How Do I Find Time to Write Blog Posts?
This is the one question I find business owners tend to ask when it comes to creating content for their website.
You can find time to write blog posts for your business by having a set period each day when you simply sit down and get on with the job with no distractions. An hour works best and means you can quickly build up a catalogue of content which you can then post to your site.
Here are our quick tips for finding more time in your day to get those blog posts written:
1. Create a Blog List
One of the problems most business owners have is that they are short of ideas. When they sit down to write a post (because they feel they have to usually), they don’t have any clue what they are going to say. That’s where creating a blog list which you can easily work from comes in handy.
Open an Excel spreadsheet and create three columns:
- Category.
- Blog title.
- Sample link.
You can also add another column called ‘keywords’ if you want to use the blog to target specific words and phrases.
Next you have to populate the list. You’ll start with some categories, perhaps five or six that cover areas of your business that you think your customers will be interested in. If you are builder, for example, you might have a category for:
- General building.
- Building an Extension.
- Roof repairs.
- Building a new kitchen.
- Loft extensions
The easiest way to settle on categories is simply to look at the list of services or product pages that you have on your site.
Now, for each of these categories, in the next column, you are going to create about 10 blog post titles. To do this, you can either come up with the questions that customers most often ask you or search online to see what other people are creating posts about in your sector.
Keep these titles useful. In other words, questions such as ‘what should I include in a new kitchen design’ or ‘how do I make the most of my loft space’.
Another way to do this is to type a keyword like ‘new kitchen’ into Google. As you type, you will see Google trying to fill in the rest of the query (because it’s especially helpful). These are actually terms that people are searching for right now and can be really helpful in finding meaningful post titles.
Once you have done this, move onto the next column and find a similar article already posted by someone. Don’t worry, there are zillions of articles online and chances are pretty high that someone has already composed a post on the subject. You want to use this as a guide as it can save you time in reinventing the wheel – don’t copy it word for word. All you have to do is rewrite the content in your own words and put your spin on it.
My advice is to create around 60 post titles and links for you to work from. This releases you from the burden of having to think of ideas once you start to type. You’re ready to hit the ground running and that can give you a lot of time when writing blog posts.
2. Put Time Aside for Writing Your Blog Posts
Okay, we know you’re busy but this is really important. Decide how many posts you are going to produce for your blog and find the time to do it.
First, set aside an hour to write the first draft of the blog. Do this early in the morning when you are fresh and willing to put in the effort. If you leave it till later in the day, something is going to get in the way or you will simply not feel like it.
Get up, get your coffee, sit down and open up your computer. It’s helpful here to use a timer once you begin to write as it can introduce a sense of urgency and really focus your mind. Open up the link page on you list and type your title on your word document or in your website WP.
Start the timer (for 30 minutes is best) and begin typing. Work right through to the end of the post without attempting to edit or take a break. Give yourself five minutes to stretch and refresh. Slurp your coffee, then sit down again. Work through your article and do a cursory edit, more for structure and making sure you are saying the right thing than for proofreading.
Using Voice to Text for Your Blog Post
There is another way to do this should you have the verbal skills. If you are great at talking relatively clearly, you could use voice to text software to produce your content and do a quick edit.
I’ve tried this and find it very difficult but that is probably because my gift for the gab is sadly lacking nowadays. It’s worth trying, however, and can greatly reduce your blog production time if you find you’re good at it. There are free and paid for software packages out there that can help.
3. Leave Your Blog Posts to Rest
Don’t post your blog right now, simply turn off the computer and get on with the day job. Once you have finished and get back home, open up the file again and give your post another read through.
You can use a service like Grammarly if you want to do a proper spell and cursory grammar check. You don’t have to buy the full package, the free service will do fine. It’ll spot misspelled words and small grammatical errors for you.
4. Upload and Publish
Don’t be too precious about your content and try to hone it to the nth degree as nobody really cares. This is a waste of your time and it’s not going to spoil the day for your customer if there’s the odd mistake here and there.
Find a free image or one you have taken yourself to accompany the post (images make blogs more engaging and you should always include at least one). Press the publish button and go and watch your box set of Game of Thrones.
Producing regular content such as blog posts is all about getting into a rhythm and actually sitting down and doing it. If you are only producing one or two blogs a week, which is the average for most businesses, you just need to find one or two hours to get it done.
It’s worth the effort and you’ll pretty soon have a fully functioning blog with a hell of a lot of useful content for your customers and boosting your SEO. The key is getting that blog list done in the first place. That should, realistically, take you about an hour to an hour and a half – and it will last you a good few months.
