Tips on Taking Your Next Blog Post to New Heights

Writing a post for a blog can be a lot of work. But, the fact is…YOU LOVE IT! In fact, you keep coming back time and again to try to craft that perfect masterpiece.

And guess what?

It is possible…

“Is it hard?”

You bet it’s hard. It’s like staring at a wall trying to figure out what the meaning of life is. It’s tough!

But, before we get sucked into a bunch of thoughts on the meaning of life. We are here to do one task.

Learn how to write a post that you can be proud to show your family, friends, or even that strict teacher who gave you a “C” on that writing exam.

While there is a bunch of info online about writing. I wanted to take a look at some things that aren’t widely talked about. Things that may be preventing you from writing your masterpiece.

But first, let’s take a look at some basics. And then we will jump into some of the deeper aspects.

Basics

Time to Learn

Knowledge Gap

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Writing about a topic can seem daunting if you don’t have any knowledge on the subject. But, luckily for you there is a ton (a ton!) of resources. Just be sure to cite any sources you use. A few of them include

• Search Engines (easy to use)
• Books (a little harder)
• Newspapers and magazines (I find information here randomly)
• Wikipedia (easy, but not always the most credible)

There are numerous more resources I could list here, but you get the idea. The fact is that you have to go out and find the information.

I will honest, it sucks. It’s hard reading through material that you aren’t interested in. But, you are trying to find that golden nugget you need to create your masterpiece. It’s time well spent. Otherwise it’s just a good post. We are going for better than good.

Creating an Outline

Outline or Structure

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Most of us learned how to create an outline in school. While I personally find them helpful, I have been known to deviate from my outline from time to time.

I will sometimes stray so far from my topic that I write an entire post within a post. Don’t do this! Trust me, it hurts having to go back and delete two hours of work about why I like birds with small wings. Stick to the outline.

It will save you pain unless you enjoy wasting your time or have nothing better to do. Then, by all means, type away.

Topics

A Good Topic

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Finding a good topic that people want to read about is important. Don’t do what I did recently. I wrote a post about a cat I once had. It was a nice little post. The problem? No one read it. It got 2 views and I promptly deleted the post.

While you may be able to write an awesome cat post, people don’t come to my blog to read about my cat.

Unless of course you do? In that case, I could probably knock out a 5,000 word essay on cat fur. Interested? I didn’t think so. Find topics your audience wants to read about.

Everybody is different and you have your own specialty. You can still experiment writing about different things, but don’t get discouraged if no one reads it.

I inserted a few cat photos below as a visual reminder to myself to stay away from cat content.

Now that I got a few basics out of the way, we can jump into the deeper section of the blog writing pool. Hope you are ready!

Some Deeper Thoughts on Writing

Not the Time to Sleep

Motivation

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Let’s face it. You may not want to put time and energy into a post that few people are going to read. That’s just the way it is. But, maybe…just maybe you need to put the energy into your post to get more readers.

I will admit it’s hard. I struggle myself. The two people who read my cat post seen what happens when I get lazy. It doesn’t work. I wish it did!

But, if you put in the work, people will notice. I love it when I come across a good post unexpectedly. I always start looking for the “like” button. And if the posts is really good, I will follow them. That’s how it works. Amaze people with content and they come back.

I’m Not Perfect

Perfection

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You may think you will never be able to create your masterpiece because you believe you are incapable of producing perfection. Guess what? None of us can.

This post is littered with places that I could edit, fine tune, and make better. But, in the end, I took a shot at producing something worth reading.

I remember a couple of weeks ago when I published “Why Your Blog Needs a Small Following“. I thought I had achieved near perfection. I was elated. That was until I hit the publish button. I immediately started noticing misspelled words and incomplete sentences.

I rushed back through trying to correct all the mistakes. It’s funny how our minds can miss so many mistakes. I should do a post on that one day.

Creating Value

Creating Value When You Are Not An Expert

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I love talking about value! It’s what your readers want. But, how can you know what is valuable info for your readers? You aren’t an expert.

You may even feel unqualified.

All you really need are some good ideas.

One thing I personally do is thought experiments. What I mean is I look at things from all angles.

Let’s say I wanted to write a post about blog growth. I wouldn’t just start writing about how to grow a blog.

I would probably spend some time trying to figure out how people view their growth on their blog. For example, I may open my post like this:

Let’s say you have 10,000 followers and I have 10.

Who is growing faster?

Hmmm…

You can’t tell!

Why is this?

This is how you can add value. Don’t tell them facts you find online. Think about what they are missing. Find the answers to the hard questions.

This again requires that you spend time and energy trying to find answers (the golden nuggets). You have to do this while trying to avoid falling down countless rabbit holes. But, one trick I learned is to use the simple question “WHY?”

Why should I write this post?

Why should my followers read it?

Why is this important?

Why..

Etc.

This always helps me find out where I am trying to go. It’s not a perfect solution, but I think that’s it helpful. I use it to get started.

The important thing to remember is that you are trying to find answers to some questions. You don’t need to become an expert. Narrow your focus down to a single thought and then expand out.

Look for something that is rarely discussed and tell the world your thoughts on it.

You are Awesome

Comparing Yourself to Others

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I know, I know. We all do it. We think if only we were as good as them. They create content that flows so seamless.

I’m not good enough…

This kind of thinking never helps.

One trick I use is I compare myself to myself. For example

“Am I better than I was last week?”

If so, then I know I’m heading in the right direction. It’s hard to do when you come across some of these awesome posts. I read one the other day that made me cry.

I thought “Wow” this guy is good. But, I can’t let that stop me from trying. I use it as motivation to keep trying to improve and become better.

Wrapping it Up

Final Thoughts

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Before you run off to create your masterpiece, I would like to take a second to follow-up on some interactions I have had recently with fellow bloggers.

I sometimes hear people say they are not good writers or that they don’t know to write.

Do not overthink writing your post!

Don’t try to write an academic article about butterflies unless that is your specialty. Instead, take your own personal view on butterflies and just write like you are talking to a friend.

People can relate to you if you are writing in your nature voice.

I’m sure you talk to people everyday in life?

Just be yourself. I’m writing naturally right now. You don’t see any big-hard-to-pronounce words, do you? And I still have your interest.

If I want to talk about tomatoes, I’m not going to try to sound like a botanist. I would probably just start writing about how I like ketchup, and if ketchup taste like tomatoes.

Just be natural.

That’s all I have for now.

Thanks for your time. I made every attempt not to waste a second of it. Good luck…