Blog Sample Writing: 4 Real Posts and Original Drafts to Learn From

TL;DR

For blog sample writing, start with the reader's job, then choose a format that serves it. An explainer defines and illustrates; a comparison uses consistent decision criteria; a how-to makes actions executable; an opinion makes a defensible argument. Below, we examine four published posts and provide original, illustrative draft samples you can adapt without copying the originals.

A blog post can be attractively formatted and still leave its reader with no answer. When we assess a writing sample, we look past the layout: Who is it for? What question does it settle? Which details make its claims credible? What should the reader do next?

The linked articles below are real published examples from Mailchimp, Zapier, Ahrefs and SparkToro. The short drafts labelled Our sample are written for this guide; they are not quotations, summaries of the linked articles or claims that their publishers used our wording. No traffic, conversion or ranking outcome is implied by our selection.

How to read a blog sample before copying its structure
1. Explainer: Mailchimp makes an unfamiliar channel concrete
2. Comparison: Zapier sets criteria before recommending a fit
3. How-to: Ahrefs turns a large task into decisions
4. Opinion: SparkToro argues a position, then qualifies it
Which tone and formatting should your own sample use?
Adapt the pattern without lifting the wording
- A fill-in blog-post sample template
When does a blog sample need SEO research?
Frequently asked questions
- Can I use a published blog post as my writing sample?
- Which format should I choose for my first business blog post?
Put the samples to work
Sources
Recommended Reads

How to read a blog sample before copying its structure

A useful sample has a specific audience, a focused topic and an organising promise. A typical post moves from a descriptive title to an introduction that frames the reader's need, sections that fulfil that promise, concrete examples or evidence, and a closing decision or next step. The order and emphasis change with the task. A tutorial needs prerequisites and actions; a comparison needs criteria; an opinion needs reasons and objections.

Try this quick test: read only the title, opening, section headings and ending. Can you explain what you will learn and where to find it? Then inspect one claim in the body. Is there a real example, source or clearly identified judgment behind it? Google's people-first content guidance specifically asks whether material offers original value, clear sourcing and a satisfying answer for its intended audience. That is a better standard than judging a sample by its visual polish alone.

Editor compares a dense draft with a clearly structured blog-post draft

The four posts that follow qualify as writing examples because each gives us an actual article to inspect, not just a blog homepage, title idea or design gallery. Each illustrates a different way to treat a topic; our original samples show how that approach might transfer to another marketing question.

1. Explainer: Mailchimp makes an unfamiliar channel concrete

Published example: Mailchimp's email marketing guide. It opens with the case for the channel, defines email marketing, then uses familiar message types such as welcome emails, newsletters and reminders to make an abstract concept recognisable. Later sections answer why a small business might use it. Its tone is conversational, though its promotional claims and dated figures are a reminder to verify evidence before borrowing any argument.

The transferable move is definition → recognisable instances → practical relevance. A definition alone might help a reader identify a term but not know when to apply it. Named examples do that work. For a growth-team audience, we could use the same progression to explain a content brief:

Our sample, explainer opening: A content brief is the set of decisions a writer needs before drafting. It identifies the reader, the question the article must answer, the evidence available and the action the finished page should support. Think of it as the difference between an assignment that says “write about reporting” and one that says “help a new marketing manager choose three measures for a monthly SEO report.” The second version gives the writer a reader, a decision and a boundary. A useful brief does not write every sentence in advance. It makes the important choices visible so the writer can spend time finding a clear, credible answer.

Notice that the hypothetical assignment is not passed off as a Mailchimp example. The first two sentences give a plain-language answer; the paired assignments show what changes in practice. Use this pattern when readers need orientation before they can evaluate a tool, process or specialised term. If your audience already knows the basics, start with the difficult decision instead.

2. Comparison: Zapier sets criteria before recommending a fit

Published example: Zapier's Trello versus Asana comparison. The writer states that they spent time testing the tools, gives a concise at-a-glance verdict, compares them by factors including templates, collaboration and automation, then closes with who should choose which. Its first-person assessments are presented as assessments, not a universal winner. Product details and prices can change, so the useful lesson here is the comparison method, not any enduring feature verdict.

