# Blog Post Writing Examples Real patterns from Jack's WP Fusion blog posts showing long-form technical writing style. ## Opening Pattern **Structure:** Personal + Context + Promise ### Example: Annual Transparency Report ```markdown Welcome back to the annual WP Fusion _Year in Review_! ๐ŸŽ‰ **In the spirit of open-sourcey-ness** and transparency, I've been publishing these Review posts since 2018. You can check out previous years below: * 2023 in Review * 2022 in Review [... more links] This is traditionally a **long post**, where we take a deep dive into all aspects of the business. Feel free to use the navigation at right to jump to whatever topics interest you. **A quick intro in case you're new hereโ€”** ## What is WP Fusion? [Explanation...] Let's dive in. ``` **Techniques:** - Friendly greeting ("Welcome back") - Emoji for warmth (๐ŸŽ‰) - Bold for emphasis ("In the spirit of open-sourcey-ness") - Links to previous posts (builds context) - Explicit promise ("long post") - Navigation call-out - "A quick intro" โ€” acknowledging new readers - "Let's dive in" โ€” transition phrase ## Personal Voice in Technical Writing ### First-Person Narrative ```markdown Every year I start writing this **I find more things I'm curious about**โ€” which lead to more queries to power more complex charts, which inevitably uncover some problem or inefficient process on our site or in our products, which inevitably need to be fixed ๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™‚๏ธ Next thing I know it's nearing the end of February and I still haven't published anything. ``` **Techniques:** - First person throughout ("I start", "I find") - Bold for emphasis mid-sentence - Em dash for flow - Run-on sentences showing thought process - Self-deprecating emoji (๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™‚๏ธ) - Honest about delays ### Conversational Asides ```markdown **Fun fact!** The WP Fusion documentation is **all written by hand**, and clocks in at 276,752 words. That's longer than both _It_ by Stephen King, and _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ by JK Rowling ๐Ÿ”ฎ. ``` **Techniques:** - "Fun fact!" callout - Bold for emphasis on key points - Specific numbers (276,752 words) - Pop culture comparisons - Playful emoji (๐Ÿ”ฎ) ## Transparency and Honesty ### Sharing Real Numbers ```markdown **As of January 2025, WP Fusion powers 34,658 websites and generates about $800,000 / year in revenue.** In the spirit of open source, I've been publishing these transparency reports since 2017. In them, I go over what we accomplished in the prior year, plugin usage stats, revenue metrics, support metrics, wins, fails, observations, and what we're working on for the coming year. ``` **Techniques:** - Exact numbers (34,658 websites, $800,000) - "about" when rounding is okay - Bold for key stats - Lists wins AND fails (honest) - "observations" not "learnings" (less corporate) ### Honest About Problems ```markdown ## Is WP Fusion in decline? This is the question I've been asking myself for most of 2024. [... detailed analysis ...] ## So, what's going on? [... honest discussion ...] ## What are we doing about it? [... action plan ...] ## Is it working? [... results so far ...] ``` **Techniques:** - Direct question as heading - Personal admission ("I've been asking myself") - Multiple related sections (question โ†’ analysis โ†’ action โ†’ results) - No sugarcoating - Shows vulnerability ## Technical Depth with Accessibility ### Explaining Complex Topics ```markdown _Note_ that **we do not track which plugins are active on our customers' sites**, only which features are enabled within WP Fusion. So these reports aren't necessarily indicative of the WordPress ecosystem as a whole, but rather the tools that people prefer to use when building sites that require a deep integration with marketing automation tools. For this year's reports we're using **a sample size of 19,143 sites** that have called home for an update in the last 12 months, where WP Fusion has been fully set up (connected to a CRM). ``` **Techniques:** - Italics for "Note" (metadata) - Bold for privacy reassurance - Explains methodology - Specific sample size - Defines terms in context ### Charts and Data ```markdown ### CRM Popularity **The most popular CRMs with WP Fusion in 2024** were ActiveCampaign, FluentCRM, HubSpot, Keap, and HighLevel. Notable changes from 2023: * **HighLevel**: 4.46% โ†’ 7.64% * **HubSpot**: 7.7% โ†’ 9.35% * **MailChimp**: 3.58% โ†’ 4.48% * **ActiveCampaign**: 26.08% โ†’20.69% * **Infusionsoft / Keap**: 11.04% โ†’ 8.1% * **Ontraport**: 4.6% โ†’ 3.2% Like 2023, we're seeing **a declining share in legacy systems** like Infusionsoft, ActiveCampaign, and