If you have any aspirations towards being an online entrepreneur, you’re going to need to write. A lot. It’s been said, time and time again, that “content is king”. But you often struggle to keep up with writing for your own blog, and finding time for other writing activities like guest posting, commenting, article marketing, even Twitter, may seem out of the question.
You don’t need to spend ages writing, polishing and honing every blog post in order to make it to the top – in fact, some top bloggers spend less time writing now than when they were nobodies:
There was a time when I would agonize over writing a post, get it perfect, and basically spend hours on it (if not days) before publishing… These days, I post to four different blogs without it taking large chunks of my life away: Zen Habits, Write To Done, mnmlist.com and now Zen Family Habits.
(Leo Babauta, in Frictionless blogging: Remove the barriers to publishing on Write to Done)
Writing faster has obvious benefits: you can publish more to your blog, you can find time to write that ebook (can you do it in just thirteen hours?) and you can guest post on other blogs and write for article marketing sites in order to get more traffic and a wider reputation.
You don’t want to gain speed at the expense of quality, though, or you’ll just have another sucky blog. So how can you write faster and better?
1. Use a Structure
Having a clear structure makes your post easier to write and easier to read. When I started writing reviews of books, ebooks and software packages on my blog, I used a simple structure for each review, with six subheadings:
- Overview – a one-two sentence summary explaining what the product is
- The price – the price, often with my thoughts about whether this is good value or not
- What’s included – a brief list of the contents, with some description
- Good stuff – what I especially liked about the book/software/etc
- Bad stuff – what I didn’t like – any niggles or problems
- Verdict – do I recommend buying this? If so, who would it most help?
This straightforward outline works for almost any review. It means that it often takes me as little as 20-30 minutes to write a review – and it pleases my readers, because it’s very clear. This is a plus if you want to be an affiliate marketer! You can see my template in action by reading some of my Reviews.
Obviously, you can use a structure for all sorts of contents. You might create a simple template for different types of blog posts, for instance, or you might use a standard structure for a batch of article marketing pieces. Having the structure in place helps free your brain to think about the content!
2. Write – Don’t Procrastinate
It’s no secret that writing can be hard: and we’re often tempted to procrastinate when faced with a writing task. Perhaps you find yourself checking and re-checking your blog stats when you should be writing posts, or maybe you never get round to creating your Media and Press page because Facebook or Twitter lure you away.
If you’re struggling to focus on what you’re writing, try:
- Turning off your internet connection – drastic but effective!
- Writing for a timed period, perhaps 20 minutes – it’s easier to focus this way
- Using a full-screen text editor, such as Dark Room, to eliminate distractions
3. Write – Don’t Research
Many online writers get slowed down because they try to research and write at the same time. You’ve got two options here: either do all your research before you start the post, and have all your facts, quotes and links in one document – or do all your research after you write the post.
If you choose the latter method, make a note to yourself in square brackets [like this], or highlight sections where you need to check facts or add links.
As soon as you stop writing to look something up, you lose your thread of concentration. You may forget what you were about to write next, and it can be hard to maintain the flow of your argument.
4. Write – Don’t Edit
Finally, when you’re writing, don’t stop to edit. I once heard editing while writing likened to tying your shoelaces while running … it doesn’t help you make forward progress!
It’s always best to edit and proofread content before putting it online: too many bloggers and internet marketers have sites full of typos, confusing sentences or silly mistakes. But you don’t need to do this while writing your piece. It’s best to get all the words down without stopping or reading back: that way, you’ll maintain your flow and you’ll have a sense of accomplishment. Then, you can spend a few minutes going through your piece and tidying it up.
Do you struggle to write for your blog, for your website, or for other sites online? Have you found any techniques which help you to write faster? Have you identified the problems which are holding you back?
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post Ali! You definitely struck gold on tip #4 when you write articles and stop to edit while your still writing you end up losing your train of thought and that messes you up in the end run! Great post!
Good pointers, I tend to fall for number 4 a lot but I’m working on resolving it…
A good read
Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 = Content Writing God.
