Write 3-5 Blog Posts a Week Even If You are Just One Person

Here’s a shout out to the one-person marketing teams. I’m talking to you—you lone wolf, solo artist, do-it-all, wear-many-hats marketer. I know your job is hard. You’ve got tons to do in the course of a day. So when I say, “How are your blog posts doing?” I can imagine either a huge sigh or resounding, cackling laughter. Even if you are managing to get original content out there on a regular basis—and good for you if you are—it’s hard to keep coming up with ideas. That’s where this post comes in. I’m going to give you a list of 4 steps to take so you can blog on a regular basis, even if you a one-person team.

Finding the Time

The biggest issue with maintaining a constant stream of content is finding the time to create it. But if you set yourself up ahead of time with 15-20 inspiration templates, the writing will come more easily. Here’s how.

Step 1: Start with an Inspiration Template

After you have done your keyword research or thought about your topics, and written them all down in a content calendar you’ll have a general idea of your next few blog post topics. Next you’ll need to create a document that has all the elements you need to start writing.

1. Title: A title helps you stay focused on the story you are writing.
2. Persona or target audience: Having a clear idea of who you are writing for—their questions, situations, and backstory—helps you target your blog.
3. Keyword: This phrase or word should appear a few times throughout your blog. Don’t force it. If you stay on topic, it should come naturally.
4. Two or three key points: This is a very short outline, in effect. Be sure to include a call to action.
5. Image: For some writers, a photo helps with inspiration.
6. Word count or paragraph count: By noting the length of your blog (600 to 800 words, or 3 paragraphs) you will mentally keep the length in mind as you are writing.

Example:

Title: Easy Summer Travels With Your Pet

Persona: Crazy Cat Lady Clara

Keyword: travelling with your pet

600-800 words

Key Points:

• Trips can make pets anxious
• Medications, familiar objects, comfortable surroundings, frequent stops can help
• Don’t let anxiety stop you from bringing them along

Added Bonus:

These templates can be used for getting approval on the topics you plan on writing.

Step 2: No More Excuses! Get Writing

Set aside 30 minutes every day, at the same time of day, when all you do is write a blog. It’s tempting to abandon a blog and switch to another topic, but try to force yourself to spend the time on this one topic. If you don’t get into the flow of the entire blog, write something—a paragraph, a thought, a piece of the story—and fill it in the next day.

If You Get Stuck

Don’t beat yourself up if you get stuck. Write down sentences that pop into your head, even if they don’t go together. Pretend that you are talking to a friend, and write your words down verbatim. Use your phone to actually dictate the blog, and then go back and edit. Lie down, or stand up. Stare out the window, and see if any ideas come to you.

Step 3: Set Aside Time For Finishing

It does take time to edit, publish, and come up with social posts to promote your blog. I like to set aside about an hour a week just for these tasks.

Step 4: Maintaining the Momentum

There are a few things that may prevent you from producing several blogs a week. You may write every day but only complete one blog a week. Or you may write a blog, and then it goes into a series of edits. Don’t worry about it too much. By dedicating time every day, you are still producing content more frequently than if you didn’t put the time in. The important thing is to get blogs out to your audience.

Out of Ideas? Here You Go:

It’s normal to run out of ideas at some point. Here are some resources for finding a new take on the same old subject. Any of these can become “regular” posts—ones you do every week. For example:

1. Answer a FAQ that you get from your customers.
2. Write a review of your favorite resources or tools.
3. Comment on an article someone else wrote (bonus: let the author know you wrote about them. You may get a reciprocal link).
4. List your top blogs from the week or pass along fun comments from social posts.
5. Write about company news or upcoming products.
6. Recap a conference you attended.

Bringing It All Together

By having 15-20 templates ready to go and setting aside time every day to focus just on the writing, you should get to a point where you can crank out 3-4 blog posts a week, allowing 1-2 days for coming up with new topics, editing, scheduling, and promoting on social media.