Does the prospect of writing three blog posts a week stress you out? If it does, you’re not alone. I know that being a committed content marketer is hard enough, but being a productive one can seem impossible.
I’ve had a number of conversations recently with colleagues who have, not for the time, been inspired by the words of Marcus Sheridan. In a recent blog post, Marcus advocates that to be a successful content marketer – you should be producing 2-3 blog posts every week.
One approach I shared with a colleague who was overwhelmed by the prospect of content creation is to focus on producing shorter blog posts of around 500 words. I’ll share with you the blog formula I suggested she trialled.
The Intro (125 Words)
After the title of your post, the first paragraph is the second more important element of your post. You might get away with a weak headline, but if the first paragraph fails to draw in your reader, you can be fairly sure that they’ll not continue reading. The first paragraph is your hook and should between 25-50 words.
The rest of the introduction should be to provide context to the opening paragraph and to lead the reader seamlessly into the body content of your blog post. This gives your introduction a natural and steady flow.
Main Points (300 Words)
For a 500-word blog post, I recommend having 300 words broken down into three main points of 100 words each. This creates a classic win-win situation.
As the writer, you win, because psychologically it’s less intimidating to write three 100 word elements than it is to write 300 words. And more importantly the reader wins as you’ve created a structure that is simple, scannable and easy to read.
The three points could be –
- 3 Steps to BLANK success.
- 3 Epic BLANK fails.
- 3 reasons why BLANK is BLANK.
- 3 top tips to a perfect BLANK
The Strong Close (75 Words)
In a 500-word blog post, the closing point shouldn’t take the classic writing advice of summarising the points you’ve raised in your post. With short paragraphs, doing so would feel repetitive.
Instead, create a rounded and strong close to your blog post by referring to your introduction. If you can, link your last sentence directly to your opening paragraph.
Depending on the type of content you’re writing and your audience, it’s also a nice to add a touch of personality by adding something inspirational. For example, a simple ‘you can do this’ message can have power.
Is three the magic number?
Everyone is different and for some, three blog posts per week can feel intimidating, especially if you’re an inexperienced blogger. For now, though, don’t get hung up on that. Instead just write one blog post. Take this formula and put it to the test.
My hope is that by breaking your writing into bite-sized chunks you can produce great content, enjoy the process and do so without any stress.
Thank you