How to Write a Blog Post Quickly: A Step-by-Step Guide

Wish there was a short cut for the writing process? In this post, I’m going to show you how to write a blog post — faster. 

This is the exact system that I use for putting together my posts — it helps me to deliver content on time, make sure that content is valuable and opens up so much room for other aspects of my life and business! 

So, if you want to guarantee that you’re writing well and therefore attracting more subscribers and even sales — read on!

You back? Okay, let’s start. 

1. Clearly define your outcome

Get crystal clear on what you’re writing about, and you'll never overwrite, or go off-track again.

Whether you’re brainstorming ideas for the first time or you already have a list of topics ready and waiting — there are a few things that you should ask yourself first.

Rather than picking any one at random, see if the outcome is

Let’s expand on this a little. 

So, what does something “valuable” for your audience really mean?  It means your blog topic is something that your audience cares about. They are eager to learn, actively searching for it, and want to hear from you!

Let’s get one thing clear, relating a blog post to your product or service doesn’t mean turning it into a sales pitch. It’s more about relating your posts to your overarching business goals. 

For example, if you sell gardening services, “flowers to buy for mothers day” doesn’t target your audience at all. But “how to care for azaleas” is something your audience would search for. 

Writing about what you know is easier and faster to write. The knowledge you have is what gives you a unique edge in your niche — this is what adds value when writing blog posts.

Okay, so once you’ve got an outcome that ticks all of these boxes, let’s move on to step two. 

2. Choose your headings

The headings of your blog post dictate its flow. They take the reader from one idea to the next with ease. Leading your audience to your outcome.

To get them, there are two things that you can do

A great place to start is by looking for the questions commonly asked around your topic for inspiration. To find those, look no further than Answer the Public — this is any content marketers hub for research. And it’s mostly free.

You simply enter your blog topic into the search bar and you’ll get a mind map of hows, what’s, where’s and when’s related to it — these make great headings.

It looks like this,

You’ll notice that some questions are repeated — these are the most common, and probably what you should add to your blog post.

To achieve that flow we were talking about earlier, your blog post has to somewhat reflect the order that your reader is thinking in — almost like being psychic, but you’re actually using some simple psychology.

This is what is called a content pattern. 

It’s helpful for you to write a blog faster and is a strategy to keep the reader's attention by giving them what they want, as they want it. 

For example, when you digest a new idea, you probably think about it in the sequence of “why, what, how” ie.

The “why, what, how” pattern is one that I personally use all the time. It’s super easy to apply to any outcome.  

So for the sake of completing a blog post quickly — go ahead and collect your headings, then arrange them using the “why, what, how” pattern.

I’ll meet you back here when you’re ready to write. 

3. Write the body of your blog post FIRST

Ah, the most difficult part of a blog post — writing the damn thing. 

The possibilities of what you could say start buzzing around your head, making it impossible to get going. 

I get you. 

Writing is subjective — everyone has their own style, and it’s best kept that way or blog posts would be boring! 

So, I’m not going to tell you how to write a blog post— sorry. But I can give you some tips to make the process faster without losing value. 

To stay on track, only write about what’s stated in your headings and you’ll never find yourself off-topic. They are your framework. Stick to it. 

With one or two ideas in a sentence and you’ll always be understood. If you add more, it’s way too complex. Keep things simple, which brings us to the third and final point…

When you filter your knowledge — you have more to talk about in other posts. To keep your blog posts relevant and concise, select the 3 most important and relevant tips for each section… MAX.

Okay — go write a blog post with these tips!

4. Headline drills 

You might have noticed that we didn’t write a headline before.

A good headline teases the value of what’s inside the blog post, so it’s good to have something to reference first.

I like to brainstorm as many headlines as possible to get something really eye-catching!

There are a few templates that you can follow to make this brainstorming process faster. 

Drill out 10 to 20 different combinations jumping between these templates. 

Try to do it without stopping — you’ll find that you strike headline gold after around 10.

5. Write your intro and conclusion

It’s easy to overthink the introduction and conclusion — but simple is always better.

