Content Marketing

The 6-Step Process of Writing Effective Content to Grow a Blog

 

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Writing effective content on your blog shouldn’t be scary at all. If you’re an avid blogger like me, you may want to get disciplined about your writing schedule and habits so that you never get bored of writing, not to mention, start procrastinating.

I’m writing this blog post because I want you to be more productive as a blogger. The purpose of this blog post is to help you write better content on your blog. If you follow the steps that I’m about to share, then not only will you feel good while writing, but you will also get better at writing.

Full disclosure: These are my tried-and-tested methods — they worked for me very well, but may not work for everyone. The reason for sharing these steps with you is that I’m a big believer of CONSISTENCY and SMALL EFFORTS.

In fact, James Clear emphasized on starting small to build a habit.

Gary Vaynerchuk also said, “Micro game and short goals are good.”

It sometimes put people off when I talk about the short-term practical goals.

I don’t hate all that cliché: shoot for the moon and land among the stars.

I get it.

It’s not for me.

I’m hardwired to be okay with FAILING and GETTING REJECTED. It doesn’t stop me at all. I love so much when people reject me. I always smile, later on, and say, “you have no idea what you’re going to miss out.”

Because in the long-run, I win. It’s what that matters.

So the steps I’m going to share with you might be bite-sized, but I know for the fact that they have helped me in transforming my business. I implore you to pay attention now:

1. Enable Your Distraction-free Mode

To achieve the maximum output, you need to create an environment that doesn’t distract you. A mobile screen’s light may entice you to check your phone and then scroll through the Facebook for the next few minutes.

The environment doesn’t have to be a fancy workplace at home where no one is allowed to come. In fact, what I mean by the distraction-free mode is that you could either change your location if you are hearing a sound from somewhere, or leave your mobile device in other room, or put your kids or dog to bed and then get to writing. It’s up to you that how you enable a distraction-free mode for yourself.

2. Grab a Drink

I just grabbed a cup of tea with one teaspoon of honey before started writing this article. Coffee and tea are the drinks that keep your mind fresh. I’m a tea person and don’t touch coffee at all. So a cup of tea in the morning, or whenever I sit back to write helps me.

Don’t push yourself so hard. If you aren’t comfortable with tea or coffee, don’t hesitate to try out lemonade or fresh water, meaning, whatever works for you. The idea is to take a few sips before or in the middle of the work. That would keep you awake.

3. Try Out Different Timings

To write effective content, you may have to try out different techniques; one of them is working on different schedules. Many writers who prefer to write in the morning. On the contrary, there are bloggers like me who always prefer to write at night.

It doesn’t mean that I don’t write in the morning—or I haven’t written content in the afternoon—because I write whenever I feel that it’s time to write. I reckon you should test out different times of the day and see when you feel happy about writing.

4. Read Blogs on a Daily Basis

You can’t grow as a blogger if you stay in the rabbit hole. Writing all day long doesn’t help, anyway. Watch Netflix, eat popcorn, chat with someone on Facebook, and visit mom & dad or a friend.

The point is that if you think that writing hours and hours a day would make you a better writer, then you’re mistaken; it would make you stressed out instead.

Reading others’ blogs is one of the best strategies to learn, explore, and evolve. I highly recommend reading others’ blogs if you’re a blogger and struggling to get to the next level. You’d come to know what they learned and how they’re doing it. In fact, don’t forget to appreciate other bloggers via comments, if you learn something from them. I don’t get a whole bunch of comments on every blog post, but readers consistently leave comments on my blog posts and share their opinions with me, which makes me so happy.

5. Embrace the Feedback

Don’t neglect all those less-crispy comments and private messages that someone sends you about your writing mistakes. We often don’t like being under the spotlight of someone who’s telling us that we’ve made a few mistakes here and there.

Don’t take it personally. Instead, use it as an opportunity to learn, get better, and become proficient at writing. You should be thanking someone if they come out and give their time highlighting the writing mistakes that you’re doing.

The point is that if you knew it all, you would not have made those mistakes in the first place. So we all learn and improve our skills. No biggie.

6. Feel the Pulse of the Target Audience

One of the best techniques to write better content and grow a blog is understanding what the audience wants from your blog. Look at the comments, see what they’re saying on Facebook, and pay close attention to the emails you’re getting.

The content isn’t just about what you feel is right. It could be the other way around. Just make sure to find the ways that help you understand the audience and the rest will be fine.

Your Turn

I’ve shared six steps that I learned over the past few years.

It’s your turn now to tell everybody that how you write effective content on your blog. Some of you are terrific bloggers, SEOs, and digital marketing experts, which is why I’m looking forward to reading your take on writing effective content.

