Do you want to know the must-have elements for an exceptional blog post?

A new article on Search Engine Journal says that you can get your content the respect it richly deserves by making sure you include thirteen essential blog post elements.



Now look, you can call me negative if you wish, but is anyone else here just consistently and constantly overwhelmed by the range and sheer quantity of advice about what makes great written content?

I mean, this information is all over the place, and at the end of the day, some studies suggest only one in every five bloggers report strong marketing results from blogging.

And no, that's not a typo - only a measly 22% of people like us say they get what they need from their blog despite all the 'good advice' that's out there!

And not only that, but this percentage has been steadily declining over the past three years.

This new article is pretty typical. You'll read a list of elements that include a compelling topic, a search-friendly URL, an author bio, table of contents, and the all-important powerful headline. But in my opinion, it's not that simple. Every readership and writer is different.

That's where you guys come in.

What's your take? Why is it the case that, despite all the guidance, the vast majority of blogs not delivering strong marketing results? And can articles like this one help you get more mileage from your written content? If so, why do we consistently see declining numbers in this area?

Let us know what works for you and appeals to your readers. I'd be really interested to hear from real bloggers and website owners here. Let's come up with our own list of high-performing blog post elements.