When I first started blogging for my writing business, it would take me hours to finish a post.
It was always the same story. I’d sit down at my desk and attempt to hammer out a researched, formatted post in one sitting.
How did that work out?
I wasn’t able to achieve any degree of consistency, frequently feeling too overwhelmed to stick to my schedule.
Knowing there had to be a better way, I embarked on a quest to find tools of the trade.
The results?
I’ve posted an article for 13 weeks and counting. That’s on top of the guest blogs I’ve completed and thousands of words for my clients.
Below, I’d like to share the strategies I’ve had the most success with.
Begin with the end in mind
What’s the first thing you see about any piece of content?
Yep, the headline.
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve found is to write your headline before you even start your post.
It might be counter to what you’ve heard before; I’d also been coming up with headlines after my post was complete.
Brian Clark, makes the case elegantly, in Copyblogger’s How to Write Magnetic Headlines:
Your headline is a promise to readers. Its job is to clearly communicate the benefit you’ll deliver to the reader in exchange for their valuable time. Promises tend to be made before being fulfilled. Writing your content first puts you in the position of having to reverse-engineer your promise.Turn it around the other way and you have the benefit of expressly fulfilling the compelling promise you made with the headline, which ultimately helps to keep your content crisp and well-structured.
Brian Clark
Given the significance of headlines, Clark’s approach makes sense.
Headlines can make or break your post. And more than half of readers will share a post without even reading it, according to statistics.
But what if your headline-generating juices are running low? Try scanning the headlines on sites like BuzzFeed and Upworthy. Clark singles outCosmopolitan as another publication with strong headline game.
And don’t forget to flex your headline muscle.
Clark makes a good point that it’s not enough to know headline formulas, you’ve got to understand why they work, too.
It’s kind of like the Chinese Room experiment. a thought experiment from American philosopher, John Searl.
Searle imagines himself alone in a room following a computer program for responding to Chinese characters slipped under the door. Searle understands nothing of Chinese, and yet, by following the program for manipulating symbols and numerals just as a computer does, he produces appropriate strings of Chinese characters that fool those outside into thinking there is a Chinese speaker in the room.
The narrow conclusion of the argument is that programming a digital computer may make it appear to understand language but does not produce real understanding.
Once you understand why certain headlines stick, you’re on track to creating the right ones.
Here a few resources you going:
Buzzsumo’s most shared headlines study
Copy Hackers headline scorecard
Answer these questions before you put finger to keyboard
The beauty of a strong headline is that you’ve already made a promise to your headlines, so you know the basic thrust of your post.
To direct your process even more – and deliver increased value to your readers – consider answering four question before you begin.
I found this tip from Henekke Dusitermaat on Enchanted Marketing.
Duistermaat recommends keeping your favourite reader in mind when you answer the follwing questions:
- Which problem does your post solve?
- How does your post transform your reader’s life?
- What do you expect your reader to do after reading your post?
- Why will your reader believe you and follow your advice?
If you’re writing sales copy, she suggests a slight shift in gears:
Writing sales copy? Ask yourself these questions instead:
Which problem does this product solve?
- How does your product transform your reader’s life?
- What do you expect your reader to do after reading your web page?
- Why will readers trust you?
“If you know what your content must achieve, you write both faster and better. Your content becomes more persuasive because you focus on your reader, “ advises Duistermaat.
On top of that, I found adding a position statement further directs your post. This is a trick I learned in a Smartblogger course. Below is an example for this post:
My post helps (who) busy entrepreneurs (what) write quality content quickly
The important art of outlining
I’ve written about the life-changing power of outlining.
After I’ve completed the first two steps, I outline my post complete with the key points I want to make and any stats or research required in each area.
In this post, I described my outlining process in detail.
But if this doesn’t work for you, Coschedule makes a good point. Not every writer will do an outline exactly the same way, but a “roadmap” before you begin helps you stay focussed and saves you time.
In this post, you’ll find a detailed approach to outlining.
Give your blog post a break
Try to break your writing process into chunks so you can have a rest day between your writing and publishing..
Jorden Roper, a creative entrepreneur who built a six-figure freelance writing business, said your post will always improve if you give it a day to rest.
Writing high blog content helps your and your customers. You already know that. But in between running a business, and the everyday stresses of life, blogging frequently slips down the list of priorities. Try these steps to maintain a regular schedule. You’ll consistently push out helpful articles your clients will value, and they’ll love you for it.
