You know you need to be posting blogs to your website, you know it will help to boost your SEO and that content marketing has a big impact on growing your business online.
But you don’t know where to start, you aren’t a ‘writer’ and after everything else you need to be doing to keep your business running – putting aside an hour per week to write a blog seems impossible.
Sound familiar?
Writing blogs doesn’t have to be difficult. Let me show you how.
Choose your Topic
The purpose of blogs is to inform, educate and update people about your business and industry. They can help build your credibility and authority.
Choosing a relevant and interesting topic that speaks directly to your target audience is the most critical part of the process. If it’s not engaging or interesting to your potential clients, there really is no point in writing anything at all.
If you are stuck on what to write about, just ask your audience! What is it people want to know about you and your industry? If you find you are often asked the same questions by clients or customers then blog about it! Then you get to reference and share your blog the next time you are asked the same question – double value to you.
And of course, you can use Jasper or ChatGPT to generate a list of blog topic ideas can really help you to get the ball rolling. Pick and choose any that suit, ditch the ones that don’t – then choose the one that sounds the easiest to begin with!
Outline your key points
Once you have your topic – break it down into bite-sized chunks.
What are the key points of your message?
List them out and note down any immediate thoughts that pop up when you do.
Here’s the example of how I started writing this blog post:
As you can see, it’s a very basic structure and actually only took me about 23seconds to write! But having that there while I am writing, really helps to draw my focus back in when I get stuck or distracted.
Research
Google your blog title! Have a read through other posts on the same topic and pull out any nuggets of inspiration, add these into the doc as your outline so that everything is collated in one space.
This is probably my favourite step. I have always found this really helpful for getting into the mindset of writing about a certain topic. As you are researching, the information becomes fresh in your mind, you’re reading about the topic, thinking about it, seeing what parts you would talk about in a different way and from there – the words are likely to flow way more smoothly!
**note we are not direct copying here – this is for inspirational points of interest to change to your own words and build your own content around.
Get Writing
Alright, we have procrastinated enough. It’s time to get down to business.
With all the preparations we have done, with all the content fresh in your mind, and the outline of what you want to write about – you’ll be able to get some words on the page!
Put yourself in an environment that you can comfortably work in, and then just start. It doesn’t have to be perfect to start with. Editing comes later once you have pieces of text to actually edit!
Using engaging language and a warm, inviting tone, try to express your brand’s message in a way that resonates with your readers. Speak directly to them, and make sure you are addressing their needs and desires.
Provide value, but don’t forget to weave in your brand’s unique voice. Talk about how your product or service can improve their lives!
Most of all, be genuine – authenticity will get you far. Show your readers why they should stick around and keep reading what you have to say!
If you are still really stuck on what to write, then using an AI tool can further help to generate some inspiration – but be cautious and ensure you edit it into your voice and that it is actually accurate and & relevant to what you are writing about!
Top Tip! You don’t have to write a blog ‘in order’. Write sections, sentences, and paragraphs in whatever order you want and if that means writing your conclusion first and your introduction last – that’s okay! I promise, no one will know.
Proof it
My best advice here; do not proofread straight away. Have a break, go have a cup of tea, go for a walk, answer some emails, or just do something else for a while so that you can come back to your blog with fresh eyes.
Even wait a day or 2 or get someone else to look over it. Make sure it makes sense, it’s clearly structured and it is easy to read.
Pretty much, you don’t want to be sharing this blog around if it’s filled with spelling and grammar mistakes. That will have the opposite effect of building your credibility. To help me, I have the Grammarly extension added to my Chrome browser which helps to keep all of that in check!
See that’s not too hard is it? Totally doable and achievable. 5 easy steps and guess what? You’ve written a blog post! Go you!
Remember – you are a professional in your industry. Chances are you already have the knowledge in your head and all you have to do is put it into words! Writing exactly how you speak is also totally okay, your own brand voice is important and there is no point trying to sound like someone else – that’s way harder.
Top Tip – Don’t forget to add a call to action at the end of your post. This can be signing up for a download or newsletter, a link to a relevant product or service, or simply and an invitation to have a conversation.
Happy blogging! I hope this helps get you started and builds your confidence in writing content for your website.