Simply talk away and the program will type for you.. I absolutely love it when I’m crafting blog posts and comments (such as this one)
Brad Ney´s last blog ..Is Your Wordpress Slow Loading? Make It 3 Times As Fast In Under A Minute
“Write – Don’t Edit”, topics like these will always remind me of the famous quote (not sure if it’s true) by Hemingway. “write drunk, edit sober”. Never tried it, but it’s basically what you should do. Just write down everything and when you are done, then you can edit it.
Stefan´s last blog ..Todoist Saves My Day
*Grabs a bottle of beer and prepares to write* Haha kidding, but that seems like a good quote.
I do think that is true though, just write and then when your done edit. I think if more bloggers did that their posts will be more better.
Great job Ali! Im going to take into consideration these tips when writing my next blog post. Thanks for the tips!
Ben Lang´s last blog ..Toilet Paper Entrepreneur Book Review
Excellent post, each one of these points are very true and useful.
Shane – Inspiring Interviews´s last blog ..The (Gigantic) Link Fest
Many thanks for the comments, all!
I love that Hemmingway quote! Alas, the last time I tried writing drunk (back in my college days), I produced poetry that was so utterly crap, I decided to stick with nothing stronger than tea in future…
I’ve never tried using Dragon Naturally Speaking, Brad, but I’ve heard lots of people recommend it (and similar software). I find it easiest to express myself in writing rather than out loud, so I’m not sure it’d work for me — but I can see that it would be good for many people.
Ali Hale´s last blog ..Climate Change and the Invididual (Blog Action Day post)
All excellent tips. And I speak from experience because I’ve utilized all of them. I was commenting the other day on a blog about where you find your best writing ideas. Mine generally blossom from comments I’ve left on other blogs. My theory is….if you find a post that’s inspiring enough to leave a thoughtful comment….it has to be something you’re passionate about (one of the #1 characteristics of good writing – passion)
Roschelle´s last blog ..I’m A Geek and Proud of It!
I disagree with that last one some…I edit while writing and I think it makes me a faster writer! You see, it’s like in band. We don’t tune and then play and then tune again, we tune while playing, and that way, we’re always in sync.
The same goes for your writing. You can be writing and have that “awkward sentence!” alert go off in your head. Fixing it right then and there makes revisions faster. Should you toil over finding the perfect sentence? No. However, I wouldn’t discourage building good writing habits that hasten your process (especially if you’re a freelance writer who likes to get PAID).
Corey Freeman´s last blog ..Ninja Words – A Really, Really Fast Dictionary
Coley, thanks for the alternative take on that! I’d be the first to admit that I *do* stop and fix sentences whilst writing … but I don’t search for the perfect sentence. I see a lot of less confident writers, in particular, struggle for ages to word things perfectly, when in fact they’d be making more progress by just ploughing ahead.
Frankly, there are no absolute “rules” about how to write — as you say, it’s about finding a process that works for you!
Ali Hale´s last blog ..How to Deal With People Who Think You’re Crazy to Quit Your Job
I liked the first point of the article “Structure”. I will make use of this idea while writing book reviews. I wonder why there are no retweets for this article. Anyway I have tweeted the article.
John Samuel ´s last blog ..How to Enable/Disable Spell Check in Firefox Browser?
Thanks for the RT. I recently changed the RT button so everything gotten reset. But thanks a lot for keeping the article alive!
Hey Ali,
Damm this is a awesome post! With alot of informational backlinks to other blogs & websites. If you aren’t taking advantage of everything Rob has offered over the period of time.. your just..
Dumb.
Lmao, Sorry to be so blunt but if you take a little time and notice the great tips to help your writing, you could write faster for a longer period of time.
I completely agree with you Ali, when i write or comment on another blog i dont correct myself… I just comment & whatever pops up on my mind i write it down. I just simply like to talk and voice my opinions so i try to get them all out.
Sometimes i write a little slower, but thatrs okay because i got time
noo rush.
Thanks again.
William Veasley
William Veasley´s last blog . . .Why Your Social Life Sucks
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