As a small business owner, you know that time is precious. You likely don’t have hours on end to spend writing blog posts, but you still want to be able to share your thoughts and insights with the world. This post will discuss some tips you can use when writing blog posts that will help you get your message out faster … without sacrificing quality. Let’s get started!
The first step in writing blog posts in a shorter time is to have a system. Knowing what steps you will take before you begin writing will help you avoid wasting time. If you already have a process in place, great! But if not, don’t worry – we’ll cover that next.
Create a Blogging Process
Use the tips below to come up with a blogging approach that works for you:
– Brainstorm ideas ahead of time and keep them organized so you can quickly find one when it’s time to write. Whether you keep them in a Google doc or Excel spreadsheet, Evernote note, on a Trello board, or even in a good old-fashioned notebook, it is always easier to get started if you have a topic ready. Knowing what you want to write about will let you get started immediately and eliminate the writer’s block that often happens when you are staring at a blank page trying to conjure a topic out of thin air.
– Conduct keyword research on each of your topics and determine which keywords to focus on for each post.
– Create an editorial calendar to schedule when and where you will publish your upcoming blog posts.
– Commit to a writing schedule. Figure out how long each blog post should take you and set aside that amount of time each day or week (or whatever blogging schedule works for your business) so that blogging becomes part of your routine. For example, you might try writing for one hour every morning, or you might decide to block off Friday afternoons to work on your blog.
– Outline your blog post before you start writing. Doing this will help keep the flow going and ensure that you are covering all essential points. Creating outlines in batches might be helpful, particularly if they are centered around one general topic.
Writing Blog Posts
Once you have an idea of what you’re going to write about and your outline, it’s time to start putting words on the page.
Here are some tips for actually writing the blog post:
– Start with a catchy headline that will entice people to read your post. Many bloggers don’t write the headline until the end, but that doesn’t work for me, so I usually write it first. Remember, there is no right or wrong way to blog, so do whatever works for you. I will caution that you do NOT want to write clickbaity headlines as you will lose your audience fast.
– Write in an easy-to-read style. Use short sentences and paragraphs so your readers won’t get overwhelmed or lose interest. Also, don’t worry too much about formatting at this point; you can come back and pretty things up later.
– Don’t include images, infographics, or placeholders at this point, or you might lose your flow. I suggest using placeholder text in brackets describing the type of image you want to use, such as [insert image of X here], so you can go back and add it later … or, even better, have your assistant add it.
– Use your keyword(s) throughout your post to help with SEO. Try to use them naturally, writing for the reader first and the search engines secondly.
– Proofread your work, making any final edits needed before publishing. Make sure that your blog post delivers on the promise you made in your headline and opening paragraph. This is also a good time to format your post so that it is easy to read on the web, making good use of headings, bullet points, etc.
– The final step is to add a conclusion/call-to-action section at the end of your blog post. This is an essential part of blogging because it helps readers know what to do next after they’ve finished reading your content (such as signing up for a newsletter).
Leveling Up: Tips to Write Even Faster!
Now that we’ve covered how to get started blogging, let’s talk about some ways you can write even faster.
Our first tip is to do your work in batches.
You might want to spend one session doing keyword research for all topics scheduled for the upcoming month rather than just researching one at a time. In another session, you might knock out all of your research and/or outlines. Another session might be to knock out drafts for multiple blog posts. Make changes to your blogging process to include working in batches until you find the system that works for you.
Another tip for writing blog posts quickly is to use a blogging template.
A blog post template can be a great way to save time, as it just helps simplify the process by giving you a formula to follow.
An example of a simple blogging template would include:
- an introduction
- the body (which may include subheadings)
- a conclusion, with a call to action
Other ideas for blogging templates include:
- an introduction of a topic
- defining the topic
- providing context on the topic
- including specific examples for the topic
- giving advice or examples on the topic
- a conclusion
- ending with a question
CoSchedule has some excellent blog post templates that you might want to check out here.
Finally, you may want to give AI a try! In fact, I “wrote” the majority of this post using Jasper! Read how I did it on my Medium blog post and then click here to use my referral link to get a free trial and claim 10k credits free!
Conclusion
Let’s face it … writing is hard work. Whether blogging for fun or as part of a business, blogging can be challenging when it comes time to sit down to write that first draft of your post! Hopefully, this post has provided you with enough tips to get you started.
That’s it! By following these tips, you’ll be able to write blog posts that are both informative and engaging quickly. And who knows, you may even start enjoying the process! ?
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