Let me show you how to put together an epic blog post fast.
This is the strategy I’ve used to write 1,000+ blog posts (by hand) in the past 3 years.
Let’s jump in!
#1 Live and Breathe Your Niche
I think the only real needle mover in blog writing speed is expertise.
If you know nothing about your niche, it’s really hard to put together a good post fast.
If you have no idea about your topic, there’s a ton of groundwork you need to do to stand out.
You cannot just rephrase what the top 5 articles on Google say.
That’s never going to rank on Google.
Instead, you’d have to dig deep into resources and possibly even do some interviews to bring something unique to the table.
That’s hard and really time-consuming.
But what if you were an expert in your niche? You could just spit out original content off the top of your head, right?
And that’s exactly what you should go for. Become an expert while you write.
For example, if you have a tennis blog, you should play tennis, understand the rules, watch tournaments, join communities, and whatnot.
Of course, it’s a tall task that takes time. But to find long-term blogging success, that’s what you should go for.
But it’s not just about speed.
Google also wants to see more and more expertise and first-hand experience within blog posts.
It just might be that in 5-10 years, no post that ranks on Google is written by someone not familiar with what they’re talking about.
Make sure to read my blog post about how to write epic blog posts.
#2 Create an Outline
To rank on Google, your content mostly needs to be long and detailed.
My posts are typically 1,500-15,000 words in length.
Now, imagine writing a 10,000-word post out of thin air without any planning.
Impossible. At least for me.
But if you do planning ahead and split your content into outline sections, the job becomes much easier.
Let’s say that you have a 2,000-word post in progress. It’s hard to write a 2,000-word concise, consistent, and coherent post as one big post.
But if you split it into 20 sub-posts, the job becomes easier! It’s like writing 20 pieces of 100-word blog posts.
Simple, huh?
#3 Set a Writing Schedule
Try to write when you feel the most productive.
Don’t force yourself to wake up at 7:00 AM. Find a schedule that works for you.
I don’t set alarms. I happen to be someone who naturally wakes up at 7:00-8:00 AM and starts writing.
I just feel the most productive in the mornings.
But I know a lot of people who like to start their days after lunch. As long as it works for you, that’s all that matters.
Try to figure out when you get the most done and work then!
#4 Use Writing Tools
AI can help. But not replace.
I’ve experimented with AI writers for 3+ years (since GPT-3 was released). Those are good assistants but they’re not able to rank alone.
I, for example, use Grammarly’s free version all the time.
It fixes those silly grammatical issues I always have. I actually fixed one from this very sentence you’re reading right now…
Nonetheless, this allows me to just focus on writing. I don’t need to worry about typos or mistakes.
I recommend trying Grammarly. It’s a real timesaver! Just install the free Chrome Extension and enjoy!
If you want to learn more use cases of AI that can save you time, check this video I made:
#5 Edit Later
When you write, don’t edit or fix anything. Just move on to the next sentence.
Try to squeeze all the information and ideas into the post first. This is the fastest way to get an initial draft of your post.
Don’t even add those images or links. Leave it all for later. If you have an epic visualization idea, add a note like [leave an image here].
After you finish writing, come back to edit and proofread your work.
Here’s how I do it (after I’ve chosen the topic and written the outline):
- Write the initial draft
- Improve the initial draft (fix typos, rephrase, remove sections, add new ones)
- Add images (and brief explanations for those if needed) and add links
- Read through once more
- Publish
#6 Avoid Perfectionism
I’m not 100% satisfied with any post I’ve ever written.
But is that a problem? No!
When it comes to ranking on Google, it doesn’t matter if you spend 1 hour or 10 hours editing your content.
If you graded your 1-hour version 7/10, it won’t be more than 7.5/10 after 10 hours.
As long as your content is informative and easy to understand, it’s almost there. If there are sentences or words you could rewrite, think twice!
There will always be issues and alternative expressions you could use.
I never use complex language in my posts. That just makes posts harder to read and less useful. And you want to be as useful as you can.
Try to understand this section:
And then compare it to this:
Which one would you prefer if you were in a hurry? Indeed, it’s the explanation that’s easy to understand.
#7 Practice Speed Writing
To write faster, squeeze your time window and force a deadline.
For example, give yourself 30 minutes to complete your initial draft.
By forcing yourself to write faster, you’ll pay less attention to smaller details.
This not only makes writing faster but also teaches you how to focus on things that matter.
#8 Use Templates
Develop templates for different types of posts (e.g., how-to guides, listicles, product reviews).
Find all the templates I use by watching this video:
For example, a product review template might look something like this:
- Intro
- What is XYZ?
- Key Features
- My Experience
- Pricing
- Pros
- Cons
- Bottom Line
- Wrap Up
That’s 9 sections—amazing!
Even if you had the most simple gadget to review, you could still squeeze out a 1,000-word comprehensive review with this template.
That’s what I love about templatizing the work. It just makes things so much quicker to get done.
#9 Create an Image Bank
One of the main things that make blogs stand out these days is images.
If your post is just a wall of text, no one will read it through. Nor will it rank.
And by the way, those generic stock photos won’t save you either. It’s good to use those from time to time to break up text.
But most of your images should be something no one has used before.
A good image is something that supplements your content.
For example, look at this post I wrote last week:
There’s a complicated explanation followed up by an actual example that shows exactly what I’m referring to.
To write a truly unique and useful blog post, you need to cover it with images.
My posts can easily have 20-40 images each.
But if you had to go out there and take images every time before you write, it would take forever to finish one post.
So take those images when you’re “doing your niche”.
When it’s time to put an image on your post, just select one from your library instead of going out there and taking one.
#10 Learn Touch Typing
Of course, one way to write blog posts faster is by learning how to type faster physically.
But remember that this is not that big of a change.
Writing say 10% faster will probably not save even 1% of the total time it takes to put together a post.
After all, writing is the easy part.
It’s the groundwork that eats up resources.
For example, I wrote this post in ~2 hours. But it took 3 years of full-time work to learn all of this.
#11 Practice Writing Regularly
Make blogging a habit.
Write at least one post every day. I used to write 2-3 posts per day on my first blog.
That not only makes you a better writer but also a faster one.
You learn what to focus on and what to leave out. This makes you a more efficient blogger over time.
At first, I was able to write only 500-1,000 words per day. But these days I can easily do 5,000 words per day (with the record being about 8,000 in one day).
#12 Eliminate Distractions
Turn your mobile device off. Work on a clean desk without distractions.
Obvious, huh?
Don’t quote me on this one, but I’ve heard that interruptions can take up to 15 minutes to recover from.
If you write a lot, blogging might feel “easy” or something that happens out of habit. But if you have a ton of distractions, it will slowly burn your time without you noticing.
When you write, write.
Wrap Up
To write blog posts faster, you need to be familiar with your niche and forget perfection.
This way you can spit out good content off the top of your head easily.
To learn more awesome tips on how to become a successful blogger, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Thanks for reading. Happy writing!