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How long does it take you to write a blog post?
Half an hour? An hour? A couple of hours?
Even longer?
If you find yourself dreading writing blog posts because they take so much of your time, this post is for you! I’m dishing out my best tricks for getting posts knocked out as fast as possible.
After all, if writing a post takes less time, that’s more time for you to do other things!
I’ve discovered a few tricks for getting my posts planned, drafted, and published in as little time as possible.
Want to see how I write a blog post quickly?
Plan Your Post
If the first thing you do when you sit down to write a post is try to figure out what in the world you’re going to blog about, you have a problem.
You just added a ton of time to the process, because you weren’t prepared.
So, before you even think about starting to write, do yourself a favor and spend some time on the pre-write phase. My English teachers back in high school really were right. Pre-writing goes a long ways!
I just wish I would have recognized this truth sooner, because I wasted a ton of time!
Here’s how I plan my content.
I typically publish new posts on Tuesday. That means I write them on Mondays. So, Monday morning, I check my content calendar early in the day.
Don’t have a content calendar? This post explains why you need one!
Once I find the topic I’m going to write on, I spend a ton of time THINKING about my topic that day. When I’m cooking breakfast for the kids? Thinking about my post.
When I’m taking a quick walk to get some fresh air? Thinking about my post.
By keeping it in my mind all day, it sort of simmers. Ideas and concepts come to mind, and when it’s time to do the next stage of planning, I’m ready to go.
I’ve been using think time for a long time. But, the rest of this planning system is a fairly recent addition. It’s a little more work in the planning phase, but it makes the actual writing part go so quickly!
Want to follow along? Grab your own copy of my post planner! It’s a fillable PDF so you can easily get all your ideas out on paper.
My planning phase takes about five or ten minutes, not counting all the time I spent thinking.
When I sit down to use my planner, I just jot things down. I don’ worry about writing complete sentences or if my handwriting is beautiful. I just get the information from my head down to the paper.
Brain Dump on Topic
This is the place where I record all my random thoughts. I get the ideas I’ve been thinking about down so I can see them. I usually do this in bullet point formatting, to make it easier to keep track of.
I know I probably won’t use all the ideas I write down here. That makes it a great place to find new blog post ideas!
Unique Angle
Now that I have the main ideas for the WHAT I want to write about, it’s time to dive into the HOW.
First, I try to think of an angle. What is going to make my blog post unique from all the other posts on this topic?
Ready to start your own blog? Read this post on how to do it in baby steps so you don’t get overwhelmed!
Ways to Monetize
I blogged for YEARS before I started taking monetization seriously. Now I’m trying to go back and improve all my old posts and figure out how to monetize them.
It’s so much easier to just start from a monetization mindset. Your posts are valuable. And they have income making potential if you let them.
So, before you write one word of your post, figure out what ways you can monetize it. Will you add an affiliate link? Will you send people over to check out a course or service of yours? Are you going to write a sponsored post?
Have at least one idea for monetization!
Outcome for Your Reader
What in the world is your reader supposed to get out of your post? For this post, it’s to be able to write a blog post more quickly. That’s the outcome I state in my headline and it’s the goal throughout.
Your post should be written with your audience in mind, and you should know how it’s going to end (ie what the point is).
Always, always, always create content for your reader not for yourself. You’ll be much happier with the results that way!
Internal Links
What old posts can you link to this one? If you’re a beginning blogger, you may not be able to do this as often. But, once you get some blog posts up, find ways to link to them from your new posts.
You want to help your readers, and this is one way you can do that. Only link to useful content that actually relates to your post.
External Links
What related posts do experts have that you can link to?
This question will be a lot harder for you to answer if you aren’t making time to read blogs regularly. You must study your craft, and build connections with other bloggers!
Then you don’t have to try to answer all of the questions. You can link to other people who do it well.
Images to Include
Each of my blog posts has a featured image and at least one pin. But, I’m also trying to use more of my own personal photos. It was a challenge from the mastermind group I’m in.
So now I take a couple of moments to jot down the images I’m thinking would work well. That way I can stage them and take them later in the day, or search through our digital photos to find what I’m looking for.
If I know the photo has already been taken, I try to write down as much as I remember about it. This could be which of our kids it included, or a rough year when it was. Without some insight, it takes a ton of time to search through our massive photo collections.
Potential Freebies
Can you use this post to grow your email list? One way to do that is with a content upgrade, or a freebie.
This post has one (see the ConvertKit box above.)
What can you make that would enhance your reader’s experience? Keep it simple, short, and sweet.
And pretty. Pretty helps!
SEO Keywords
It’s important to pay attention to SEO so you can grow your organic traffic. Think through your keywords, and what people may be searching for. Figure out your specific keywords while you’re planning so you can naturally integrate them into you post.
Outlining
Phew! That was a ton of info to cover, and you haven’t even started writing your post yet. But, the planning phase is the most important. A well-planned post goes so quickly!
