You know that writing content is a key part of your marketing yet you don’t feel comfortable writing. The ideas that feel great when you think of them, don’t translate well when you attempt to write. That’s why I’ve put together these content writing tips for you. I’ve seen the frustration that my audience feel when the words aren’t flowing for them.
Content writing tips
1. Read your words out loud
One of the most effective ways to improve your writing is to read what you have written out loud. Hearing your own words allows you to pick up words that are in the wrong place and notice sentences that don’t flow. If your words aren’t easy to say, they won’t be easy to read.
I do my reading out loud as part of my editing process. I’ll read my entire draft first then read it out loud after that.
2. Write and edit separately
Have you started to write a piece of content then find yourself re-working it as you can go? “Ahh that doesn’t sound right. I’ll go back and rewrite that piece.”
While it can be tempting to go back and edit, that will interrupt the flow of your writing. Instead, get all of your thoughts out onto the page. Don’t worry about how good it sounds in that initial stage, simply focus on getting words onto the page.
By keeping the writing and editing separate, you’ll save time as you won’t be constantly looking for ways to improve your words as you get your initial thoughts down.
3. Never start with a blank page
One of the best content writing tips I can give you is to always have something on the page before you start to write. While you might have a great idea in your head you can easily get derailed because you can’t think of a great opening sentence, or the ideal title.
Before you start writing have a brainstorming session to write down the main points you want to cover, the call to action you want to include, a couple of ideas for how to introduce your post and what the title will be.
I usually do my brainstorming on a different day to when I write as that means I’m not putting pressure on myself to map everything out just before I write. This split of tasks also means that my ideas are percolating away in my mind. I’ll often come up with extra ideas or entire paragraphs when I’m out for a walk.
Remember, we want writing to be as enjoyable as we can make it!
4. Keep an ideas library
One of the main blocks to writing is not having an idea that you’re excited to share. If you feel like you’ve got nothing to say, or it’s all been said before, or you’re confused about what you “should” be writing, then it’s going to be tough to find any words at all.
I suggest you keep an ideas library. A simple word document will do.
When you finish a client call, make notes about the topics you discussed or the tips you gave. Look through any marketing interviews you’ve done and pull out any common content themes. When you see an interesting comment or question on a social media post add that to your library.
Ideas are all around us. Having a library of those ideas that you can dip into will help you get out of your own way and share value with your audience.
5. Batch your writing
Batching up your writing tasks has many advantages.
Brainstorming the outlines of a few posts all at one time means you don’t have to constantly come up with ideas. This gives you time and space to fill your creative well.
Batching saves time. When I write a single blog post it takes me an hour. Yet when I write two blog posts together it only takes me 90 minutes. It’s as if I’m a runner, warming up for her races. The first race is at my normal pace, but in the second race I’m smashing all kinds of records.
There is nothing quite like writing and scheduling out a few post in advance to make you feel like you’re on top of your business tasks. You can relax and focus on other areas of your business, knowing that your content is taken care of.
Your writing goal is not to write the perfect blog, post or article that has clients flooding in. Rather, it’s to improve your writing skill, compared to the last piece of writing that you did. Even though I now get paid to write I’m always looking for ways to improve my writing. This is a skill that we all need to practise.
If you want to have an easier way to plan and create your content then book in a free call with me. I’m a total systems geek, who loves to write, and I’d be happy to have a chat with you about getting your content creation, and your business, systemised.
