Writing a Blog Article: Quick Step by Step Strategy

Here are the Top 10 Quick Steps to Successfully Writing a Blog Article

1) Never Say “No” to Yourself

Are you telling yourself, “I’m not a writer”? Try turning that message around. Think of all the times people tell you what you can’t do. You’re the only one who has the power to consistently tell yourself what you CAN do.

2) Start from the End and Work Back to the Beginning

Effective blog articles have a purpose. That purpose is to inspire the action you want your readers to take after reading your blog article. Begin with this action in mind. Do you want your readers to purchase a product, request a service, place their name on your contact list? Have this purpose in mind before you begin writing.

3) Make Your Purpose and Audience SPECIFIC

Make it a specific product, specific service vs. general, “Visit my website.” “Get serious about your health.”

And, have in your mind a specific person to whom you are speaking. You’re not writing to “the internet audience” or “all people who want to extend the length of their life”. You’re writing to a person you can name and picture clearly in your mind. By doing this you will more likely connect with a large audience. People want personal attention. People want to know you’re aware of them personally and you care about them personally.

4) Start with Where Your Readers Are…Not with Where You Want Them to Go

If my purpose were that readers purchase a protein supplement, I wouldn’t begin by talking about the protein supplement and describing its features and benefits. That’s not where your readers are.

The people who need the protein supplement probably don’t even know they need it. They don’t know it exists. What DO they know?

They want to:

Run faster or longer
Lift heavier weights
Build more muscle
Recover faster from a workout
Have more enjoyable, successful workouts
Keep up with the kids and grandkids
Sleep better

Start your article by connecting with your audience around what they want.

You could, for example, create an article on the Top 5 Strategies for Cutting 10% Off Your Personal Record in a 10K Race

In the above example, do some research. Google “Top 5 Strategies for Improving 10K Time”. You’ll be surprised at the results and may come up with a list of 20 or more strategies.

Pick the strategies you feel are the most compelling and helpful.

5) Engage Your Audience: Tell Stories, Give Examples, Ask Questions

There’s a saying I will always remember: “Stories and illustrations are the containers your audience uses to take home the content of your message.”

Without a good story or illustration, your audience has no container to take home your content and it will be forgotten.

Your audience will remember your story or illustration and that will cause them to remember your main point.

Questions engage. Ask questions to engage your readers. In the example above, a potential question might be: “When was the last time you experienced a sudden improvement in your 10K time?” Every athlete has has the experience of a “good day”. Bringing that exhilarating experience to the mind of your reader will totally engage them. Another question: “Did you plan for that experience to happen or did it happen spontaneously and you don’t know what caused it?” Another question: “What would it be like to actually make that experience happen again?”

6) Add Images to Your Blog Article.

Images that relate to your message increase viewer’s:

Ability to understand your message by a factor of 600%
Appreciation and “buy in” to your message by a factor of 600%
Retention of your message by a factor of 600%
Likeliness of taking action on your message by a factor of 600%

7) Present your Product or Service

Now for the first time you’re ready to present your service or product because you’re got audience attention and shown you truly care about what’s important to them.

In the illustration above, after showing your readers the Top 5 Strategies for Cutting 10% Off Your Personal Record in a 10K Race, now present your protein supplement as a way to accelerate your path to 10% improvement.

Describe the features of your protein supplement. Describe why it’s the best option available.
Describe the benefits of your protein supplement. Describe what it will do for your audience.

Client stories and testimonials at this point can be powerful.

8) Create a Strong Call to Action

Show your audience exactly what they need to do NOW to obtain this “results accelerating” protein supplement. This is your call to action.

Make the action easy. “Click this link and you’ll begin using the performance accelerating protein supplement within 3 days.”
Create urgency. This is a good place to provide a limited time offer. You can also say something like, “How long are your prepared to wait until you have that 10% increase in performance?”

9) Just Write, Don’t Refine, Don’t Worry About Details…Just Write

Writing is a creative process. It utilizes a different area or your brain than the brain zone you utilize when you get into details such as grammar, spelling, layout (headings vs. content; length of paragraphs…etc.)

Getting into the details too soon is a sure way to kill creativity!

Just write at this point. You will return later to go over the details.

10) Go Back and Refine

Once you’ve created your message, it’s time to go back over your article and refine. How?

Spelling: One misspelled word can derail your entire message in the eyes of your reader.
Grammar: Same importance as spelling.
Layout: Create a dual-readership path which allows a reader get the main point whether they skim the headlines or drill down to the detail.
Add images and video at this point.
Keyword optimize: Actually, you could do a keyword search in the beginning to ensure you’re using words that your audience is searching on Google. If you haven’t done a keyword search yet, you’ll benefit from doing it now.