A weak comparison describes option A in one paragraph, option B in another and leaves readers to perform the analysis. A stronger one asks what a particular reader needs, holds both options to the same criteria and makes trade-offs explicit. Here's a short original model for a decision about editorial workflows:

Our sample, comparison passage: A shared spreadsheet works well when one editor coordinates a small queue and contributors agree on update habits. A dedicated editorial workspace becomes more attractive when several reviewers need to see ownership, approvals and publishing status without reconstructing the history in email. Compare both approaches on the same three questions: Can a writer see the current brief? Can an editor tell which claims have been checked? Can the publisher identify the approved version? If your team can answer all three reliably in its spreadsheet, changing software may add work rather than remove it. If the answers depend on asking one person, test a more visible workflow.

The sample does not invent benchmark results or pretend to test a named product. It gives a recommendation conditional on the reader's situation. For your own article, specify the comparison criteria before announcing a winner, and separate hands-on observations from product-page claims.

3. How-to: Ahrefs turns a large task into decisions

Published example: Ahrefs' content-audit process. Rather than treating an audit as one vague task, it identifies the necessary inputs (pages, a checklist and tools), supplies a template, and walks through diagnostic questions such as whether a page gets organic traffic or serves another purpose. Readers can see what information to gather and what kind of action follows. The named tool instructions belong to Ahrefs' own workflow; a writer using this as inspiration should adapt the decision logic to their tools and verify current interfaces.

A how-to sample earns its space when someone could actually attempt the work. It should explain the starting state, a manageable sequence, the output and a point where judgment is needed. Here is an original miniature guide for improving a thin FAQ answer:

Our sample, how-to passage: Start with one question customers ask repeatedly. Open the current answer and note what it promises, what it actually resolves and where readers still need to ask support for help. Next, ask a product or service owner to check the missing detail. Rewrite the first sentence as a direct answer, then add the condition or example that makes the answer usable. Finally, have someone unfamiliar with the original support request read the revised answer. If they still need to contact your team to understand the main step, the edit is not finished.

Here the final check tests comprehension rather than announcing that the job is complete after a rewrite. When you adapt a tutorial, say what the reader needs access to and where a process could fail. Do not invent a tool action merely to make an example sound specific.

4. Opinion: SparkToro argues a position, then qualifies it

Published example: SparkToro's argument about attribution and zero-click marketing. It begins with an objection the author hears, revisits earlier thinking, draws on linked research and clarifies a possible misunderstanding: valuing content that works without a click does not mean never sharing links. The writer's viewpoint is unmistakable, but the qualification gives readers a more precise claim to consider.

For a thought-leadership post, a bold title is not enough. The argument should tell us what the writer has observed, which interpretation they draw from it and where that interpretation stops. Our own model might open like this:

Our sample, opinion opening: Marketing teams often ask how many articles they should publish next month. I would ask a different question first: Which customer decision does each proposed article help with? A calendar full of dates can create the appearance of progress even when several drafts answer the same broad question. That does not mean publishing frequency is irrelevant; a realistic schedule helps a team protect writing and review time. But a schedule is a delivery constraint, not an editorial reason to create a page. I would rather defend the purpose of four distinct articles than explain why twelve similar ones met a quota.

This is an editorial viewpoint, not evidence that a four-article programme outperforms a twelve-article one. The sentence that acknowledges scheduling prevents a useful distinction from becoming an absolute rule. Use an opinion format when you can articulate a meaningful position and examine its limits, not simply replace research with a confident voice.

Which tone and formatting should your own sample use?

Tone follows audience and purpose. Mailchimp's beginner explainer uses familiar language; Zapier's comparison is candid and evaluative; Ahrefs' guide instructs; SparkToro's essay is explicitly argumentative. Those are observations about the linked pieces, not four voices every article must imitate. A professional article can still use a conversational sentence to clarify a complex point, and an authoritative one can admit uncertainty.

