The world is full of opinions, and it can be difficult to know how to write a blog post that puts yours into context. This quick guide will show you the steps to take when writing an opinion blog post that is both insightful and presents other arguments around the topic in a positive way.
What is an Opinion Post?
An opinion-style blog post shares the writer’s opinions or thoughts on a topic. It can be used to make a case for or against something. It might start out by giving the reader a background on the subject matter. It is good to show why the topic is important and what it means to the writer.
A summary of what they’ve learned or gained from writing about their own personal experience on that topic, and how someone can do something similar in their life is a good way to close this type of post.
Don’t be afraid to include your own opinion in the post but do so thoughtfully and with supporting evidence. An example of this might be a number of points you will make about an issue, then giving your viewpoint at the end. This way your readers can get both sides of the argument without feeling like they are being told how to think. This is done to show that there are two ways of looking at something.
The Good & Bad of Opinion Posts
As with most things in life, there are both pros and cons to writing this kind of post. You are kind of taking a chance with your audience when you put your opinion out there. Some will love it, enabling your audience to form a deeper bond with you. On the other hand, those that hate it will be lost to you forever.
Some benefits include:
- Showing empathy for other viewpoints
- Discussing topics that can’t be quantified or measured, such as beauty standards and how they change from culture to culture.
This is a great way for authors to connect with readers on their feelings without using the same kind of facts-only format.
Some pitfalls include:
- Having your opinion seen as less valid because you are talking about something you haven’t experienced personally
- Discussing your own opinion of a topic but not presenting any other arguments
- Sharing the entire backstory or context for readers who may be new to it
How to Write Opinion Posts
There’s no set way to write an opinion post because it is personal to you. But there are some general ideas.
Choose a topic that you have strong feelings about and spend time researching it, so that your stance is informed by facts as well as your gut reaction.
Make sure the title of the post reflects what will be discussed in the article so that the reader doesn’t get confused.
Introduce the topic and state your opinion as well as provide reasons for it in a concise way to establish a sense of context. You can use subheadings if you choose but they should be relevant to the discussion at hand rather than just an organizational tool.
Don’t forget about sources! The best opinions are those backed by stats, facts or niche authorities.
Make your conclusion clear and concise, not just for the reader but also for yourself so that it motivates you to write a follow-up post on this topic if need be.
Ask questions about the issue at hand in order to provoke new thoughts or put an unfamiliar point of view into context with evidence.
Formatting Your Opinion Blog Post
There’s no special formatting needed for this type of post, but stick with solid on-page SEO strategies.
Make the content reader-friendly by using smaller paragraphs and add some images where suitable to make it more visually interesting.
Be certain to link to other sites you reference in the article, whether you agree with them or not, to show that you have done your research. Plus backlinks are great for ranking higher in search results.
There’s no doubt that opinion blog posts can be polarizing – that’s kind of the point of them. Unless you want to cause outrage, use this type of post strategically and sparingly. Try to keep your opinion posts well-rounded and covering all aspects of an argument, even if you disagree strongly with one or more of the viewpoints.