Everybody is short on time, whether it’s you writing the blog post or your ideal client reading the blog post, nobody wants anything to take any longer than it absolutely has to, right? So today, I’m going to share three blogging hacks that will make it easier for you to write your blog post (and make your posts more digestible for your ideal client to read it).
Because let’s be honest, they’re not reading it. They’re skimming it. When you write a blog post, we have to write for both Google and for our people because we want it to rank, but we also want it to sell.
I cover everything you need to know about blogging for SEO in my Blogging for Bingeable Brands mini course, which you can get 20% off with code Podcast 20, but today, I’m sharing three hacks to help you with this!
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Table of Contents
1. Start With An Outline
Oftentimes, I find people spend way too much time staring at a blank Google Doc or in the backend of their WordPress, and they start writing something based on a keyword or based on the topic that they want to write about, and they’ve written the intro paragraph, they’ve written out the one point they wanted to make, and then after that, it’s a bunch of nonsense until they hit their word count.
They try to beef it up with storytelling because they’ve heard that’s what they are supposed to do it. They are using ChatGPT and there is 85,000 analogies and lots of rambling happening. It is giving chaos. It’s confusing. NOBODY is going to work to read it. Basically, that doesn’t work for people because people like me are going to be reading your blog post saying, “okay, what?”
When writing, get to the point of what you’re actually saying. And that’s easier said than done, but starting with an outline will make it a lot easier. So instead of just being like, “oh no, I write better when it just flows to me”, take 5-10 minutes to put together an outline. The quality of the blog posts you write will be so much stronger if you do.
2. Embrace SEO-rich Headlines
My next quick hack to write blog posts faster is to embrace SEO-rich headlines. I don’t know who needs to hear this, but it is absolutely okay if your headline clearly states in simple language what the next paragraph is going to be about. Break up those large bodies of text.
Usually, if you’re blogging on WordPress or something like that, it will tell you if a paragraph is too long or there is too much body text between headings. Add headings to state the main point so that people who are skimming and only reading the headlines can get a sense of what you are talking about. And I know this might sound basic, but make it so clear. Do not get fancy with your headlines because if I’m reading an “eight tips to XYZ blog” and the first two points are a lot of flowery language or really vague, I’m not reading the rest of it.
Your reader wants you to just give it to them straight in simple language that they can read quickly when they are skimming. Then, if they want to know more, they can read the body copy that expands on the point you are making.
Thinking about your own user habits: do you skim a blog post and then if it seems good, go back and read it from the top? I do. Or if the call to action’s really clear, I might head straight there. So if I am reading a blog post, for example, about how to plan a two year old’s birthday party, and then the call to action is something like, “buy my party planning ebook” or “hire me to plan the event”, I might just do that. Which is the point of your blog to begin with.
Bonus Tip: Answer the Question at the Beginning
Google used to prefer long content. I really believe that it weighed lengthier articles and considered them more valuable. I mean, there are so many factors that goes into a Google ranking, but that was definitely one of them.
But now, in the age of AI and ChatGPT being so wordy, if you’re writing a couple of paragraphs about every single point, you could hit a 3000 word blog post, no problem. I’m not saying it would immediately spit out a 3000 word blog post, but you could get it there if you’re just going for a word count. And now that has flooded the internet, for better or for worse, and now we are seeing Google valuing people that get to the point (and this is what your reader values too).
So gone are the days of food bloggers who are burying the recipe under a story. Put what people came for at the top of the post. And that could be like a clear “this is the answer to your question”, or it could be “here’s how you can hire me to make it better”. And then maybe the real reader will never actually read the blog post, but you should still have a blog post because Google is not going to rank a hundred-word paragraph, but I just want to say it is absolutely okay to get to the point very quickly above the fold.
3. Embrace Bullet Points
The reality is: sometimes people don’t need paragraphs upon paragraphs upon paragraphs of things. It is okay to have a few bullet point lists in your blog posts. I mean, I’m not saying that your blog post should be filled with a million short bullet point lists, but I do think sometimes we think if I’m going to do the five elements of a sales page or something, and I’m writing a “call to action section”, and there’s four things. It’s okay to list them in bullet form or make it a list instead of writing paragraphs for each one.
If a list is easier to digest, do it. Prioritize the skimmers, okay? Because yes, there are people that are going to read every word, but those people are so few and far between. Don’t be afraid to give the best stuff away in bullet form and not bury it under a pile of sentences.
When people get good value from you, they want to buy from you. Don’t feel the need to write more, or “give more for the sake of value”, when it’s not necessary. It’s wasting your time, and it’s wasting their time.
Ready to Write Blog Posts Faster?
So that’s it for today’s episode. I wanted to record something really short because we just had a couple of AMAZING interviews back to back. If you haven’t listened to those, give yourself some time to go back. They were so good.
- Episode 14: The Surprising Secrets to Standing Out: Strategic Branding for Service Providers with Ellie Brown Branding
- Episode 15: Embracing Work-Life Alignment By Balancing Mindset and Systems with Alane Gianetti
Then next week I have an interview with an SEO expert, which is super fun and it’s going to kind of pick up where this conversation left off. See you next week!
I Cover More Of This In My Blogging for Bingeable Brands Mini Course
Again, I cover this in so much detail in my mini course, Blogging for Bingeable Brands. I have an SEO FIRST acronym for the five categories of what you need to do to get your blog posts found on Google so that they can start making more sales for you.
LINKS MENTIONED:
- Hire us to write SEO-drive website copy for you (and make more sales from your website!)
- Join Blogging for Bingeable Brands (Use Code PODCAST20 for 20% Off!)
- Sign up for Google search console
- Learn more about working with our marketing agency here
- Follow me on Instagram