Reader's job	Useful tone	Format that earns its place
Learn a new concept	Plain and conversational	Definition followed by a specific example
Choose between options	Balanced and evaluative	Shared criteria, a compact table when details are comparable, and a conditional verdict
Complete a task	Direct and instructional	Ordered actions with inputs, outputs and checks
Consider a new perspective	Distinctive and reasoned	Claim, supporting observations, a fair objection and a qualified conclusion

Format should expose the logic, not decorate it. Use headings that announce actual questions or decisions. Keep each paragraph on one idea, but let complex evidence take the space it needs. Lists help when items are genuinely parallel; tables help when readers need to compare the same criteria. A pull quote is worthwhile if it captures a sharp idea, not because an otherwise thin page needs variety. The four original samples above use quotations to make the sample boundaries unmistakable; you need not use block quotes in every published post.

Adapt the pattern without lifting the wording

We use a simple transfer test when a sample looks promising:

Name the reader and question. Who will use the new article, and what will they know or do afterward?
Extract the shape, not the phrases. Write the example's sequence in generic terms, such as “define, illustrate, apply” or “criteria, evidence, conditional decision.”
Replace the evidence. Gather your own examples, first-hand input or credible sources. Remove any claim you cannot verify for the new topic.
Draft from a blank page. Change the headings to suit your reader's actual questions; do not mirror another writer's distinctive metaphors or sentences.

Four-stage visual showing audience, outline, evidence and original draft

Before publishing, compare the draft with the original you studied. If your article shares only a useful organising principle, you have learned from it. If the opening, section order, memorable turns of phrase and examples line up closely, revise for a genuinely original contribution. Google's guidance asks whether content drawing on other sources provides substantial additional value rather than merely rewriting them.

A fill-in blog-post sample template

Use this as a starting scaffold, not a requirement to fill every line:

Working title: [Topic and the specific answer, action or comparison promised]
Reader: [Who needs this and what they already know]
Opening: [Name the problem or decision; give the short answer if you have it]
Section 1: [The first question the reader must resolve, with a concrete example]
Section 2: [The next decision, step or criterion, with evidence or a firsthand observation]
Section 3: [An objection, exception or common point of failure]
Ending: [The takeaway and a useful next action]
Evidence check: [Sources, permissions, product facts and claims to verify before publication]

For a comparison, repeat the same criteria across alternatives. For a how-to, replace thematic sections with ordered actions and checks. For an opinion, bring the central claim forward and give objections enough space to be useful. The template exists to clarify the work, not to flatten every topic into the same shape.

When does a blog sample need SEO research?

Not every worthwhile blog post begins with a search query. An announcement, an essay for existing subscribers and a customer story may each have a different primary route to readers. If the goal is to answer an existing search need, however, check what the searcher is trying to do, whether your site already has an answer and which related pages would help them continue. Keep the same standards of clarity, evidence and originality.

We cover that distinct production workflow in our SEO article writing guide for marketing teams. For this guide, the priority is learning how four kinds of writing work before adding a search-focused brief and publishing process.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a published blog post as my writing sample?

You can analyse its structure and link readers to the original. If you need a sample for your portfolio, write your own piece and label any hypothetical client, results or product scenario clearly. Do not present someone else's text or outcomes as yours.

Which format should I choose for my first business blog post?

Choose the one that matches the reader's task. Use an explainer for an unfamiliar concept, a how-to for a repeatable task, a comparison for a choice and an opinion when you have a defensible viewpoint. A good first topic is one your team can answer with specific knowledge and check before publication.

Put the samples to work

Pick one customer question, choose the best-fitting format and draft just its opening and headings. Ask a colleague to identify the intended reader and promised answer from those alone. Then fill the gaps with evidence and examples that belong to your business. If you want a connected place to research opportunities, plan articles and prepare reviewable drafts, explore GrowthScout's content workflow; we still recommend that a person check the finished piece before it goes live.