Write That Blog

February, 2019

Maybe you start out really wanting to write a blog post, but eventually you sink lower and lower in despair.

Let’s just normalize that feeling for you. It’s okay, blog writing isn’t a marketing task most of us cherish. We get it. That’s why people hire ghostwriters - blog writing is a skill.

But, we’re here to guide you along and get you started writing for yourself. So read up.

1. Why do you want to write blog posts for your business?

Yes, we want you to answer that question. When you know why you want to do something you’ll be able to create content that supports that goal.

We write blog posts to improve our SEO and because we think we’re funny and people tend to share our blogs on social media. Win Win. That’s our motivation for writing these stunning pieces.

2. What do you remember about making outlines?

Forget Roman numerals and proper spacing, but don’t go to the other extreme and BuJo this. Keep it simple and spend no more than 10 minutes on your blog outline: Intro, Body, Closing.

3. Pick your medium.

Are you a pen and paper gal? Most creative on the typewriter?

For us, form defines our ability to keep it interesting in our social media and with our blog posts. We like small columns of text, so we write our blog drafts in these tiny columns. It makes us feel like we’ve written a bunch, when really our lines are about 6 words across the page. Whatever works.

4. First draft, worst draft.

Your first draft isn’t going to be your last. Part of our agency services includes editing manuscripts for readability and typos. We’ve seen first drafts and we’ve seen last drafts - there is a difference.

Once you sit down to write, don’t expect this first go to be publishable. Think of it as your brain dump, the draft where you get all your ya-yas out.

5. Find second eyes to edit yo’ stuff.

Edit. Revise. Shorten. Show, don’t tell.

And then, pay someone to review your work. Someone who knows how to read words on the page and knows what works for your goals (see step 1).

6. Add pics that make sense.

Images keep it interesting - Not boring the crap out of people includes finding non-copyrighted images that make sense for your blog topic.

7. SEO your blog.

Keywords, keywords, keywords. Keywords are the bedrock of your blog post getting seen by someone other than your best friend. Your business’s SEO depends on accurate keywords so customers can find you. Don’t over SEO your blog, but do know the targets you want to hit when it comes to potential customers finding you on Google.

8. Social media your blog post.

Now that you’ve published it, post it. As we’ve mentioned before, you can’t cram meat into a bun and call it a robust meal. Your social media posts have to contain more than just the link to your blog.

Include the image and also a snippet that isn’t the first 2 sentences of your blog post. Check out how we handle this by reading the snippets under the images on our Read Red Blog page.

There it is. You now know how to begin writing blog posts for your business. And remember, keep it interesting! Now go forth and write.