We’re all under sizeable time pressure. So how do you write awesome posts faster? Lots of us are juggling multiple things in our daily life. Add in blogging, and writing a single blog post can seem like an insurmountable task! How can you make this process faster and less of a headache? Here are my proven tips that will have you banging out awesome posts faster than you can say ‘WHAAT’!
Let’s not forget that creating high quality content takes time, but there are definitely so many things you can do to speed up your writing. Here goes.
Steps to write awesome posts faster
Give yourself a break
Have you heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy? If you’re always telling yourself you’re so slow at writing, ‘oh, it’ll take me forever to write that post’, then you know what? It will! Our subconscious mind is so powerful. So, change the way you talk to yourself and start being more positive; make it work for you. ‘I’m so fast at post writing’.
Write an outline
Create an outline for your post before you start getting into the writing. The outline should include the key points you want to make in the three sections of your post – intro/body/conclusion.
Begin with end firmly in mind
When people have read your post what do you want to them to think, feel or want to do? Then when you know this you work backwards and reverse engineer your content to make sure you get your reader to this desired end point.
Keep a topic list
This list can be stored anywhere. Keeping a list of potential post topics means you never have to waste time procrastinating about what you will write and you can hit the ground running. I do this on a secret Pinterest board and also in Trello (you can read my post How to exploit Trello: Killing it as a blogger and download my Trello boards to use as you own for FREE).
Plan your editorial calendar
Spend time brainstorming your content. I’m a big fan of using an editorial calendar and shared why you need an editorial calendar, like now!, to show you how I outline/plan things out. I use the WP plugin, but you can use pen/paper or a spreadsheet/diary to plan out your posts for the next 6 months. This takes away from the the decision of what you’ll write next when you have time to create content.
Get it written not perfect
This is so important! Lots of us can be quite self-critical and so when it comes to procrastinating we can be world record holders. Just get it done. Yes, you want it to be good; great even! Wonderful content that will enrich the lives of your readers. However, it never has a chance to enrich their lives if you never press publish. So get it done, not perfect.
Put images in first
I often find the putting the images into a post first and writing the post around these images can help speed the writing process up significantly. This is especially useful when you are writing about a day out.
Don’t edit as you go.
This will really slow you down. Just write; even if you immediately think of a better way to say something, add it in and edit when you’ve finished.
Practice makes perfect
It really does, writing is like a muscle. When you use it, it becomes stronger. If you write in a focused way, bearing these tips in mind, you will find it easier and easier to get into the habit, until it becomes second nature.
Use a list
List posts are quicker and easier to write, as they enable you to break up the information you want to share into manageable chunks. These chunks are also far easier for your readers to digest. Not every post can be a list posts, but they are useful where appropriate.
Dictate your post
One of my favourite things to do is to dictate posts onto my iPhone. I can dictate a post when I am getting ready for the day, when I am driving in the car, when I’m cooking – the possibilities are endless. Just open an email, address it to yourself, then click the microphone button and away you go!
Formula headlines
Use a proven headline formula to make picking something appropriate much quicker. Such a formula would be [Number] x [Superlative] x [Keyword phrase].
Parkinson’s law
If we give ourselves a day to write a post, chances are it will take a day. If we give ourselves 2 hours, you know what we can do it in 2 hours, because we have a higher degree of motivation resulting from the deadline.
Get organised with any research documents
Store your ideas and inspiration somewhere you can access quickly, Trello would get my vote.
Repeatable process
When you have structured a process to how you write your posts, keep using it. The more you follow your process the easier it will become. It will turn into a habit.
Accountability Buddy
As solo workers, we don’t have a boss to answer to or someone imposing deadlines onto us. An accountability buddy is such an amazing thing in terms of productivity. Finding someone at a similar level/stage to you and keep each other accountable. If you want to find an accountability buddy why to join the Mamapreneur Revolution team! Join my mailing list (see below) and pop over to the amazing Facebook group. There are so many fab people in this group and I’m sure you will find a buddy.
There are my top tips for how to write awesome posts faster. Do you have any top tips of your own? Share them in the comments, I would love to learn more!
Comments 24
Some really great tips here! I’ve never thought of adding the images first, I’ll have to try that. I definitely try to get things perfect, I need to be faster.
I’ve been finding it handy recently to just write out the blog post, leave it for an hour or so, then come back and tidy it up. It’s always great to get fresh eyes on it again before you publish it.
Great tips for speeding up writing Aby. We like to dictate and write around imagery to jog our flow! #TheListLinky
Loads of great ideas thanks Aby – will be trying some of these out for my next post to see how I get on! #TheList
Great ideas here. I’m going to try putting in photos first next time I think #TheListLinky
Lots of fantastic tips, thank you 🙂 #TheList
Helen x
Fantastic tips! Thank you so much!
I’m finally getting to the point where I’m scheduling posts in advance or adding them for a future event (like spring). It’s good as it gives me a breather rather than having to think of and publish a post in a day (which I still do but now it’s more out of choice!) . Thanks for the list!
Great ideas, especially putting the images in first. I sometimes struggle, especially with a review post of where to start, so writing around the pictures really works well. #TheList
I really need to tell myself I only have X amount of time to write a post and just do it! I also need a good brainstorming content session. X
So true about just hit publish even if it’s not perfect. I’m terrible for reading & editing over & over. And that’s one thing blogging has taught me, just do it, just write & publish. #thelistlinky
I really enjoyed this post, lots of fab advice #Thelist
This is going to be very useful #thelist
These are all great tips. I took your productivity course at the end of last year and it helped me so much. A lot has changed since then in terms of my workload and I’m going back through all my notes again to kick things up a notch x
#TheListLinky
All great tips – especially about not editing as you go #thelistlinky
These tips are fantastic. I’m just starting to get over a period of writer’s block. I considered giving up my blog completely! Now I’m getting back into the swing of things, these tips will be so useful. I like to keep a running list of topic ideas on my phone. I think creating an outline, not editing as I go, and using a formula for titles are ideas I will start to incorporate into my writing process. Thanks! #TheListLinky
Ohh put the photos in first…thus is a great idea! I would love to dictate posts but not sure if I can as I don’t have an iPhone. Great tips as always xx #thelist
So many great tips – thanks Aby. #TheListLinky
Apart from the dictating which isn’t my thing, I think I do most of these. They’re so obviously some of them, it makes me wonder why people find it so hard to write. But there’s definitely an art to it, and practice. And finding a way that works for you. #thelistlinky
These are great tips I am so bad at taking ages to write posts. I am so going to start using my phone to dictate posts, as I always have great post ideas when I am busy then forget them when it comes to writing them down xx
These are really helpful tips. One of the best things I’ve learned to do is dictate my posts. In fact, I try to dictate as much as possible to be more efficient in everyday computer tasks. I started using Dragon Naturally Speaking a while back. Once you get used to it, it’s surprisingly easy and accurate. I even dictate notes into a voice app on my phone and then run the recording back through the software. I would recommend it to anyone!
That’s a great idea! I use the microphone on my phone but it doesn’t stay on indefinitely so I have to keep pressing it to keep dictating!
Sometimes I start writing a post and for whatever reason, can’t finish it. So I leave it in the Drafts section of my WordPress blog until I can pick up the momentum and get back to finish it. I’ve started doing the same when I come up with an idea and have a few sentences in mind but not a full post. So I’ll just pop in either a title or a few lines about what I want to write and leave it in the Drafts section to pick up when I have a more fully formed idea for my post.
This has been so helpful for me as a newbie blogger and I will def be taking your advice on board