For me, writing an outline and then building it out gets your idea out quickly before you get lost in the thick of it.
GETTING STARTED
Give these steps a try and see how they work for youâŚ
- The idea / title
Consult your list of blog post ideas and choose one indiscriminately. - The outline
Bash out an outline as quickly as possible. Spend no more than 10 minutes on this. - The content
Fill out each section starting with the easiest bits. This creates writing momentum which will help you finish.
CREATE YOUR BLOG POST OUTLINE
Got your idea? Good. Now instead of starting to write a big long meandering post that may or may not arrive at a conclusion, break it down into steps.
Outlines vary based on what kind of post youâre writing, but ultimately â this is the one that I come back to again and again:
- Conclude the IDEA (People are impatient)
Your conclusion should summarise the most important things that you want people to take away from your post (if they skip the entire article and only read this paragraph, they should be able to get the gist of it). - Introduction of the IDEA
Your introduction should grab peopleâs attention and lure them in. - Value of the IDEA
Your value explanation should tell people why they should care about what youâre about to say. What benefit will it have to their lives if they keep reading? - The IDEA (Main blog post content)
Cover your idea content well. Stick to point and make sure you really add useful content here. - Case study of the IDEA
Your case study should give a concrete example of what youâre saying in action. It can be a quote, a story, an experience or anything else that backs up your point and leads nicely into the conclusion.
Whatever your outline is: break it into bullet points that go sensibly from a beginning to a middle to an end. Getting these points written down is the catalyst for the rest of your post.
Now get writingâŚ
Thats right build on your outline and put some meat on the bones. Keep things short and to the point. Yor readers are here to gain something and not read a descriptive, lingering story!