I always think it is a bit meta when you blog about blogging, but Blogtober is upon us and I have a dinner date. What can I possibly write about in an hour?
I want to be out of the house and have a glass of wine in my hand by 7pm, and I have just got home for a day at the office. (Then schedule the post, as I am actually sunning myself in California right now!)
How about a post that tells you how to write a blog post in less than an hour?
School flashbacks
Anyone who has worked their way through the school system will know the dread of trying to complete an essay the night before it is due – and don’t even get me started on trying to write a 10,000-word dissertation in 2 weeks.
Pro-tip : don’t.
Planning ahead is always the best plan!
Maybe you remember those exam questions that required you to write an essay in about 40 minutes? You read the question, do a quick mini-plan on some rough paper and then just write as if your life depended on it.
The point being? It is possible to write under pressure, and get the job done. Most of the time the reason something takes longer than it really needs to is because of distractions and procrastination.
So turn off the T.V., make that coffee that you will no doubt wander off to make yourself 10 minutes into your writing and sit comfortably. Breathe. Don’t panic. You are going to be there for the next 60 minutes.
What is your niche?
If your main stumbling point is knowing what to write about, consider what your blog already contains? What is your thing? What do people expect to read when they come to your blog?
It is always a go idea to have a list of potential topics ready in a notebook, but I am going to assume you don’t have a time machine, and that that particular piece of foresight isn’t particularly helpful to you right now. Just a tip for future stress-writing sessions.
You can afford to be a bit tenuous as long as you don’t mind the incongruity or can find a way to link it to a previous post. I fully intend linking this to a piece I wrote about focus and using your time wisely, for example. Or maybe even a post I wrote about having a plan.
Answer a question
As with essays’ the best kind of blog posts offer the reader something to take away, whether that is knowledge, suggestions or just the relief of knowing that perhaps their life is as bad as the mid-life crisis sufferer that is writing the post.
If you come up with a question, you have also come up with a potential title. The one thing to avoid is overthinking any one element and spending too much time on it. Remember perfectionism is not a virtue, be willing to let things go and come back to them.
If the title is giving you trouble, write the post and return to it later. I remember when I used to do my lunchtime pondering posts, that I just kept writing, and often discovered that the post I had written was different from my original vision. Be willing to be flexible. You may end up with a better idea than you initially thought.
You can always write an epic post, fully laden with facts, tips and amazing takeaways when you are not trying to get to a waiting meal and glass of wine.
Have a plan
My penchant for planning is no secret, so here is how I would generally write out the rough draft for a post:
Intro -basically explain what I am doing in the post. You can go back over at the end if it needs tidying.
Canva – I use Canva, but whatever you use, this is a good spot to stick a blog header or picture.
2nd intro – different from the first one, but linking into the main body of the piece.
Headers to separate work – Come up with a few header titles to divide up your paragraphs
Leave gaps for photos – and don’t spend too long searching for them. You can always swap them out at a later date.
I usually have a few draft posts that are set up like this, so that I spend less time formatting, and more time just writing. It flows better if you don’t have to keep stopping and starting.
Research
Chances are, plenty of people have written a post like yours before. What can you add to make your work different?
A quick search for keywords will lead you to the top few writers that have had the same ideas as you. Much like researching an essay or some coursework, you can borrow and reuse ideas from other people – just be very wary of overusing others work or you risk plagiarism.
Find a way to add to what you have learnt. If someone suggests using a certain method, you can agree, but then offer additional tips. So if you are writing a piece about …Quilting? Then perhaps show how one crafter does it, but then suggest that if you try this method, to remember to have a few bobbins of cotton filled so as not to disrupt your sewing. (Totally a thing)
Alternatively, you can disagree with another writer and offer something different. Perhaps the crafter suggested something that you think will take too long, so you can recommend a better way? (I literally know nothing about quilting, but you get the idea!)
If you are using facts, perhaps you were writing a post about a pop group, or a favourite actor for example, be sure to use a number of sources, and throw in a few links, so people can check your citations (This is just like being back at uni…I may be projecting on you, sorry readers!)
Remember that your voice needs to echo throughout the post. It needs to be 100% you
It’s not all writing
While content is important, a blog post is not just made of words. Give yourself time to inject a few images, to re-read to check for grammar, spelling and to ensure that the piece is what you wanted.
You also need to ensure you have sorted your extract, and added any links that need to be in the post. If you have plug -in’s that chek your SEO for you, take time to optimise that too.
Always leave yourselves 10 minutes or so to go over a piece before hitting publish.
Sometimes you just need to get something out there. Once it is published, provided you have checked for basic errors, you can always come back later and update it to add further links, or images… much like I have done here really.
Over to you
Do you labour over posts or do you schedule them all in advance? What tips can you offer fellow bloggers? Do you try and stay in your niche, or are you happy to write about anything?
Let us know in the comments below.