Taking the "Blah" out of Blogging.

Today I am making a presentation about "How To Write A Blog Post," which is kind of ironic, because I hardly write blog posts myself... 

Yet, I am very capable of writing them, as are you! I think we all just "get a little busy" and take the easy route of posting articles or subject matters on our social media outlets that we want to share. I am 100% guilty of this.  But just because a blog post should be longer than 140 characters, doesn't mean it has to be boring!

So how do we find the time to sit down and write about what we know and what we think others would want to know in a way that, shall I say, "gets people going?"

Get Organized

Step #1: Organize your brain thoughts. When you are able to pick ONE good thing to write about; a blog post becomes so much less daunting. 

Step #2: Know your audience. Who are you talking to? What are their interests? Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself if what you're writing about is at all interesting... Be honest!

Step #3: Write an introduction that connects with the people you're talking to. Grab their attention with a story, a joke, a relatable scenario, a SUPER surprising fact or statistic. Make the connection and then, keep going! You have more to say and they've followed you this far. 

Step #4: Create an outline. What are the most important things that you want to say and how are you going to say them in a way that is not too overwhelming to the reader? Create sections, lists, bullet points - do something to break up the information in a way that is easy on the eye. We all really appreciate that, right? 

Step #5: "Fill in the blanks" of your outline. Just start writing - you can always go back and edit. (And did I mention, you should? We'll get to that.)

Step #6: PROOFREAD. Go back and actually read what you wrote. I know this seems like common sense, but you have no idea how many people do not go back and put their eyeballs on the things that they've written. This isn't Gmail, there is no undo button - so before you publish a post with a TON of typos, do yourself a favor and re-read the whole thing. In fact, if you have a buddy or coworker that wouldn't mind taking a glance at it; even better! This will save you time (and embarrassment?) in going back and correcting things that you or one of your readers found after the fact. 

Step #7: Seven is my lucky number, so I had to include one more step! Add more information at the end of your blog post... Give the reader something else to look at or something to do. Again, they've stayed with this you this long, it's only fair that you give them something even more beneficial to top it all off. 

And there you have it, a formula for a blog post that is sure to impress the masses.

P.S. Don't do as I do, do as I suggest. Or take someone else's word for it, like Michael Stelzner. Here is his post about "Blogging Basics: How To Write Blog Posts People Love To Read."

Happy Blogging! 

Stephanie Amy

www.stephsandyconsulting.com