It hits you like a TON of BRICKS!
Itβs an idea for that KILLER blog post that is just bound to bring you all the traffic that youβve ever dreamed of.
With the idea fresh in your mind you sit down at your keyboard and BANG it out β desperate to hit publish as quickly as you can for fear that someone else will beat you to the PUNCH!
As SMOKE rises from your keyboard you complete your post, quickly add a title to it and proudly hit PUBLISH!
Visions of an avalanche of visitors, incoming links and comments swirl before youβ¦
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But thenβ¦
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Reality hits you like a SLAP in the face.
There are few visitors, no comments and no links.
Itβs not a KILLER post β but not in a good way β itβs DEAD.
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Ever had that experience?
I have β many, many times over.
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Today I want to walk you through an alternative workflow for constructing a blog postβ¦
Oneβ¦
Thatβ¦
Takesβ¦.
Time.
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Crafting a Blog Post
If thereβs one lesson that Iβve learnt about writing for the web itβs that a key element to writing successful blog posts is that in most cases they take time to CREATE.
I emphasize βcreateβ because I think too often as bloggers we βPUNCHβ out content as though weβre in a race or under some kind of deadline. Itβs almost like weβre on a production line at times β unfortunately the posts we write often reflect this.
In this series I want to suggest an alternative approach β the crafting (or creation) of content.
This process is a more thoughtful process that is about crafting words and ideas β shaping posts into content that take readers on a journey.
To kick off this series, I want to suggest 10 points to pause at when writing a post on your blog. Iβll include a link to each post that follows in this series as I update them.
Instead of rushing through a post β I find that if I pause at these key moments my post rises to a new level of quality and posts tend to get more traction with readers. They donβt guarantee the perfect post β but they certainly take you a step closer to a good one.
1. Choosing a Topic
Take a little extra time defining your topic and the post will flow better and youβll develop something that matters to readers.
2. Crafting Your Postβs Title
Perhaps the most crucial part of actually getting readers to start reading your post when they see it in an RSS reader or search engine results page.
3. The Opening Line
First impressions matter. Once youβve got someone past your postβs title your opening line draws them deeper into your post.
4. Your βpoint/sβ (making your posts matter)
A post needs to have a point. If itβs just an intriguing title and opening youβll get people to read β but if the post doesnβt βmatterβ to them itβll never get traction.
5. Call to Action
Driving readers to do something cements a post in their mind and helps them to apply it and helps you to make a deeper connection with them.
6. Adding Depth
Before publishing your post β ask yourself how you could add depth to it and make it even more useful and memorable to readers?
7. Quality Control and Polishing of Posts
Small mistakes can be barriers to engagement for some readers. Spending time fixing errors and making a post βlookβ good can take it to the next level.
8. Timing of Publishing Your Post
Timing can be everything β strategic timing of posts can ensure the right people see it at the right time.
9. Post Promotion
Having hit publish β donβt just leave it to chance that your post will be read by people. Giving it a few strategic βnudgesβ can increase the exposure it gets exponentially.
Often the real action happens once your post is published and being interacted with by readers and other bloggers. Taking time to dialogue can be very fruitful.
Take Your Time
Taking extra time at each of these 10 points looks different for me in every post that I do β but I believe that every extra moment spent of these tasks pays off.
Sometimes the pause I take in one step will be momentary while in others it could take hours or even days to get it just right. Sometimes the above process happens quite automatically and other times I need to force myself to stop and ponder something like a title or the timing of a post.
Each of the 10 points above have much more that could be said about them so over the weeks Iβll be tackling each in turn in the hope that we can have some good discussion and sharing of ideas around them. Iβll link to each of them from within the list above as I release the posts.
For each point I hope to give some insight into how I tackle them and will share a few practical tips and examples of what Iβve done that has worked (and not worked). Donβt expect posts each day on this series β like all good things β this will take us some time!