Ontraport. ``` **Techniques:** - Bold for section overview - "Notable changes" not "Key insights" - Arrow notation (โ†’) for change - Specific percentages (two decimals) - Analysis after data ("we're seeing...") - "legacy systems" โ€” opinion in analysis ## Story Structure ### Problem โ†’ Analysis โ†’ Solution โ†’ Results ```markdown ## Is WP Fusion in decline? This is the question I've been asking myself for most of 2024. [Charts showing declining new revenue] ## So, what's going on? 1. **Economic headwinds** โ€” everyone's seeing this 2. **Market saturation** โ€” we've been around 10+ years 3. **Platform shifts** โ€” WordPress itself is changing ## What are we doing about it? We hired a full-time marketing manager [...] ## Is it working? Too early to say definitively, but we're seeing [...] ``` **Techniques:** - Rhetorical question as hook - Personal admission - Visual data - Multiple causes (honest about complexity) - Action steps - Early results (realistic expectations) ## Reflections Sections ### Learning from Failures ```markdown ## Reflections ### Price increase In March we raised our prices by 20% across the board. **The result?** Renewals dropped by 4 percentage points ๐Ÿ˜ฌ In hindsight, we probably should have [...] **Lesson learned:** [...] ``` **Techniques:** - Direct heading ("Reflections") - Subheading for each topic - States the action - Bold "The result?" (dramatic reveal) - Emoji for emotion (๐Ÿ˜ฌ) - "In hindsight" โ€” honest reflection - Explicit "Lesson learned" ### Gratitude and Humanity ```markdown Thanks, as always, for reading. And thanks especially to our customers, who have supported us for over a decade now ๐Ÿงก. It's been an amazing experience to **collaborate on open source software with thousands of people** all over the world, and get paid to do it. I feel truly blessed. Wishing you all a fantastic 2025, whatever it may bring! โ€“ Jack ``` **Techniques:** - Direct thanks - "as always" โ€” tradition - Heart emoji (๐Ÿงก) - "truly blessed" โ€” genuine emotion - "whatever it may bring" โ€” humility - Sign off with just first name - En dash before name (โ€“ Jack) ## Navigation and Structure ### Table of Contents Pattern ```markdown ### On this page * What is WP Fusion? * Plugin updates and new features * New CRMs * New plugin integrations * New documentation * Usage insights * CRM Popularity * Most popular plugin integrations * Ecommerce * LMS * Membership [... continues ...] ``` **Techniques:** - "On this page" not "Table of Contents" - Nested bullets (max 3 levels) - No periods at end - Scannable hierarchy ## Engaging Readers ### Calls to Action ```markdown **Curious, but not impressed yet?** Drop your email below and we'll let you know as new features are released ๐Ÿ‘‡ ``` **Techniques:** - Rhetorical question - Bold for emphasis - Conversational ("Drop your email") - Emoji pointing down (๐Ÿ‘‡) - "we'll let you know" not "we will notify you" ### Interactive Elements ```markdown I'm always in awe of founders like Syed Balkhi or Katie Keith who have their Year in Review posts ready to go on January 1st ๐Ÿ™‡ ``` **Techniques:** - Names real people (builds community) - Emoji for emotion (๐Ÿ™‡ bowing) - Shows vulnerability ("in awe") ## Technical Details with Personality ### Code and Queries ```markdown This is the query Our support form is here So it's cross-referencing the license key from input #4 with the customer signup date, and checking that input #3 ("Subject") is "Technical Support" ๐Ÿ˜Ž ``` **Techniques:** - Links to actual code - Explains in plain English after - Cool emoji at end (๐Ÿ˜Ž) - "So it's" โ€” conversational explanation - Quotes around field names for clarity ## Statistics Presentation ### Year-over-Year Comparisons ```markdown Notable changes from 2023: * **HighLevel**: 4.46% โ†’ 7.64% * **HubSpot**: 7.7% โ†’ 9.35% * **ActiveCampaign**: 26.08% โ†’20.69% ``` **Interpretation follows:** ```markdown Like 2023, we're seeing **a declining share in legacy systems**. Keap raised their prices significantly in June of 2024. I know several people who saw their monthly bill increase by more than 2x overnight ๐Ÿ˜ฐ. ``` **Techniques:** - Data first, interpretation after - "I know several people" โ€” personal anecdotes - "2x overnight" โ€” dramatic but accurate - Scared emoji (๐Ÿ˜ฐ) for impact ## Product Announcements ### Building Anticipation ```markdown We have a long way to go, but we already have a working prototype at https://echodash.com/, I invite you to give it a try and **let us know what you think**. EchoDash is completely free while in beta ๐Ÿ™‚ ``` **Techniques:** - Honest about status ("long way to go") - Working link to prototype - "I invite you" โ€” personal - Bold call to action - Free offer with smiley (๐Ÿ™‚) ## Self-Deprecation and Humor ```markdown I'm always in awe of founders like Syed Balkhi or Katie Keith who have their Year in Review posts ready to go on January 1st ๐Ÿ™‡ Every year I start writing this **I find more things I'm curious about**โ€” which lead to more queries to power more complex charts, which inevitably uncover some problem or inefficient process on our site or in our products, which inevitably need to be fixed ๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™‚๏ธ Next thing I know it's nearing the end of February and I still haven't published anything. Maybe I should stop calling it **"Year in Review"** and start calling it **"Spring Cleaning"** ๐ŸŒท๐Ÿ˜ ``` **Techniques:** - Compares self to others (humbly) - Admits to delays - Explains the "why" (curiosity โ†’ discovery โ†’ fixing) - Jokes about it - Spring emoji (๐ŸŒท) + laughing emoji (๐Ÿ˜) ## Comment Engagement ### Response Style Looking at Jack's actual comment responses: ```markdown Thanks Chris!! ๐Ÿ˜Š --- Thanks Edoardo! I've tried Google a couple of times but never had any luck, even working with professional agencies to run the campaigns. The last time we tried it in 2022 we spent over $12k and only got one customer: ๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™‚๏ธ We have a *ton* of processes automated now. And AI has probably 10x'd my speed as a developer. I should really write a post just about that as there's a ton of stuff I've learned over the last year. --- This is the query So it's cross-referencing the license key from input #4 with the customer signup date, and checking that input #3 ("Subject") is "Technical Support" ๐Ÿ˜Ž ``` **Techniques:** - Double exclamation when enthusiastic (!!) - Smiley faces in short responses (๐Ÿ˜Š) - Detailed, helpful responses to questions - Links to relevant content - Specific numbers ($12k, 10x'd) - Asterisks for emphasis (*ton*) - "I should really write a post" โ€” authentic - Face-palm emoji for failures (๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™‚๏ธ) - Cool emoji for technical explanations (๐Ÿ˜Ž) ## Key Differences: Blog vs README ### README Writing - **Goal:** Get someone started fast - **Tone:** Enthusiastic, encouraging - **Structure:** Quick Start first - **Length:** Scannable sections - **Emojis:** Structural (๐ŸŽฏ ๐Ÿ”ฅ โšก) ### Blog Writing - **Goal:** Tell a complete story - **Tone:** Personal, reflective - **Structure:** Narrative flow - **Length:** Deep dives welcome - **Emojis:** Emotional (๐Ÿ˜Š ๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™‚๏ธ ๐Ÿ˜ฐ) ## Blog Post Checklist - [ ] Personal opening ("Welcome back", "I've been...") - [ ] Context for new readers ("In case you're new...") - [ ] Navigation aid ("Feel free to jump to...") - [ ] First-person narrative throughout - [ ] Specific numbers (34,658 sites, $800k revenue) - [ ] Honest about problems and failures - [ ] "Fun fact!" callouts - [ ] Year-over-year comparisons - [ ] Analysis after data - [ ] Self-deprecating humor - [ ] Thanks/gratitude section - [ ] Sign off with "โ€“ Jack" - [ ] Emoji for emotion, not decoration - [ ] Links to previous posts/resources - [ ] Engages with comments personally --- ## Full Blog Post Template ```markdown Welcome back to [annual/series title]! ๐ŸŽ‰ **In the spirit of [value]** and [value], I've been [action] since [year]. [Links to previous posts if series] This is [description of what to expect]. Feel free to [navigation hint]. **A quick intro in case you're new hereโ€”** ## [Topic Context] [Explanation for newcomers] Let's dive in. ## [Main Section 1] [Content with specific numbers, charts, analysis] **Fun fact!** [Interesting statistic with comparison] ### [Subsection] **The most [metric]** were [list]. Notable changes from [previous period]: * **Item**: old% โ†’ new% * **Item**: old% โ†’ new% [Analysis in plain English] ## [Main Section 2] [More content...] ## Reflections ### [Topic 1] [What happened] **The result?** [Outcome with emoji if appropriate] In hindsight, [honest reflection] **Lesson learned:** [Takeaway] ### [Topic 2] [Similar structure] ## What's Next? [Future plans, realistic expectations] **Curious, but not impressed yet?** [Call to action] ๐Ÿ‘‡ ## Conclusion [Wrap up, probably self-deprecating] Thanks, as always, for reading. And thanks especially to [audience], who have [supported/used/etc] for [time period] ๐Ÿงก. It's been [genuine emotion] to [what you do]. I feel truly blessed. Wishing you all a fantastic [period], whatever it may bring! โ€“ Jack ``` --- **Key Insight:** Jack's blog posts are longer, more reflective, and more personal than READMEs. He uses first-person narrative, shares real numbers, admits failures, and treats readers like friends he's updating over coffee.