Building a corporate blog is a tough job and folks who haven’t written very much for public consumption can find themselves stuck. Here are some tips from real pros who write daily. The tl;dr? Writing takes practice and you should treat it like any skill by spending time and effort on getting it right.
Here’s a guide to making the writing process easier.
- Create a list of “sparks”
A blank page is a writer’s bane. How, then, do you start writing? We like to create a list of “sparks” – cool ideas that you think might make a good article. You can research recent industry news, use Google trends, or ask your readers what they’d like you to cover. Consider the type of post that will work best with your topic; perhaps instead of writing a plain old blog post, it’d be better to do a how-to guide, listicle, or case study. Share your sparks with other people in the group. They might have more ideas to add to your growing list. The best part? You never run out of ideas.
- Write fast, edit slow
Got all your research done? Sit down, do a quick outline, and write the first draft. It doesn’t have to be perfect; that’s what the editing process is for. Treat your first draft as an MVP – it gets the job done. We recommend running any content past other stakeholders on your team. This ensures everyone understands your goal and, as we all know, more eyes mean fewer mistakes.
- Read your writing out loud
Once you’ve finished writing your piece, read it out loud. Make sure your post is free of spelling and grammar errors and the best way to do this is to read it out loud to yourself. It seems silly, but annoying typos can turn your readers off. You can read it aloud to make sure it is not clumsy. Does it read well, or is it unstructured? Use headers, paragraphs, and bullet lists to make your text clear and easy to read.
- Find a great image
We love to visit unsplash.com to find great images for our blog posts. If you have a dedicated design team then you can definitely lean on them, but something cool and arresting from a free or paid stock photo site is always welcome. Remember: always add an image!
- Analyze performance
After you finish and publish your post, always check your post performance and statistics. Did the post do well, or is there room for improvement? Learn from your previous mistakes and make your content better every time. We recommend using a tool like Google Analytics to see what your readers searched for to find your content.
These tips aren’t the end. Again, writing well takes practice but, luckily, for most of us writing is a joy and not a chore. These tips can definitely make it easier and more fun.
And if you still need help with your blog post, contact us.