I have a client whom we'll call Kai. During our pre assessment, I asked Kai what was the average time it takes to write a blog post? Kai said it took her 8 hours write one blog post.
That's an incredible amount of time wasted. Her content was phenomenal, but her process was unremarkable. 8 hours for a single blog post is unproductive.
Brain surgery is completed in less time.
Babies are delivered in less time.
You can fly from New York to Milan on a non stop flight in eight hours.
The other night I asked on Facebook: What's the average time it takes to write a blog post?
The answers varied significantly but with each answer I saw who had control of their business and whose business had control over them. Majority of the Facebook responses were similar to Kai. 28 to be precise.
Stop wasting your time...if you’re part of this 8 hours [plus] crew.
Blog posts should not take 8 hours!
You're taking too long to write your blog posts. Let's streamline the process.
Chic Systems Blog Process
Research & Brainstorm
Only have two tabs (preferably one) open on the computer
Disable notifications on phone & computer
Start with the introduction for the post.
Write freestyle- just write. Don't edit misspelled words or incorrect grammar. Just write. Forget the backspace button. Just write.
*go do something else*
If something new comes to you- write it down and add to post when editing.
*Editing time- Welcome back!*
Correct the misspelled words and incorrect grammar. Hello DELETE button.
Organize the content.
Pick/create images and(or) gifs
Create related tags (SEO baby) - you do want people to read the post that you previously took 8+ hours to write.
Create a CTA (call to action) at the end of the post- Tell your reader what you want them to do.
Pick 2-3 catchy titles (1 is for the site and the others are to sprinkle on social media).
and POST!
Here's what you need to construct a remarkable post:
Editorial calendar or a content idea storage bank
Evernote & Evernote Web Clipper
Toggl if you're fancy
Time required: Two hours MAX
Here's how the process looks streamlined:
20 minutes to research & or brainstorm
30 minutes to write article
15 minutes to edit & organize content
15 minutes for images
10 minutes to create 3 catchy titles
10 minutes to create tags
20 minutes to post and distribute to newsletter
The secret to streamlining this process is when you see articles that are relevant to a topic you know you plan to write about, clip it to an Evernote folder titled Research and tag the article with “blog post idea” and a relevant tag to the topic that you will recall.
Create a folder in google drive to save images that you like and think you may want to share on your website. I have a folder for images and one for gifs.
Next time you get ready to write your blog post use Toggl and track how long it takes you. No worries toggl tracks projects spread over time if you need to write and resume in a day or so. Theres so many things you can do with the 6 hours you just saved.
Click here to get more done in 4 days than you do now in 5.
