Imagine you’re sitting down to write your blog post. You know what you want to write about. And you can’t wait to publish it.
Two hours later, the blank page is staring back at you.
Has that happened to you?
It certainly has happened to me.
Somehow your words don’t flow the way you expected.
You start writing, delete what you’ve written, and start again. Eventually a couple hours pass by and you have nothing written. You get stuck.
Whether you’re a seasoned writer or someone who is just starting to write blog posts, using a writing process is critical to creating great content.
In the infographic created by Visual.ly, Ann Handley, author of Everybody Writes, shares 12 steps for improving your writing process.
She outlines how you can take your writing from a confusing mess of ideas to a clear and useful piece of content that appeals to your audience.
I’m pretty good at the sixth step, but need to work on step two as well as steps seven through nine. How about you?
Check out the text version of the infographic.
12 Steps to Writing Great Content
- Goal.
What’s your business goal? What are you trying to achieve?Anything you write—even an individual blog post—should be aligned with a larger (business or marketing) goal.
I want to drive awareness of and interest in the launch of our incredibly cool new collaborative editing software BECAUSE we want to sell more of it.
The key is to care about the purpose of what you’re writing.
- Reframe.
Put your reader into it. Reframe the idea to relate it to your readers.Ask “So what?” and then answer. “Because…” until you’ve exhausted your ability to reach an answer.
For example, I want to drive interest in the launch of our new collaborative text editing software.
So what?
Because our editor makes it stupid-easy to collaborate remotely without overwriting each other’s stuff.So what?
Because that’s a pain to deal with for virtual teams.
So what?Because pain… it hurts and is…umm… bad.You get the idea.
Express your reframed idea as a clear statement.Then put that at the top of the page to remind you where you’re headed with your writing.
- Seek Out Data and Examples.
What credible sources and data support your main idea? Can you cite examples? If you have relevant experience, use yourself as a source. - Organize.
What format or structure would best communicate your point: opinionated blog post, explanatory how-to article, infographic, case study…? - Write to One Person.
Imagine the one person you’re helping with this piece of writing.And then write directly to that person (using you, as opposed to using people or they).
- Produce the Ugly First Draft.
Producing The Ugly First Draft (TUFD) is basically where you show up and throw up.Write badly. Write as if no one will ever read it.
- Walk Away.
Put some distance between your first-draft ugliness and your second draft. - Rewrite.
Shape that mess into something that your reader wants to read.
In your head, swap places with your reader as you do so. - Give It a Great Heading or Title.
Spend as much time on the headline as you do on writing the piece itself. Respect the headline. - Have Someone Edit.
Ideally the person who edits your piece will have a tight grip on grammar, usage, style, and punctuation. Like a bona fide editor. - One Final Look for Readability.
Does your piece look inviting, alluring, easy to scan?With short paragraphs and bold subheads? Are your lists numbered or bulleted?
- Publish.
But not before answering one more reader question: “What now?”
Don’t leave your readers just standing awkwardly in the middle of the dance floor after the music stops.
Tell them what you want them to do next.
Are these tips useful to you? Or do you use a different process for writing your content?
I’d love to hear what works for you; share your thoughts in the comments.