There’s just one step left in the planning process, and that is creating an outline.
I typically do this straight in WordPress, right before I start filling it in. The outline just shows me where I’m going and keeps me from taking scenic rabbit trails.
Writing Blog Posts Quickly
When you sit down to write a well-planned post, you’ll be amazed at how quickly it goes! I’ve been writing for just over thirty minutes so far on this post, and am nearly at 1500 words.
When you know what you are going to say, you can just sit down and let the words flow.
But, planning a post isn’t the only way to make it come together more quickly. Here are some other strategies for the actual writing part.
Write Like You Talk
No one wants to read stuffy blog posts. They may be grammatically correct, but they aren’t filling.
To help make your blog posts more engaging for your readers, and to speed up your writing time, make it a point to write like you talk.
There’s no way I could create long form content quickly if I didn’t know the topic. That’s why I blog about working from home with kids and finding time savings and things like that.
They are my topics that I know inside and out.
Sometimes I’m having a conversation with myself when I start. I’m thinking – that sounds silly, no one would say it like that. So then I go back and fix it to make it better.
It’s taken me a long time to feel comfortable with my writing voice, so if you struggle here, don’t give up! Keep writing content and it will get easier
Oh – and don’t try to imitate someone else’s voice (unless you’re ghostwriting!). It’ll take you a lot longer because your internal voice will be fighting back about being silenced.
Write About What You Know
What are your topics? What can you write about all day long and still have stuff to say? Those are the kinds of posts you want to write, especially when you’re going for speed.
Use a Comfortable Keyboard
I switched to a Surface recently. I’m still not comfortable on the keyboard. I’m making more mistakes than normal, and it drives me crazy!
I know I’ll get used to it, but it really made me realize the importance of using equipment you’re comfortable with if you’re trying to save time.
You really will write faster if your fingers aren’t straining to find the keys they’re supposed to strike.
Get a Second Monitor
My family’s desktop in the office has two monitors. And, it’s amazing how much time a second screen can save.
I use it for editing (preview mode up on one monitor and the draft in the other.)
A second monitor is also super useful in creating images. You can have the stock photos up on one and Photoshop on the other. (I use Photoshop if I’m creating on that computer, and Canva when I’m on my laptop (which is most of the time!).
Having a second monitor can really speed up key tasks.
Also, you can see below our inexpensive way to raise the monitors with reams of paper!
Write When You’re in the Zone
Are you a morning person? If so, staying up until midnight to write a post probably won’t be your most productive use of time.
When are you most efficient? Experiment and find out. You may be surprised at how much time savings you can get by just working at a different time of the day.
Do Big Edits as You Go – Proofreading Later
If I realize I need to change a whole section of my post, I do it while I’m writing. Even if that means stopping what I was writing and switching things up.
That way, I keep an eye on the flow of my post and make sure I’m going where I want it to go.
But, when it comes time to proofreading my post, I wait until I’m all done typing. Otherwise I miss too many little things along the way.
Want a tip for proofreading faster? Check this out!
Learn to Write in Noise
If you’re a busy mom, chances are you’re going to be doing at least some of your writing when your kids are awake.
Do yourself a favor and learn to write in the noise. You can train your brain to get used to it.
My brain is so used to noise now that I typically have the television on in the background if my kids are sleeping. The old Star Trek movie where they go back in time and get the whales is currently playing…
If you can learn to write in noise, you increase the number of times throughout the day that you can sit down and write.
Streamline the Other Stuff
In today’s visual world, writing a blog post is not all about writing. You’ve got to add images, format it properly, upload ti to WordPress, and do what seems like a bazillion other small tasks.
Streamline those.
Buy social media templates and hire your teen to update them. Batch finding links and taking pictures.
The more you streamline and eliminate unnecessary steps, the faster it is to put together a post.
Want more streamlining tips? Check out my course, Balancing Diapers and Deadlines. I show you how to grow a business while raising a family.
Write Your Blog Posts More Quickly
The biggest takeaway I want you to have from this post is that a well-planned post is WAY faster to write than an unplanned one. The time investment is definitely worth it. And as a bonus, you can typically do the planning when all the kids are awake since it doesn’t need your concentration in such a way that writing does.
So plan your post. Outline it. Write on a comfortable keyboard. And write how you talk. Plus whatever other strategies I missed in this conclusion.
Do you have other strategies you use to quickly write blog posts? Please share in the comments!
Know a busy mom blogger who wishes she could knock her blog posts out more quickly? Please share this post with her!
And if you want to grow blog traffic, I highly recommend THIS COURSE from Elna Cain! It’s been awesome for me.
Lisa Tanner is a former teacher turned homeschooling mom with 11 kids. She's also a successful freelance writer. Lisa enjoys helping other busy moms find time to start and grow a side hustle of their own.
