places to Visit in Helsinki
• How to make money online → 7 Ways to Make Money Online

Try to always write a listicle. That benefits all parties. :)

8. Order doesn't matter

Forget about the writing order. As long as your post is good and easy to follow, the order of how you got there doesn't matter.

The only thing to worry about is writing the outline first. Then everything else is up for grabs.

For example, when I write:

• I usually write the blog post headline last.
• I write the intro as one of the last steps.
• If I get stuck anywhere, I jump to work on another section and return later.

As you can see, my workflow is pretty chaotic. But that's not what the audience sees. They just see the end product—no matter how I got there.

So feel free to mix the rest of the steps as you like. Find the best workflow and stick with what feels right. Adjust whenever you feel like it.

9. Create a catchy headline

Write a short and compelling headline that people want to click. Tell the reader exactly what they should expect from your post.

To write an epic headline, use:

1. Common sense
2. Competitors
3. AI

Start with common sense. Think about your blog post and write a short title that best describes it.

If your post shows how to tie shoelaces, your blog post title should be "How to Tie Shoelaces." Easy, huh?

That's already a good headline and you can use it if you want to.

But it's a bit boring and too basic.

To take it a step further, check what your competitors have written. To do this, open up Google and search for your post topic.

For example, here's a really good one:

It not only tells that it's a guide on how to tie shoelaces but it also tells that there are four simple techniques you can follow.

This makes it a lot more compelling than a bare "How to tie shoelaces."

As you scroll down, you'll notice that basically none of the titles are just "How to tie shoelaces." Everyone has added something more to it.

You can use these as your example.

As a general rule of thumb, try to add a number to your title. Also, use filler words like "Easy", "Must-Know", or "Proven." And if you want to give a bit more personal touch, add parenthesis to the end of the title.

For example, here's a title I could use in my post:

• 5 Clever Ways to Tie Shoelaces (Prevent Unlacing)

Lastly, use AI to enhance your titles. You can for example ask ChatGPT for more title ideas.

Combine these with common sense and your competitor's headlines, and you'll nail it.

10. Write a "short-form version" as your intro

Long-form content is king. The more information, the better.

But few people have time to read long blog posts. Instead, people expect information to be available quickly.

So what's the solution? Should you write long or short blog posts?

Write a blog post that is both short and long at the same time.

What?!

Let me show you what I mean:

First, write a short introduction that captures the key parts of your post. This is something that busy people can read in an instant.

For example, here's me doing that in one of my blog posts:

Follow the short intro with a super long, comprehensive, and detailed blog post covering everything.

This way you serve both the busy and not-so-busy audience at the same time.

That's a win-win!

Of course, it's not always applicable to write a short yet meaningful recap of your post. But for example in many listicle posts, you can do that.

This is especially useful in a roundup post with multiple products.

Instead of making the visitor scroll through the whole thing, it's convenient to add a short list of products to the intro:

Anyways, it's all about accessibility.

Make your posts good for both the busy readers and the not-so-busy ones. Keep your intros short but share as much valuable information as you can. If someone reads just the intro, they should leave happy.

Search engines analyze your content all the time. If users quickly leave your post and continue searching, Google sees it as unhelpful. This drops the traffic of your site.

11. Break up text with subheadings

Nobody wants to read a wall of text.

Instead of writing one huge chunk of text, split it into headings and subheadings as much as possible.

Split the text into logical groups and add a subheading to "sell" the section for the reader.

This not only breaks up the text nicely, but it also makes the post scrollable—which is key these days.

The busy people can see what's going on in the post even if they're just skimming through.

12. Write in a conversational tone

Treat your blog post like a message to your friend. After all, you're building a community here.

Don't sound like a formal high-authority person from the heights. Keep it simple and conversational.

13. Cut out the jargon

Don't add anything that doesn't belong to your blog post.

If you write a blog post on how to peel an orange, you don't need to tell the audience what is an orange or why people eat it. Instead, just show them how to peel that thing!

A good blog post is just as long as it needs to be.

Exclude everything that doesn't contribute to solving your audience's problem.

14. Be authentic

These days, every blog post looks the same. They all start with something like "In the day and age of digital era…"

But that's so lame. That's how AI writes.

To make a difference, you need to mix in something personal.

Share your experiences, expertise, images, and whatever it takes to be more relatable (and useful.)

This is the only long-term content strategy. If your blog post looks just like the rest, it will never get attention.

15. Share your experiences and expertise

Don't make your blog post "just another post" on your topic.

This is one of the biggest issues in blogging. People write only to rank for keywords—not to help.

This is the group of writers you need to surpass with your content. The only way to do this is by putting in the time and hard work.

In other words, you need to show experience and expertise.

But that doesn't mean you should take a 5-year education before starting a blog.

You can start a blog without being an experienced expert at anything.

I have a successful blog in a niche I knew nothing about when I created the blog.

When I started:

• I used to do hours of research only to write a couple of hundred words.
• The content was not really that good.
• The writing felt de-motivating and very slow.

But as I wrote, I learned a lot and now I know everything about the niche. After spending over 300 hours on the site, I can now write a 2,000-word blog post without any research in just a couple of hours. That's epic!

By becoming an expert in your topic, you can:

• Write faster
• Be original
• Be useful
• Feel productive

It's an initial time investment that pays off later.

If you spend hundreds of hours studying and sharing information about something, you will be very good at it.

16. Use simple language

Don't use complex words to act smart in front of your audience. That will only make them go away.

A good blog post solves a problem for the reader as quickly as possible. The harder the language, the less accessible the post. Use simple, clear, and concise language.

