People are always complaining that they don’t have enough time to blog. Unfortunately, this attitude is what keeps bloggers from building the momentum they need to support their business online. But, I have an idea for you. The next time you find yourself griping about not having enough time to blog, set an egg timer for 20 minutes and use this format to produce a useful blog post for your readers. (And hey, I’m testing out this theory myself – this entire post is being written in just 20 minutes!)
Introduction: 2 minutes
Set the stage for your post in the first paragraph. Use 2-5 sentences to introduce your topic to the reader. Make it interesting by starting with a question, story, anecdote or compelling statistic.
Main Point #1: 4 minutes
Highlight your first main point or piece of supporting information related to your topic. Use examples where you can to add even more value for your reader.
Main Point #2 – 4 minutes
Highlight your second main point or piece of supporting information related to your topic. Try to link out to another blogger or website to further illustrate your point and show that you’ve done some homework on the subject.
Main Point #3: 4 minutes
This is optional, but if you can add a third main point or piece of supporting information related to your topic, it will likely make your post even stronger.
Conclusion: 2 minutes
Add a sentence or two here to tie your main points back to your introduction. You want to leave the reader with some closure that they learned something about the topic or were inspired/entertained in some way. For more engagement, end with a question or an invitation for readers to share their thoughts in the comments section.
Add an Interesting Picture: 2 minutes
I sometimes use Flickr to scope out interesting pictures to illustrate my blog posts, but my favorite place for finding professional-looking photos for my blogs is iStockphoto. It’s a great place for finding high-quality royalty-free stock photos to use for your blog posts. Just enter a keyword related to your topic and it will give you a plethora of images to choose from.
Add a Snappy Blog Post Headline: 2 minutes
This can often be the most time consuming part of blogging – the title of the post! You want your headline to be interesting enough to make people want to read it, but at the same time not look like you’re desperate for clicks. What to do? Not to worry, because Chris Garrett comes to the blogger’s rescue with this definitive list of 102 blog post headline formulas. Yes, 102. You’ll never want for a snappy blog post title again. You’re welcome.
And there you have it, a blog post written in just 20 minutes! You can do this on your own blog anytime you feel stuck but in need of some useful content. Try out this format and see how much faster you could be churning out posts for your site. Your traffic will thank you. And so will your readers.
Do you think this format will work for you? How long does it usually take for you to write your posts?
For me 20 minutes is just a short time to think and write a single post. For a newbie like me I can make it for a couple of hour. Nice tips Rosetta in helps a lot. Applying this one is hard for me.
Read my latest blog post…Dekaron Review
Wow, so it is possible to finish a blog in 20 minutes. Your steps could make things simpler. Aside from the pressure of setting a time limit for myself, I think I can be faster since I have a process to follow. I’ll try it out and see if I pass the challenge.
Read my latest blog post…How To Pick Up Girls
I never time myself but I know each post I do takes a long time to complete from getting the title right to getting together the images I want to use. I am going to try this method to see if I can get tomorrow post done.
Read my latest blog post…#DigitalSisterhood Wednesdays – Women celebrating, connecting & building bonds in a positive light
Most of my posts take a while, as well. But where this method works for me is when I have a brief point I want to make or a technique to share that I think would be useful to my community.
Awesome tips for whipping up a blog post in double quick time. Thanks Rosetta.
This may help me get more done in less time – I always dread writing posts and often over-think them when writing.
This looks like it can not only help speed things along, but help keep thoughts inline when creating the post.
Read my latest blog post…Modern Japanese Architecture by Tezuka Architects
Thanks for stopping by, Bronson! I’m an over-thinker, too and this format has saved me many times when I just needed to get a post out – like today
As always…GREAT INFO! Keep it coming!
Thanks for reading, Aisha! Really glad these tips are useful to you
It really depends on the post. Sometimes it takes 30-45 minutes for a post. Others I get done in 5-10 minutes. I will use this method on my longer post so I can widdle down the time. This is such an awesome idea. Thanks for sharing!!!
Hi Briana,
I’m definitely not down to 5-10 minutes for a post yet! But it helps to be able to get into a groove where you can pump out some posts quickly to save time for larger projects in your business. Thanks for stopping by!