How to write blog posts faster
Let’s all agree on this — it would be great to have 48 hours in a day. That would be more time to work on our goals, more time to spend with friends and family, and more time to SLEEP.
Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen. We are stuck with the regular 24 hours.
And when it comes to writing blogs, that extra time would REALLY be useful. Because, let’s face it, writing a blog is not a quick task. In fact, it takes most bloggers 5 to 6 hours to write a blog post. When you have so many other things that come with your business, like client work, finances, emails, and more, finding time to write a blog post seems almost impossible.
But what if you could learn how to write your blog posts faster than ever? I’m not talking about using A.I. to create boring, inaccurate blog content that makes people click away from your posts as fast as they clicked on them. I’m talking about actually *writing* faster without sacrificing the quality of the work.
So, let’s get into it.
What’s stopping you from writing fast
Before we talk about how to write faster, let’s talk about what’s actually stopping you from writing fast.
Writer’s block
Oh writer's block, every writer's worst nightmare. And even the best writers have it (I'm looking at you, George R.R. Martin). For most people, one of the reasons it takes so long to write is because they can’t think about ideas. Because let's be clear: writing is really just thinking and then organizing your thoughts in a digestible way. If something is blocking you from coming up with ideas, writing becomes an impossible task.
Lack of planning
How many times have you started writing a blog post, only to rewrite it multiple times before you get it right? I’m going to bet a lot. This is because good writing has structure. And great structures require at least some level of planning. So, if you’re not planning on what you’re going to write about BEFORE actually writing, chances are you’re going to have a really hard time writing efficiently.
Distractions
Distractions are everywhere. Whether it be your kids asking for juice, getting a text from a friend, or receiving an email titled “URGENT!” These distractions make it really hard to work efficiently. In fact, studies show that even small distractions both make you take longer to complete a task and make the quality of that task WORSE.
How to write blog posts faster
We’ve reached the part of this blog post you’ve all been waiting for! How do you actually write blog posts faster without sacrificing quality).
Have a list of content ideas beforehand
Let's face it. There are usually topics that you feel like writing about and topics that you don’t. Every day, this changes. So, in order to always have a blog idea that you have some passion for on a given day, you need to have a content bank.
It’s up to you how big this content bank needs to be. For me, I usually have at least 10 ideas in a Google Sheet (with the keyword I want to target) at all times. To do this efficiently, try setting aside one day a month where you add some more ideas and keywords at once.
Use tools for ideas
While I don’t think that A.I. is currently at the place where the content it produces (especially long-form content like blogs) is engaging, accurate, and human-sounding, that doesn’t mean I’m anti-A.I. In fact, I think that it’s an incredible tool that can help speed up your writing and editing if you use it right.
A.I. tools like ChatGPT are great at ideation, including giving you some blog post subjects you might be able to use. Of course, validate these ideas by doing some keyword research and seeing if those subjects have some search volume, but this can help you tremendously on the days when you’re adding blog ideas to your content bank. Check out this blog post if you’re curious about how to use A.I. to write content effectively.
Outline before you write
Like we talked about before, one of the reasons why you're not writing as fast as you could be is because you're not starting with a plan. So, next time you write your next blog post, start with an outline.
Break up the different points you want to cover, and have the flow organized beforehand. I think the best way to do this is to look at which articles are currently ranking on Google for your target keyword and figure out what gaps there are in these articles.
What can write about that the others missed to make your blog post the most helpful out there? A.I. tools can be of help when coming with these sections for your blog.
Do some initial research before you write
Another thing you can do to write faster is to do some initial research for each of your blog sections before you write them. You don’t want to break your focus while you're writing to look for studies that back up your claims unless you absolutely have to. That’s a waste of your precious focus time!
Write your introduction last
The introduction section is usually the section I have the hardest time with when writing blog posts. And I know I'm not the only one. They're tough because they're supposed to introduce the reader to the rest of the article and make them excited about reading it! So, by starting off with them, you’re basically asking yourself to promote a product that doesn’t even exist yet.
Uh, that gives me Fyre Festival vibes.
So, do yourself a favor and wait until you’ve completed the rest of the article to write the introduction. You’ll breeze through it.
Use voice tools
I’ve talked on and on about the importance of writing conversationally in some of my other blog posts.
One of the best ways to do this?
Use voice recording tools to “write” your blogs. Humans speak at around 110-150 words per minute. I don’t know about you, but I can only type 60 words per minute on a good day. So, if you really want to write a blog faster, “speak” your blog. Greatest. Life. Hack. Ever.
Use the pomodoro technique
Writing can take a lot of concentration. It’s not typically a task you can do while listening to Justin Bieber or Mariah Carey. But concentration is not easy to come by.
In fact, a lot of research shows that the average person is only able to concentrate on a specific task for around 10 to 52 minutes. If you go much longer than this, your brain pretty much turns into jelly. Since writing (and therefore writing fast) takes a lot of concentration, you need to maximize your concentration to write faster.
My favorite way to break up tasks in a way that I can work efficiently without burning out is the Pomodoro technique. It’s pretty simple.
Break up your work into intervals (usually 25 minutes, called “Pomodoros”).
After each Pomodoro, take a short break (typically 5 minutes).
After completing four Pomodoros, take a longer break (usually 15–30 minutes).
Write, write, write
Everyone knows that practice makes perfect (or at least very good). Writing faster is no different. While the strategies I talk about in this article are going to help you write faster immediately, you need to practice these skills consistently to reach your full potential. It’s time to get your 10,000 hours in!
Don’t edit while you write
Again, distractions can significantly increase the time it takes you to complete any task.
And guess what?
Editing is a distraction! Constantly scrutinizing and revising sentences as you write them just disrupts the natural flow of ideas, making it difficult to keep the momentum going. So, by just letting your thoughts run wild while writing and editing later, you can make sure you’re fully focused WHILE you're writing. You’ll get your blogs done a heck of a lot faster doing it this way.
Give yourself a deadline
Humans love to procrastinate. It’s why we wait until the last day to pay bills, cancel a new App subscription, and, yes, write. So, while the above tips should help you to write blog posts a lot faster, you can spend forever thinking about writing before you actually start writing. Believe me, I’ve been there.
To combat this, give yourself a blog writing schedule and set a deadline for their completion. So, if your schedule has you starting a blog on a Tuesday, include a deadline of maybe Thursday or Friday. And put it on your calendar! While this seems simple, putting some restrictions on yourself, even if you’re the only one who knows about it, can help you GET-R-DONE.
Have someone else write your content
Now that we’ve reached the end of this blog post, do you know what the fastest way to write content is? Not writing your content.
But getting someone else to write it for you! If your schedule is jam-packed and you have it in your budget to hire a writer to get it done for you, what are you waiting for?