It’s clear that content marketing is the cheapest, most effective form of marketing that consistently creates results (aka dollars) for your business.
The next step for you as a busy entrepreneur is to find a way to consistently create the content you need to engage, educate and connect with your audience. There are a myriad of options available for outsourcing this, but the quickest way to get started is to create your own content.
The more you write, the quicker you’ll grow at writing effective, punchy content that is truly valuable to your ideal client.
Since you are pressed for time, here are 10 easy tips you can implement today to speed up the process:
1. Eliminate distractions – Disconnect from the net. Close Facebook. Activate your telephone answering machine. Shut your home office door, if you can.
Try to pick your ideal time of day to write – for example your time might be 8:30am, when you’ve got that freshly-made cup of coffee sitting on your desk, the kids are safely in school and your first appointment doesn’t start until 10:30am.
You will want to make that time slot sacred: You’ll be amazed at how easy it becomes to start writing creatively, when it’s a daily habit.
2. Keep it short – For example, one idea per blog post will easily fit within 350-450 words. (If you find yourself passing 750 words, you’ve got two or more ideas – split them up!)
3. Re-use and Re-cycle – Do you have any old articles you’ve written? Reports? Blog posts that never got off the ground? Put them to good use and re-purpose them into new blog posts.
Here’s how…
- Go through your piece of old content and use a yellow highlighter to isolate individual ideas.
- Pick on.
- Write a short post (no more than 450 words) just on that single idea alone.
4. Write about what you know – Stick to subjects you know by heart and you’ll be able to crank out a quality content piece with very little effort. (Hint: Think of the top 3 questions prospective clients always ask you and write about those!)
5. Share a gem – If you produce a really fascinating fact, helpful link, hidden shortcut or little-known resource, you really don’t need to write pages and pages about it! Your audience simply desires your golden take-away.
6. Make your reader want more – It’s better to leave your readers wanting more than to put them to sleep with pages of weighty research or – even worse – your unedited, in-depth opinion. (Think “teaser”).
7. Create a series – This is one way to break a lengthier subject up, dealing with it point by point. As long as your reader grasps the idea or technique you’re sharing, they’ll still leave your blog pleased – perhaps even excited – and wanting more.
8. Keep an “Idea Jar” – Either a literal one (such as in a notebook) or a file folder on your desktop. (Evernote is a GREAT place to capture an organize information like this). Every time an idea for a blog post hits you, save it there and you’ll never have to “figure out” what to write about.
9. Stick to a basic structure – Make sure you learn the basic structural elements of a strong blog post:
- A beginning paragraph that makes a statement and promises what the reader will learn
- At least two or three middle paragraphs that expand on the premise
- A summary, that brings your post to a strong conclusion
- A call to action, enticing comments or click-throughs from your reader
Do use sub heads and/or a few bullet points, if your post is over 350 words long. Sub heads and bullet points break up the text… and make the reader feel that your post is even easier and quicker to read!
10. Don’t edit as you write – Doing so is the surest way to:
Taking the fire out of your writing
- Going off on a tangent
- Losing the conversational feel and immediacy of your post
- Undermining your own confidence
- Putting how you say things ahead of your vital message
- Stealing time away from your day and adding it to the writing process
- Throw off your pacing (story flow)
Even if you don’t use every one of these 10 speed tips for content writing, adapt as many as you can. Writing marketing content efficiently and quickly is mostly a matter of habit and practice. And the best part is… anyone can do it! Try it and see!
Gina Bell says
Great tips Sydni! I love them all and really resonate with the first one… eliminate distractions.
I’m an early riser so I do all of my writing first thing in the morning. It’s a time of day when I’m the most motivated AND, the house is totally quiet. I’m the ONLY early riser in the house which gives me the piece and quiet I need to really lean in and get my writing done.
It’s really amazing what you can get done between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m.
Sydni Craig-Hart says
Thanks for sharing your strategy on this Gina! It is indeed amazing what you can get done with a bit of focused effort. I love that you use your first block of time in the morning to tackle your writing and take advantage of their being no one else in the house awake. That’s probably why your writing is so good! 😉
Kelli Wilson says
Hey Sydni
Great tips for those who get writers block or don’t feel what they have is enough. I keep a brainstorm list handy and they have done writing retreats where I go get content written ahead of time for when I need a quick add and don’t have the ability to sit down and write in the moment.
I do need to practice the call to action and the teaser a little more…thanks for the reminder.
Sydni Craig-Hart says
I appreciate you sharing your experience Kelli! You’re so right. Many of don’t give ourselves enough credit for what we’ve created and are always looking for the next/best thing. I’m curious… where do you keep your brainstorm list?
Jennifer Bourn says
LOVE #4! Write about what you know … if only more people would take your advice! I see way too many business owners writing blog posts and articles on topics they aren’t qualified to write about. But it’s a topic they think their readers want to hear about, or they think it’s a popular topic, so they write about it to get traffic to their website.
The problem is that the unknowing reader gets duped because the information is just regurgitated from another blog they read — and because they aren’t the experts on the topic, misinformation is distributed as actual information.
I wish people would understand that writing about what you know, what you’re an expert at, and what you’re great at is enough! You don’t have to be great at all things. People will value you and your skills and talents just the way you are!
Amy Kinnaird says
Ooh. I love the recycle idea. A lot my social media how-to posts are outdated due to the constant change. I will pull out some oldies and freshen them up.
Louise Penberthy says
This is an excellent article, thanks for posting it. You’re right, this activity has to become a habit, and you don’t need to be perfect.
Sydni Craig-Hart says
Thanks for the comment Louise! Perfection is WAY overrated. 🙂 Consistency is far more important and that is what yields results.
I appreciate you stopping by and taking the time to share your thoughts. Thanks again for the feedback!
Warm regards,
Sydni
Dennis Dilday says
Sydni,
Thanks for a thoughtful and well-written article. It seems like you covered every important point and you did it well.
As a guy who has generated over 550 blog posts in the past 7 years, I could have used your advice in the beginning, but I can confirm your point that it gets easier with practice.
Thanks again,
Dennis
PS – I appreciate too that your article has only one typo. (In today’s world that’s a stellar performance!)
Sydni Craig-Hart says
Thanks very much for the comment Dennis! I love hearing your feedback as clearly you are a seasoned blogger.
I’d love to know which typo you found! We proofread very carefully, but I’m happy to make the correction where needed. 🙂
Best,
Sydni
Timothy Crane says
I totally agree with the point you make about not editing your piece as you write it initially. Especially for us writers that like to pay attention to detail and add value to our articles, this can become a bad habit, making it take forever.
Especially if you are writing on a freelance basis and you need volume as well as value, knowing when to do what can help you achieve both.
Sydni Craig-Hart says
Thanks for your note Timothy! Embracing this tip completely transformed my writing experience. It made me much more comfortable to just focus on my ideas and significantly cut down my writing time.
I’m glad to know you are of like mind!
Warm regards,
Sydni
Victoria Heckstall says
I love the “idea jar” idea. I always think of blog posts at random moments then when I am ready to write I forget what I had planned out.