How many blog posts have you written in the last week?
How many have you written in the last month?
If you’re not happy with the answer to either of those questions, you’re not alone. The truth is that all marketers (even the professionals) get blocks from time to time. Around 44% of marketers say that actually producing content consistently is one of the toughest challenges that they face.
If you are constantly struggling creating good content and fast, there are a couple of options you could try.
First, you could up your content creation budget and hire some writers but this costs money and it’s hard to find quality writers.
Second, you could reduce some of the other tasks in your schedule so you can devote more time to writing – easier said than done!
Third, you could learn how to write blog content faster.
Does the third option sound good?
Here’s how to write high quality blog content in record time.
Have a Source of Unlimited Topic Ideas
Topic ideas are fickle things. They don’t always arrive when you need them most.
However, you could find that you’re continually coming up with plans for new blogs when you’re in the shower, driving to work, or browsing through other articles online.
Since half the battle of writing great content is finding something good to write about – make sure that you’re continually collecting your ideas wherever they come to you.
Keep a notepad on your person at all times where you can jot down ideas, or design a swipe file online where you can save links to articles that inspired you. Your swipe file can even just contain screenshots of quotes that might have given you the muse you need for a full article.
There are plenty of digital tools that you can use to accompany your swipe file, including Evernote, for your desktop or phone. Whatever tool you choose to use, make sure that you have somewhere to turn for inspiration when you need it most.
Blogs Aren’t Written, They’re Assembled
I’m going to let you in on a blogging secret…
Nobody sits down and writes a blog post from start to finish.
The pros assemble their posts like a jigsaw puzzle.
So, once you have your topic ideas laid out in front of you, use them to build the skeleton of your blog post.
Start with the following:
- Your title: The idea that’s going to grab your audience’s attention straight away. Stick to something concise and value-focused. Tools like numbers, curiosity terms, and power words like “Learn” are great for headlines.
- The subheadings: These will drive your readers down the page and help them to find the content that they’re looking for. At the same time, they’ll remind you of which crucial points you want to cover.
- Your quotes: If you’re using any quotes to back up the points that you’re making, you can add those to the subheading sections where they need to be. Make sure you include references to give your quotes credibility.
Once you have the bones of your blog in place, it will be much easier to see where you need to flesh things out. From there, you can decide what kind of strategy you want to use to write. Some people prefer to start with the conclusion and work their way backward.
Another option is to write the meat of the article first, then head back and complete the intro. That way, you can make sure that you’re providing your audience with hints of what they can expect from the rest of the article in your first few paragraphs.
Write With Your Readers in Mind
As well as having your skeleton in place to guide you when you’re writing your blog posts, you should also be writing with your customers and their interests in mind. A good way to speed up your writing and keep yourself on the right track is to list some key questions you want your article to cover.
For instance, let’s say that you’re writing a blog post about the content marketing tools that companies can use to analyze their digital marketing strategies. Your readers might want to know why content marketing is important first or what kind of content marketing strategies they can use.
Check out what your customers are talking about on social media and forums like Reddit or Quora for inspiration. Alternatively, you can use a tool like Answerthepublic.com to get a quick list of questions to inspire you.
Outsource
Business owners and marketing leaders assume that they should be able to do everything on their own. We’re living in a world where being rushed off your feet is often something that’s praised.
I’ll be first to admit this was a mistake I made when I started my SEO Agency. I was trying to do everything from client work, writing blog posts to managing finances and it caused a tonne of headaches and the quality of my work suffered, especially my writing.
However, when you want to create the best content for your audience, sometimes you’re going to need a little extra help.
Ready to Get Writing?
Writing consistently amazing blog posts is difficult.
The increasing pressure in the digital landscape to constantly publish something new doesn’t help either. However, content is and always will be a crucial part of connecting with your audience.
The tips above will help you to create your blog posts faster. Start by trying one or two and continue to implement new strategies as you discover them. You should find that eventually, your content creation times begin to go down.
