Writing is a little like riding a bicycle. 🚲 Bear with me here.
If you once knew how to write decent papers in college or documents for a job you once had, you can learn again. You’ll feel completely rusty at first, but you have to just get back on and start writing (or riding?). Take a few turns around the block, literally, to think and then sit down to put your thoughts on paper. 📝 It may not sound perfect at first, but writing is a muscle that improves with time.
With practice, a 500-word blog post should only take you about an hour.
And blogging today is meant to be more informal (my English teachers would have never allowed that “and” at the beginning of this sentence), so don’t get hung up on worrying about grammar and perfect sentence structure. If your grammar is really rusty, though, check out a tool like Grammarly to help you out.
Why you should start out writing some blog posts
Why bother? Because only you tell your story really well. You know why you started your small business or are motivated to SHOW UP in your nonprofit. Your target market needs to hear you tell them YOUR why. Even if eventually you hire a writer, having a hand in the writing process at the beginning will set your business up for better success later. You’ll have a sense of what your audience appreciates in blogs on your website and what it takes to get them posted. Then, instead of just handing over the keys of an important asset in your business, you’ll be able to provide guidance and supervision.
Still not convinced you have time to write? No problem. Hire us, and we’ll do it for you.
But if you are committed to trying your hand at blogging, here is how you can master this skill in one hour. Give yourself more time at the beginning, while you’re still honing your skill.
Step-by-step guide to write a blog post in 60 minutes
Step 1: Before you can even get started writing a blog post, you’ll want to have your idea already formed and written up in a short abstract. You should have done this with a bunch of ideas in bulk by content batching. Read how to do that here.
Step 2: Add a big, attention-grabbing idea at the top. You likely can pull this from your abstract as well.
Step 3: Add a numbered or bulleted list that explains your big idea. Having your blog set up in a lists, such as tips or reasons for your big idea, are make blogs easier to read and write. Readers can scan your content better and are more likely to stay on the page if the blog looks useful at first glance.
Step 4: Research an expert opinion that shows your point is supported by others. You can link directly to that website or article.
Step 5: Include a call to action for your reader at the conclusion. This might be simply your contact form, a freebie you’re offering or another related blog they can read. Closing with a question for them to comment in the bottom or on social media is a great way to end.
Step 6: Fill out the information on steps 2-5 into a more robust idea and before you know it, you’ll have a solid blog.
Once you’ve written your blog post, walk away from it for a few hours or days and then return to edit it with fresh eyes. You’re more likely to catch any careless mistakes this way. You can also hire a proofreader at a really reasonable rate on a site like Fiverr.
Next up I’ll be posting ways to make your content more engaging, so for now, write on. And ride on. 🚲
Let me know if this blog post was helpful for you! Leave a comment or send me a message over on your social channel of choice.
Oh! And if you still don’t want to write? No problem. Hire us, and we’ll do it for you.
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