7 Tips to Boost Your Writing Productivity

Writing a blog for your business is hard, especially when you have so many other aspects of the company to keep moving at any given time. For that reason, you probably sit in front of blank pages more often than not, wishing that inspiration would strike. If you struggle to write even one blog, maintaining a regular blogging schedule probably sounds like your own private hell. Before you get discouraged and scrap your blog completely, take note of these simple tips.

Plan Ahead

Before you do anything, sit down and plan out the blogs you’d like to write at the beginning of every month. What goals do you want to accomplish? Which products or services do you want to highlight? How can you answer your customers’ questions before they even ask?

These topics will serve as your content calendar and give you guidance for the next step in your planning.

Start Research

Armed with your topics, you know exactly what research is needed. Locate blogs, ebooks, case studies, videos, and infographics that support your thoughts. Save these in your spreadsheet for later use. You might have need for all of them, or you might scrap half of them when you sit down to actually write your blog. As long as you have them all together, you won’t need to take the time to research every time you’re ready to write.

Eliminate Distractions

When it’s time to write the actual blog, gather everything you need and shut out all the things you don’t. Charger cord? Grab it. Telephone? Leave it in the next room. Coffee or water? A must. Playful puppy or kids? Find a sitter. And for the love of all things literary, never open Facebook. You should avoid distractions at all costs.

Before you start, have your Word doc or Google doc open. Make sure the links you gathered earlier still work. Do a last minute check for additional sources if necessary. Don’t start the first word until you have everything you need.

Make an Outline

If you have your path determined before you begin, you’ll get to the end much faster. Plot out your points first, whether they’re incomplete thoughts or actual section headers. As long as they’re in order, they’ll guide you through your work. Then, take the links you found during your research phase and place them through your outline where they make the most sense. After that, fill out the outline with a few strong points that you want to make so you don’t lose the plot to the anxiety of the task.

Fill in the Blanks

You’ve already done the largest part of the blog when you reach this point. Read through what you already have, and you’ll see you’ve touched on all the most important points before you’ve even really started. All you have to do now is smooth the rough edges and fill in the blanks. Those links should be attached to anchor text. Images placed where they’re most relevant. Videos and infographics shared between sections.

As you work, your blog will develop before your very eyes. The first time you use this formula, you’ll be stunned at how magical it all seems. Hang onto that feeling of wonder, because it gets you through all the other blogs you’ll write in the future.

Rest

It seems silly to suggest a period of rest after you’ve blazed through your blog, but the disconnect is necessary. Go attend to other aspects of your business and let this blog post percolate for about 24 hours. You’ll need fresh eyes for the next step.

Proofread

Don’t be horrified if you find several mistakes or incomplete thoughts during the proofing and editing process. If you’d tried to proofread just after writing, you’d have missed most of them. That’s the true horrifying thought, isn’t it? Give your blog a thorough edit, and then pass it along to someone you trust to read. Once you get the OK from them, you’ll be ready to post.

That wasn’t so hard, was it? But really, we do understand that blogging for your business takes a lot of time and effort. That’s why we offer content marketing as a part of our services. If you just don’t have the time, even after implementing these tips for better productivity, give us a call.

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