Tip: Always write for an eighth-grader.

17. Obsess over images

People are visual. Nobody wants to read a boring wall of text.

To this end, make sure to leave a ton of images in your blog posts.

For example, some of my blog posts have up to 100 images. Yes, that's 100 images in one blog post.

For example, this post I wrote last week barely has any text and is covered with images:

Also, only include 100% relevant images.

Boring stock images and AI-generated generic images don't offer anything to your readers. Don't use those unless you have to.

For example, look at this post you're reading right now. Every image is unique and directly related to the topic.

18. Visualize data with charts and infographics

Don't only rely on images. Feel free to add infographics or charts to support your message.

You can create helpful infographics or visuals with tools like Canva.

Also, if you have some scripting skills, you can do some quick data analysis of your blog content to draw graphs.

Anyways, your blog post should do everything to deliver your message to the best of its ability.

Every word, sentence, image, chart, visualization. Everything should contribute to solving your reader's problem and saving their time.

19. Format your content

Break down your blog content with formatting elements. This makes your blog content more enjoyable to read and scroll through.

Use formatting options like:

• Tables

• Bulleted lists

• Numbered lists

• Code blocks

def factorial(n):
    """Calculate the factorial of a given number recursively."""
    if n == 0:
        return 1
    else:
        return n * factorial(n-1)

# Example usage:
number = 5
result = factorial(number)
print(f"The factorial of {number} is {result}")

• Images

• Embed videos

And more.

See how nicely those break down the text? It's not just a blog post but a multimedia piece of content that's easy to read.

When you write your first draft, you don't have to worry about formatting. That's something you can do in the "next round" when you edit your blog post before publishing.

View every single paragraph with a critical eye, and try to come up with a way to make it visually more pleasing.

For example, look at this sentence:

To turn wifi on, open up your smartphone, choose settings, drag down to see the search box, search for Wifi, and click once to turn it on.

How would you make it better?

I'd turn it into a numbered list instead of a lengthy sentence:

To turn wifi on:

1. Open up your smartphone.
2. Choose settings.
3. Drag down to see the search box.
4. Search for Wifi.
5. Click once to turn it on.

A lot better dare I say!

Once you do it a couple of times, you will start spotting opportunities like this all the time.

20. Use statistics

To prove a point, use statistics in your blog posts.

Because your post is not a scientific paper, citing the sources is easy. Just link to the study or research work in question.

For example:

Google's market share is 83.49%. This means Google is still the most widely used search engine by leaps and bounds.

As you can see, my citation is just a simple link that I've placed on the number that refers to the resource where I found the information.

Tip: Use the Link to Text Fragrment plugin to link to a specific section of a blog post.

This allows you to highlight text in an article and link directly to it.

Pretty neat, huh?

21. Link to external resources

Did you find an interesting resource while doing research for your blog post?

Leave a link to it. Your audience will probably find it insightful too.

But don't spam links only to avoid writing the content. That shows you're lazy and only want to collect the reads.

Also, a ton of links will just overwhelm your audience.

Use common sense. Be useful, helpful, and organic. Make sure every move you make helps your audience.

22. Link to your posts

Don't forget to link to relevant posts that you have written.

Most people who visit your blog are one-time visitors.

1. They randomly find your content.
2. They read it.
3. They exit—and never return.

But that's not good.

To build a strong brand, you need to retain your readers.

One simple way to increase engagement and retain readers is by sharing your other posts.

Just leave a link where it fits naturally.

If you've paid close attention, I've done this multiple times in this very post you're reading right now.

Also, suggest further reading at the end of your post.

Choose posts that best match the content, though—not just any random posts of yours.

Never link for the sake of linking! Every single link you leave should provide value to your audience.

23. Highlight key takeaways

If you have a long chapter or a lot of new information, add a key takeaway section to your blog posts.

Don't do this just for the aesthetics of the post. Instead, think about 2–4 things you want to take away from that chapter.

Some people might only read those takeaways, so you want to make sure they get nearly equal treatment to those who read the whole thing.

24. Write, Edit, and proofread

One of the best strategies (for me) to write blog posts is to work in 4 layers:

1. Layer 1: Write the whole post in one go.
2. Layer 2: Format the post by adding images, tables, lists, links, infographics, and so on.
3. Layer 3: Fix typos, grammatical issues, and silly sentences.
4. Layer 4: Read once more and publish.

This is my go-to workflow. With this strategy, I work in separate and independent layers that each improve the post quality drastically.

Also, by working in layers, it's a lot easier to focus on what's important at that moment.

25. Read the post out loud

To make sure your post reads nicely, read it out loud. At least do this with the tricky parts of it.

This helps you spot mistakes you didn't already catch. It also helps simplify overly long or complex sentences.

26. Use calls-to-action (CTAs)

Don't forget to add CTAs or calls-to-action to your blog content.

Most of your blog readers are one-time visitors.

Your goal is to keep as big a portion of this traffic as possible.

To do this, add a compelling call-to-action to your content.

This can be a call to action on signing up for a newsletter, downloading a freebie, and such.

This is important because this way you'll build your own audience. You have direct access to the readers that are most interested in your content.

27. Do it a million times

One more thing: You need to write a boatload of content to start seeing traffic.

It's not one post. It's not ten posts. It's usually hundreds or even thousands of posts. It takes years to become a successful blogger.

Just don't give up. Many people write 1–2 posts, get no reads, and quit. But you need to write a ton of posts to see any significant results.

To take your blogging game to the next level, sign up for my free masterclass.

Also, don't forget to check my YouTube channel to learn epic modern-day blogging skills.

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned! :)