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10 Comments

  1. Hi Hassaan,

    Great tips for learning how to write effectively. One of the biggest things that has helped me is by reading other people’s blogs. You’re right, that definitely helps get the mind flowing and see how others write.

    I also make it a point to write at least 1,000 words every day. I’ve been pretty good at sticking to that schedule.

    I’ve noticed that as my blog continues growing and I keep doing this every day. I am getting better with my writing.

    Although, I have my days when I don’t really feel like writing. On those days, I tend to listen to my body and get off my computer.

    This is what has worked for me. Thanks for sharing these tips, I have no doubt they will help bloggers become more effective writers.

    Have a great day 🙂

    Susan

    1. Hi Susan,

      Thank you so much for reading this blog post. I’m honored to have you here.
      A few days off of writing, especially when you’re not feeling it, is the best thing to do. Bloggers must take a break once in a while because they have to multi-task on a loop. For example, research, writing, editing, social media, promotion, reading, and PR — just imagine; we all do this alone.

      Sometimes, when I don’t like to write, I just take the day off. I used to sit hours and stare at the screen. Then I realize that I should put my effort into something productive when I’m not writing. In fact, if you check out my previous blog post, I talked about writing short blog posts; that was another strategy of getting back to writing, and it’s working for me.

      Thanks, again, for stopping by.

  2. Hassaan, no. 4 is important.

    Without reading and increasing our own knowledge and awareness, our writing always struggle. So I am big on this step and second your views. Blogs, magazines, books, TV, podcasts, social media – anything helps but I would like to dig a step deeper.

    As Jim Rohn said, guard everyday your mind and what goes in it. It is important that we aim to pour in ideas and information which are positive, useful and helping. AS a blogger, we should be picky on what we spend our time on. It is a demanding game and a serious blogger does not have much time on his plate. Last thing he wants is to spend casual time on facebook and watching TV without any purpose.

    It might sound harsh but in my case, I always feel that there are so many distractions around that it is not easy to come out clean. So a challenge for most of us. Good article, your writing is clear and resonates. Thanks for sharing.

    Ahmad

    1. Ahmad bhai,

      Thank you so much for your comment. Reading others’ blogs has done wonders for me, which is why I’m emphasizing on this. I so much believe in all the steps that I mentioned because they have helped me tremendously.

      You’re right about being a blogger. I tell everyone that it’s not just about writing a blog post and hit publish. Publishing a blog post is a small part of the process. A lot of folks realize how much work a blogger needs to put in the blogging to grow when they sign up for this.

      As far as distractions are concerned, they’re real. It’s almost impossible to them altogether. All I do is try to navigate through to keep going.

      Thanks, again, for stopping by.

  3. Hi Hassaan,

    It would be awesome if we could only write when we are in the mood for it. Since this is not realistic, we all come up with different tricks in order to keep our focus and write effectively. Running before writing is a good trick, it clears your mind. 20 minutes is enough.

    When it comes to inspiration, it’s good to follow as much influencers as possible on social networks and interact with them, then you’ll keep up with all the news and get idea on what you should write about!

    Thank you for sharing

    1. Hi,

      Running is a great exercise. It does help the body.
      Thank you for your comment.

  4. Hi Hassan,

    These are great tips to write effectively!

    I like to write when it’s quite. Sometimes I put my earphones in and listen to white noise from Youtube in order to focus. I can be easily distracted so I do have to get all set up. Like you with a cup of tea, I get my coffee and start writing.

    You mentioned to read other blogs. Indeed, it is a wonderful way to obtain our own writing skills.

    -Donna

    1. Hi Donna,

      Thank you so much for stopping by.

      I’m still unable to find a particular time of day when I sit down to write every day. Most of the times, I feel that I should write on this topic and/if I’m not writing for a client or not doing anything else, then I kick start my blog post writing.

  5. Hey Hassaan,
    I love these tips. The best tip is, your fourth one “Read Blogs on a Daily Basis.” If I would be able to write this post, I put that as the first point because I learned a lot by reading blogs.

    Yes, I know my writing is terrible but, a few years back, my writing is no better than a 5th-grader. I came this far by reading blogs on a daily basis.

    Jeff Goins, Seth Godin, Jeff Bullas and the Rayn Holiday ………………………are my heroes. So, if you wanna learn how to write, you should read, read and read.

    1. Hi Nirodha,

      I’m glad you liked it. Reading books does help too. I wasn’t a book reader until 2015, then I randomly bought a book, and it changed my perspective on books reading. Trust me, consider that too.

      All the best.

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