How to Compose an Awesome Blog Post In Under 60 Minutes
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Blogging isn’t easy to do. It requires a great deal of patience, determination, relentlessness and, more than just about anything, editorial prowess. That being said, just about anybody can blog. Once a topic has been chosen and a blog created, all that’s left to do is produce awesome content, right? Well, not so much.
Yes, in the end, stellar posts are going to make or break your blog, but there’s yet another aspect which is ofter overlooked: posting consistency. Yup, this is the not-so-sexy side of things which new bloggers often forget about. If you’re not posting with any sort of regularity, your blog is destined to fail with both readers and search engines.
However, regular piece production and publishing doesn’t have to be a trying matter. Truthfully, when done correctly, it shouldn’t take any longer than an hour to produce something worthy of your readers’ time and attention. Here’s how:
Brainstorm Long Before Writing
The only hiccup in this 60-minutes-or-less process is having great ideas on hand. Everyone’s brains work differently, but as far as mine is concerned, the best of post ideas come at the most random of times.
I might be in the shower, playing pickup basketball, watching a movie or doing some reading when, low and behold, something exciting pops into my head. Then, I’ll either jot it down on a spare napkin, scratch piece of paper or my phone for safekeeping.
As soon as I come within reach of my laptop computer, any and all ideas are immediately funneled into a neatly organized spreadsheet. Later on, when I’m pressed for time, there’s no need to hunt for things to write about, because I’ve already created a lengthy list.
The real trick with this one is to constantly be adding to this spreadsheet. The last thing you want to do is run out of ideas when you need them the most.
Research Using No More Than Three Solid Sources
People often erroneously think that you need a minimum of 10 sources when composing a blog post. Honestly, that’s ridiculous. Listen, this isn’t me saying that you shouldn’t be investigating your topics as thoroughly as possible.
All I’m getting at is that you don’t need to take this to an extreme. Find two or three strong, reputable sources, do your reading and get to writing. What’s great about blogging is that the more you write, the more you learn.
The more you learn, the more knowledge your able to impart. Read until your eyeballs turn to mush, but there’s no better substitute for learning how to blog quickly than simply blogging.
Include Plenty of Your Own Commentary
This tip meshes nicely with the one that precedes it. More than just about anything, what I love most about blogging is the readability of the medium’s content. Sure, you could hop online and find a multitude of great academic entries, white papers and case studies on PR, but will you really enjoy reading them?
The luxury of reading blog material is that it’s easy to digest and implement. In order to make a post happen in under and hour, you’ve got to write as if you were speaking. When you engage in conversation with another human being, rarely do you have to think much about what you’re going to say.
Look at blogging the exact same way. With this mentality present, you’re not only bound to write quicker, but it’s sure-fire that you’ll see more of yourself in your writing. At the end of the day, that’s a very cool thing.
Don’t Stress Over Perfect Grammar
I grew up in one of those homes where mom and dad were always calling their kids out for their grammar mistakes. Because of such an environment, to this day, I’m a bit of a grammar Nazi and, quite frankly, a bit obsessive compulsive, also. Trust me, this isn’t something I’m proud of.
As such, when I first started blogging, I had to read over my posts multiple times before blasting them out for all of the Internet to both see and criticize. After a few months of doing this, I had a mental breakthrough.
I was reading over something that I’d published a few months prior and found a couple of basic, editorial mistakes. Instead of letting this eat at me, I decided to just let it be. That’s right, following in the footsteps of The Beatles, I just “Let It Be.”
In that moment, I realized that—no matter how hard I sought perfection—I wasn’t going to find it. So, once you’re done writing, read through your piece one or two times. After that, it’s time to move on.
Hit the ‘Publish’ Button
You’ve successfully completed each of the aforementioned steps. Things are finally done. Now what? It’s time to hit the “publish” button—confidently, mind you. Ya know that mini thrill you get when you hop on Facebook or any other social media network and see that you’ve got a few notifications? I’m ashamed to admit that I get that feeling when I publish a new post, but I’d be lying if I said otherwise. Simply put, for a blogger, there’s no better feeling.
The entirety of this post was written without a single source [gasps]. I know—crazy, right? I do enough blogging to know what works and what doesn’t, though by no means have I perfected the process or even come close to it. I’ve also spoken with enough people about blogging to know what to say.
I’ve simply taken that and converted it into written text. This post, though approaching 950 words, took me just under 40 minutes to write. As previously made mention, I’m no expert, but there’s no reason an awesome blog post should take any longer than an hour to write. The evidence? The very thing you just read.
Yeah, it’s true that I tooted my own horn there a little bit at the end. If it bothered you, let me have it in the comments section. Seriously, don’t hold back with the words of praise or criticism. I welcome anything and everything. Needless to say, I look forward to interacting with each and every one of you.
Lucas Miller is the Founder of Echelon Copy. When not writing, editing or running, he's working tirelessly to perfect what he claims is the "World's Greatest Pompadour." Additionally, for what it's worth, his editorial works have been featured on Social Media Today, Business2Community, Ragan's PR Daily, Spin Sucks and many other top-tier PR publications.
