For some, writing blogs comes easy. But let’s face it, writing blogs can be a real pain in the blogging butt for most agencies and small businesses.
You know you need to post quality, valuable content for your audience on the regular. You know it’s the secret to SEO success and attracting more attention to your brand.
Yet every time those blog writing deadlines come around, you sit staring at a blank screen for far too long and doing everything you can to procrastinate (while convincing yourself that you’re not procrastinating).
Sound familiar? Well, listen up my friends, because I’ve got just the thing for you: My super handy guide to writing blogs quickly. But not just any blogs. Blogs your audience actually want to read.
Let’s go!
7 blog writing tips for faster, better, more beautiful blogs
Follow these blog writing tips, and I know you’ll find a big difference in your blog writing speed, making the task less daunting and more effortless. Yay!
#1 Don’t blog blind
When it comes to writing blogs quickly, preparation is key. Because let’s face it, how can you write a blog if you don’t have any clue what to write about? Exactly. So, take some time to plan out your next few blogs, paying attention to key content pillars.
Pray tell, what is a content pillar?
Okay so a content pillar is basically a key blogging “theme” that you want to focus on. Once you have 2-3 themes in mind, you can branch out to blog topics related to each theme.
If you’re not sure about topics, you can use a keyword research tool to figure out what kind of questions people ask for each “content pillar.”
Here’s an example of content pillars for a content writing agency, like The Content Lab.
Content pillar ideas
Pillar one: Blog writing
How to write blogs quickly
Examples of blog headlines
The dos and don’ts of blog writing
Pillar two: Website copywriting
Website copywriting best practices
How to write conversion copy
Examples of great website copy
Pillar three: Email copywriting
How to write cold sales emails
5 easy ways to write emails that work
What to include in marketing emails
Pillar four: Social media post writing
How to promote your blog on social media
Popular post types for every social platform
How to create a content calendar
#2 Write what you know
Ahh, the old “write what you know.” You’ve heard this one before, but it doesn’t just apply to creative writing. Writing what you know makes perfect sense if you want to cut your blog writing time in half.
Why?
BECAUSE I SAID SO.
Kidding. Writing what you know is a great way to speed up blog writing because writing on a subject you know little to nothing about involves heavy research.
You also have to factor in the time it takes to actually “digest” what you’re researching, which can take ages – especially if you’re writing on a completely new topic and haven’t had your coffee yet.
#3 Outline every blog
This goes back to the importance of preparation a la #1. If you want to write blogs faster, create a thorough outline before you start. Here is what to include in your outline.
Intro
Include your audience’s key pain points, how reading this blog will help to resolve those problems, and give a brief description of what they will learn
Main body
List bullet points of what you want to include in the “meaty” part of your blog. You can split your key points into paragraphs, outlining what you’ll include in each of these sections.
Conclusion
Include your main Call to Action, a summary of what the audience has learned, and any key takeaways
Links
List links to any interesting statistics, quotes, or articles you might include or reference in your blog. Having them all in one place makes it easy to pick and choose what goes where.
#4 Word vomit first, edit second
While Cady Herron’s “word vomit” in Mean Girls led to quite the predicament, to speed up your blog writing, I actively encourage it.
Instead of trying to perfect every sentence as you go (which is a tried and tested recipe for major writer’s block), simply write ANYTHING.
Even if, as you are writing, you’re thinking, “this is terrible”, keep going! It’s much easier to edit something than start writing from scratch. So get the hard part over with and let your fingers type away like a master pianist dancing along the keys.
Once you have your first (maybe awful) draft, go back in and edit for grammar, flow, sentence structure, and readability. I promise you; this will take a lot less longer than aiming for perfection right from the start.
P.S. You don’t even need to write full sentences for your first draft. Try adding a ton of bullet points on what you want to talk about, links to related articles, and statistics in each section and then go back and transform the information into cohesive paragraphs.
#5 Always be helping
If you’re familiar with the popular digital marketing trope “always be testing”, then for blog writing, you should “always be helping.”
Google recently revealed that articles deemed “helpful” for their users would get the most points, rather than articles simply written to appease (or trick) their SEO bots.
So if you find yourself second-guessing what to write in your blog and whether something is relevant, keep asking yourself, “is this helpful to my audience?.” This will make the writing and editing stage go by much faster
Learn more about Google’s helpful content update in my recent blog, “A helpful guide to Google’s Helpful Content algorithm update.”
#6 Minimise distractions
This one may seem obvious, but it’s too important for me not to say it, even if you’re currently rolling your eyes.
It’s much easier to write fast when you’re not distracted by:
Your phone beeping and booping
Your disorganised mess of a desk
Your backache from sitting in a bad chair
Your 10,000 computer tabs still open
The fact you’re hungry, tired or cold
The TV playing in the background
Your partner’s loud conference calls
So, do your best to reduce these distractions (no, you can’t murder your partner – but you CAN have a snack and turn off your phone, buddy), and you’ll have much more focus available for fast blog writing.
#7 Pass the blogging buck
Okay, shameless plug incoming…
If you’re too busy, stressed, or, as we say in Ireland, “not arsed” to write blogs, that’s totally fine! Do the smart thing and pass on the task to the blog writing experts.
Whether that’s The Content Lab (pick me, pick me!) or someone else ( * sad face * ), hiring an SEO-friendly wordsmith will not only speed up blogs, but it’ll also save your sanity (and possibly your partner’s life.)
Why pick us?
Because we’re content-obsessed word nerds, so you don’t have to be! At The Content Lab, we merge SEO science and copywriting art to cook up on-point websites, blogs, emails, and social media posts your audience will love.
Ready to get started?
Chat to our head honcho, Bosco, the dog.
If Bosco is too busy barking at cats to pick up the phone, email our Head Content Strategist and Founder, Abby.