Your introduction explains what you’re about to tell your reader, and why it’s important they continue reading. 

That’s it.

And the conclusion points to one action — only.

Your introduction is your hook — this is your one shot at getting a reader to engage in your post. So it’s best to prioritise them.

Here are some prompts I like to follow for introductions: 

Every writer has their own introduction prompts. You’ll find that they all have one thing in common — they target the importance for the reader!

The conclusion of your post is your invitation to your reader to get them to do something — a call to action. 

What do you want your reader to do with the information you just gave them? Why should they do it?

Here are some ideas of what your call to action could be

This list could continue but you get the point — if they’ve read that far, you have their attention… so make use of it!

With these prompts — you just need to write one sentence and leave it there. If it’s too short, you can add another sentence when editing.

6. Add relevant images and screenshots

I like to call it The Great Wall of Text. 

A monstrous piece of writing that stops you in your tracks. It’s an instant block that sends you running for the virtual hills, to the safety of the competitors!

Personally, I find a wall of text intimidating, suddenly words are too much — even as a writer. My brain wants to switch off instantly!

On the flip side, I’m sure you’ve seen the super-dated travel blogs that use pictures after every sentence — and you don’t want that either.

When you add pictures and screenshots at regular intervals, your blog post is easier to digest.

Here are some examples of when to use an image or screenshot:

The trick is to sprinkle your images consistently in between your blog writing so that your reader can anticipate what comes next — this makes your post super readable.

For example,

And rinse and repeat! Simple.

To source your images, you can use free stock sources like Unsplash or Pixabay, but only if the images are relevant to what you’re talking about. 

Overuse of stock images quickly gives the game away and leaves a bad impression. It kinda says you don’t care, or that your content sucks… even if it doesn’t.

Alternatively, screenshots can illustrate a point well — and only takes a minute to make. Or, if you’re creative, use Canva to make up quick a stylised image — like I did with the example above.

Add a minimum of 3 images and you’ll have a well-balanced blog post free from great walls of text!

7. The editing process

Okay, you’re almost done.

Editing is the most important part when you write a blog post. 

Writing can be messy, wordy and sometimes makes zero sense… I’m not insulting your writing abilities here — this is a generalised fact.

Editing ensures logic, value and that it’s written in plain ole’ English!

When I was re-learning my writing ropes, editing took me days. I’d scrutinise sentences, words… and get nowhere. 

The problem was that I didn’t take a break before I started editing.

So before you continue, I recommend that you take a break for 3 hours — at least.

Go for a walk, do some admin, meditate — whatever, just don’t look at the post. 

Now, you’ve got yourself some fresh eyes — let’s continue. 

I break down my editing process into three. 

Editing for...

Grammar and punctuation are fairly straightforward. Write sentences that make sense. Avoid simple spelling mistakes. 

You can get a friend to read your blog post over or use tools like Grammarly — an app that helps you to write better. This app can save you hours of editing time.

But be careful, it’s buggy — you could finish with more mistakes than you started with. 

To edit for clarity, you must dissect your writing. 

Could your post be understood by someone with no background or knowledge of your niche?

To tackle this, I go through a post section by section, asking if the sentences are simple and relevant to the heading.

And finally, editing for mind leaps is where you identify sentences that jump from one idea to another with no logical connection.

You could think of it as your brain going too fast for your fingers. So you miss a bit. 

Again, this requires a scrutinising eye. Combing through section by section.

Asking…

If you answer yes to any of these questions — you’ve got yourself a mind leap. So you’ll need to fill that gap… or delete it. 

PHEW! The editing process is long! I know. 

But, this is the difference between a non-sensical blog post and a great one.

One final check!

It takes time and effort to write a blog post, but with this step-by-step guide, you’ll find that it starts to get easier — and faster.

Before you hit publish, download the blog writing checklist below. It includes questions that are helpful to ask yourself as you do that final edit. 

Personally, I use it for everything that I write. And now you can use it too 🙂