Staring at a blank Word sheet for days is something every writer –freelancer or full timer– may have experienced a few times in their career. Writers fall off the horse, lose their writing game due to various reasons. But we can’t afford to lose great writers before they even get started. Thus, the need for this piece. After days of research, I’ve managed to compress into 7 steps, all we need do when we find ourselves trying to get back to (or start-up) blog-writing.
1. Dust off your coat, get back on the saddle
This first step is specific to freelance and full-time writers who had once been in the writing space, but found themselves struggling to get a piece out. Be not dismayed, many of the greats before us have been there sometime in their lives. The reason their names resound in history is because they refused to stay down, defeated, but got back on the writing saddle. It was the great Les Brown who said: “If life knocks you down, try to land on your back. Because if you can look up, you can get up. And if you get up, you can stand up. And if you stand up, you can fight for your dream once again…”
In need of more words to inspire you back up? Here you go!
First, take time off to do something else, get some exercise, and take the spouse on a date you’ve been too busy for. Do something, anything to get your mind off depression and the pressure of getting a piece out. After all, it’s general knowledge that most lost things are found when we aren’t even looking.
Next, collect your thoughts. Every business owner or manager –yes, freelance-writers inclusive– ought to have some sort of track record. With this record, you can retrace your steps and note key areas where things went haywire. Look back on your journey as a blog-writer, no matter how short it was. This article has listed some steps to help avoid depression after a failed attempt.
2. Find Your Inspiration
Nothing good can be written in chaos. Find a place that offers you time to do nothing more than meditate and free your mind. In the words of Jiddu Krishnamurti, “To understand the immeasurable, the mind must be extraordinarily quiet, still.” Try to recall why you wanted to become a writer in the first place; why do you want to write? Compare your answers to this list of reasons to write and if it resonates with you, just get to writing already!
3. PICK A NICHE, SELECT A TOPIC
A blog niche is a specific topic you’ll write about (or create other content for) on your blog. Be it Finance, Food and Health, Entertainment, News, whatever, pick a niche that you’re comfortable with. Avoid delving into unknown waters just because it generates more traffic and invariably, more money. You do not want to start blogging and then discover that you dislike the niche. So, take these 3 steps to pick the perfect niche for you:
• Make a list of things that interest you
These could be passions or hobbies, things you like talking about or you can’t stop thinking about.
• Make a list of things you are good at
As far as passion goes, the reality though is that a freelance or full-time writer has to have some sought of expertise or concrete background knowledge of their niche. How else would you entertain and educate your audience? Without this, it’s unlikely that your audience will grow.
• Put them all in a list and break them down into potential topics and sub-topics and see which ones catch your interest.
4. WRITE YOUR HEADLINE
From the topics listed on your passion + Skills list, create 5-6 headlines for each topic and select the best. Research shows that it takes readers 2.5 seconds to decide whether or not they’re going to get through reading your piece. This time is spent on reading your headline and deciding whether or not it’s really worth their time. So, what goes wrong or right in those first few seconds that drive the reader either of the two ways? Simple, the heading may be too long or just too expansive. What to do:
• Headlines must be catchy and attractive
• They should contain a benefit
• Use power words
• Be short and specific to the topic area
• Use numerical numbering style (7), not figurative (Seven)
Here are some perfectly crafted Headlines:
a. 10 social media mistakes to avoid in 2020
b. How to write a blog post that drives 10x more traffic
c. How we grew our business using online Invoicing
d. Top lessons learned about marketing from watching Hell’s Kitchen
e. Why you can’t afford to ignore AcuteInvoice Software
f. Are you making this 10 biggest mistakes in your startup business?
g. Announcing new Features on your number one Invoice and Accounting Software- AcuteInvoice
h. Free Google+ Report
5. BODY WORK
Writing a blog post is like running a relay race. Your headline may start the race perfectly, but if the baton is passed on to your opening paragraph and it flops, it wouldn’t matter how well the first guy started off. Every piece of your blog has to be perfectly crafted because a team is only as strong as its weakest link. Your first paragraph and body has to flow with your heading.
TIPS:
• Carry out extensive research on the topic area
• Open with either a provocative question or an answer to a presumed provocative question
“Aren’t you tired of the sleepless nights that paper-style accounting has been giving you?”
• Paint a mental image
Humans relate more to what we see than words that lack imagery. So, deploy words like “Imagine…”, “Picture this…”
• Use analogies, metaphors or Similes
“…your safety net…”
• Site convincing stats
“Research shows that…”, “Data from the 2004 poll suggests that…”
• Use your keywords in URL slug, Meta description, subheads, graphics, first sentence, last sentence, and body copy. Using your keyword throughout the content/body—combined with your headline—lets search engines know that your headline really does cover the content in the article.
• Use italics and link URLs when quoting a source.
6. CLOSE
The third most important piece of you blog content, is the closing. After successfully leading your readers through the first paragraph and body, you’re rest assured that they’re invested in getting through the whole piece. Great, right?!
Now, keep up the pace and then close graciously. Avoid every temptation to drag on the piece for longer than you need to. Once your points have been delivered, bid your readers Vale.
The best ways to close is to tie back to your opening and add a clear Call to Action.
Remember, blog writing is an art. Once you start practicing it, you will be able to create amazing blog contents with ease. Your creativity will definitely improve.
7. OVER TO YOU
I had no seventh step planned but feel free to comment, a step or two you feel should be on this list.
Please share this piece if you’ve found it helpful!
