Review that Blog!

by Hilde Garcia

Hello Readers. Well, as promised, here is my review of the top three sites Google took me to when I asked the simple question "quick ideas for writing a blog post."  Remember, about 176 million links showed up, but I am going to focus on the top ten!

 

FIRST UP:

How to Brainstorm and Write an Epic Blog Post in 4 Simple

https://blog.bufferapp.com/brainstorm-write-epic-blog-post-4-simple-steps

Bryan Harris writes a fabulous post about how to write an epic blog in 4 simple steps. For full details, check out his post, but the gist of it is:

What if instead of writing blog posts you only answered questions?

An excerpt from his site:

If my wife asks me “Bryan, why do you think most people never act on their ideas?”

I would answer in less than 5 seconds with at least 3 minutes worth of dialogue.

No prep. No outline. No research.

However, if I were trying to write an article entitled “The 7 Reasons Your Idea Will Never Become A Business”


Gridlock. All dry. Words … are … hard.

There is something fundamentally different with writing about a TOPIC as opposed to answering someone’s specific QUESTION.

So, when you are stuck, try the following steps outlined by Bryan in his post:

Step 1: Don’t write, record

Step 2: Transcribe your audio

Step 3: Pretty it up

Step 4: Write 5 different headlines

Step 5: Publish

He has some great videos and an excellent easy to understand explanation about buffer analytics and how they can help you reach your audience more effectively.
Thanks Bryan.

NEXT:

20 Quick Tips on Writing Great Blog Posts | Darren Rowse ...

https://www.linkedin.com/.../20140602121530-3161863-20-qu...

Darren Browse has an amazing quick list of things that will give you a greaet blog post.  I like how #9 connects with Bryan Harris’ use of buffer analytics.  And I like how he ended this post with his own #15 suggestion- ask your reader questions.

 

I am personally taking #3 and #4 to heart and am re-promising myself to do #12, #17 and #19 better!  

1. Tell your story– it is one of the key things that will make your content stand out of the crowd
2. Share how you feel – it will take your readers to a deeper place and make it more relatable
3. You’ll never please everyone – the sooner you make peace with this reality, the better!
4. Write about things that matter to you – passion is infectious and your readers will catch ahold of it. Tell the world something important.
5. Inform, inspire and interact – aim to do these things every week (read more on this)!
6. Experiment with different styles of writing – it will help you find your voice
7. Mix up the length of your posts – short can be sweet but long can be epic!
8. When an idea strikes – drop everything and capture it!
9. Do everything you can to understand who is reading your blog – it will make you much more useful to them.
10. Before you publish – ask what you want your reader to do after reading your post – and edit accordingly. Calls to action are important!
11. Become hyper aware of problems – and obsessively write posts that solve them.
12. Put aside time to create quality content – it doesn’t just appear
13. Put aside time to edit and your posts – it will take them to the next level
14. Get a life – you’ll be a much more interesting writer if you’ve lived a little
15. Ask your readers questions – it will make them feel like they belong and you’ll learn a lot from their answers!
16. Take your readers on a journey – posts that build from one to another can be powerful. Build momentum and create anticipation and you'll hook readers for the long term.
17. Brainstorm regularly – generating ideas for future posts now can save a lot of pain later and help you keep things rolling. I highly recommend mind mapping.
18. Not every post needs to go viral – shareable content will help you grow but it may not serve your current readers best.
19. Write, Write Write – the more you practice, the better you will get
20. Publish selectively – you don’t need to publish everything you write

What quick blog writing tips would you add?

Thanks Darren, these are great.

AND FINALLY:

How I Write 8 Blog Posts a Week While Running 2 Companies

www.quicksprout.com/2014/.../how-to-streamline-your-content-creation/

Ok, so Neil Patel seems to be as busy as I am, so I checked out his blog to see how he stays afloat. 
For full details, check out his post, but the main points are:

From his post:
You’ll never succeed at content marketing if you can’t create content on a regular basis. In essence, you need to learn how to streamline your content creation.

The good news is it’s not that hard. I’ve figured out how to streamline my content creation process. It works so well that I write eight blog posts a week. I publish three times a week on Quick Sprout, and I guest-post five times a week.

Here’s how I streamline my content creation, and here’s how you can too:

Step #1: Generate a list of potential topics

Time limit: You should spend no more than ten minutes on coming up with content ideas.

Step #2: Create an outline

Time limit: You should spend no more than twenty minutes on creating an outline. If it takes longer than that, you are picking topics that you are not very familiar with.

Step #3: Write

Time limit: You should spend no more than sixty minutes on finishing your post. The writing portion typically takes me forty-five minutes, and then I spend fifteen minutes re-reading and adjusting the post.

Step #4: Proofread, add a picture and schedule

Time limit: You shouldn’t spend any time on this step. Hire someone to do Step #4.

Neil says that "It’s not that hard to streamline your content creation process. You just need to figure out how many times a week (or month) you want to publish content and stick with it.

Once you decide on the frequency of posting, make sure you create a few extra posts in addition to the required number. That way, if something doesn’t work out, you’ll have a few backup posts. Your readers will feel you are consistent even if you drop the ball with your content creation process."

My writing partners keep reminding me that I should use my teacher vacation days to write several posts as back ups so I don't drop the ball, but I can’t find my way out from the grading pile even during vacations!

However, what I did learn is that posting a blog isn't always about what you are interested in, you have to connect with your readers and two of these sites give me really concrete ways in which to do that. I like procedures and a solid process and these bloggers really have created a system that works for them, but has a universal appeal. I know that I for one, am going to try to recreate some of their tips for my own break throughs in the world of blogging.

I will be back soon with more reviews of links that will help you with THE BLOG.

And  a parting question:

What things do you do to generate your weekly blog posts?

See I am already employing number #15! Enquiring minds want to know! 

I dare you to reply.