Write Blog Posts Faster – From Brainy Ideas to Polished Posts

So you’ve got a great idea for a blog post — whether a pre-planend topic or something amazing happened on a call with a client — and you want to turn that into a great blog post.

The approach works like magic, especially for new bloggers, and if you want to be time efficient. Following this will train you to write blog posts faster.

The key to PLAN TO EDIT. That is, do a good bit now and come back to edit later. Instead of attempting one-full-swoop works of art, think, Slow and steady wins the race.

One quote that automatically pops up in my head when I need to do good writing is this …

“To write is human.
To edit is divine.” 

Now don’t get me wrong, writing a whole blog post in a single effort is not necessarily a bad thing. You can save time, get it done within a day, and get faster at writing.

And back in the day, I used to do that — write it all at once. It was hard. It did take a long time. I did get the darn writing done.

But whenever I went back to look at them, I would be a little embarrassed about the typos, the lack of clarity, and the unclear paragraphs. I’d often wonder if English was my first language.

I had to edit them immediately. And when I did, the article GOT A LOT BETTER. I got more likes and more people read them.

I felt proud of my work, instead of relieved like getting off the toilet.

So, yes, I 100% vouch for building in a step to EDIT.

In this blog post, I’ve outlined four steps that I use to plan your blog writing process — not only will it improve your writing, but you’ll actually start doing them faster.

Ok, let’s get into writing blog posts faster …

A small Ask – I love hearing from people because I live in a closet (just kidding).

Hearing you makes my day. So if you’re finding value in my work, let me know in the comments. I love people’s thoughts, ideas, questions, and even counter-ideas. We should all learn from each other and enjoy the company.

ALSO, you’ll also get a little search engine boost for your website by including your link. So don’t be a stranger!

Step 1. Choose the Right Topic

We all get those brainy moments of deep wisdom — like after a call with a client, while on a nature hike, or fresh in the morning.

Capture them!

Send yourself an email on your phone. Make an audio recording. Jot it down on a notepad — or what I often do, make a quick video about it. If you’re doing Zoom calls with clients, you can record them habitually to record those special moments.

If you’ve got time immediately, go nuts and do a brain dump for 30 minutes for hot ideas about the topic. If not, then plan a specific time early in the workweek to get all the good ideas out on paper.

This “idea list” about the topic can be super sloppy, totally random, poorly written, disorganized — a written super hot mess. Just get it all out of your head and down on paper.

But, you must (that’s a strong word!) limit time on this to 30 minutes — or 20 or 40, you decide the time. This is important because you need to stay focused and get this done this week and avoid turning this topic into a college course. So, limit the time for transferring this idea on paper.

Then, take a break, at least one day, where you can come back and expand on the ideas. This is a special time when your subconscious (the wiser part of you!) works on it.

Step 2. Expand on Ideas – 30 minutes.

So, now that you’ve got a great idea jotted down, it’s time to come back fresh after a full day’s break.

Here, you can expand on the ideas. I recommend you find, early in the week, a place to dedicate 30 minutes to enjoy thinking around the great ideas on this topic.

Have fun and expand for another 30 minutes.

Make sure that you answer this one key question as you expand, “What’s the struggle, problem, challenge, issue, or dilemma that my topic addresses?“

It’s super important that your writing relate to your clients. Your ideas, thoughts, questions, stories are only as interesting as it relates to one, two, all or many, or a few of clients.

Step 3. Organize It – 30 minutes.

Movies, books, and plays all follow a structure to make them amazing. Your posts should have a format too to make them engaging and enjoyable.

Here’s a simple blog post format I use for coaching blogs.

1. Challenge – Describe the situation to set the stage.
2. Summary – Summarize the content to be delivered.
3. Solution – Deliver the content (steps, questions, tasks, etc.)
4. Examples – Share real stories to show the solution at work
5. Takeaway – Restate the key learning.
6. The Invite – Call them to action, like contact you for coaching.

In hi-def, see A Simple Blog Post Writing Format for Coaches.

Step 4. Polish to perfection – 30 minutes.

I hesitate to use the word “perfection” because I know it can trigger hesitation to get it done. Instead, think “quick clean up” like after cooking dinner, you wash the dishes.

At this point, you’re writing has gone a few steps, and we can now do the simple task of cleaning up typos, unclear points, and posting it to your website.

In this 30-minute (yes, set a timer again!) effort, I want you to:

• Run spell check. I love Grammarly. But only spend 5 minute on this. You don’t have to apply every last suggestion. Just get the obvious hiccups.
  
• Speed read it insanely fast — like a full out sprint. Almost too fast for reading. Wherever you find yourself stopping, smooth out the writing. These are often unclear points, long sentences, or content that you can cut out. 5 minutes on this.
  
• Then go find an image and post it to your website. 5-10 minutes. When you do post it, quickly look at the article on your desktop/laptop and phone. Make sure it’s “pretty good.”

Eventually, you can hand off some of this to an assistant as you learn to write better and better.

Remember, the art of writing is the ART OF RE-WRITING.

Whenever I come back to previous blog posts of my own, and give them a once over editing, the work gets better. It’s so rewarding to fix grammar hiccups and say things more powerfully/humorously/cleverly.

Also, in running group blogging programs as well as one-on-one work, coaches find setting these four 30-minute steps into a week excellent for forming good habits, keeps the work doable, and —interestingly — more enjoyable.

This article is definitely a product of this process. ;D