You took the leap. You started your own company. Congrats. You know your strengths and maybe, at some point, you wrote short stories or poetry in college and you'd like to take a shot at writing your own blog posts. First, I showed in another post, setting up a blog involves a lot more than writing. Still, if after seeing the scope you want both a blog and to be its primary author, then here are some steps to follow.
Incorporate writing into your calendar
According to a study, the average blog post has a word count of 1150 words and takes 3.5 hours to write. Some post will be outside the average, in either direction. Some post will flow with ease and other will put up a fight, but you have a baseline to plan around. More, when you getting started, finding your groove, expand that time to 5-6 hours to include research, writing a first draft, revising and a final spelling and grammar check.
Make an outline
It can be as detailed, or not, as you need, but make a plan about how you want your ideas to progress. After you get a few post under your belt, you'll see how you put ideas together and might be able to dispose of the process, but for the first 3-5, creating a full outline gives you a road map. Click here for an example
Remove distractions from your writing area
Writing is one of those tasks that distractions seem made for. It's a difficult, time-consuming and insecurity inducing all at the same time. So mus so that we crave and seek distraction. Plan ahead. Remove your line of sight from the TV, turn off your notifications, put on the headphones and get busy. I know, trust me I know, easier said than done, but removing as much clutter as possible from your physical and digital environments equals words on the page
Start with a fact or quote
This take the responsibility for the start out of your hands and allow you to have something to write against, or for, depending. Start a quote collection as you read and store them for a rainy day. Do the same for nuggets of facts you gather during your research.
Read other blogs
All artists mimic. Go to any museum and you will see art students copying a master to gain technique before spinning off to develop their own style. Find a few blogs you like. Don't worry about niche at first. What you're looking for is readability, the balance of providing good information in an engaging way and mimic them to get you started. Write enough, you'll find your own way.
Quick Hits
Don't write stressed. The pressure to get it done makes the words disappear
Try writing in different settings to see what works best; office, home or a third place like a library or coffee shop. Music or no music? Play around until you find what works for you.
Let it go. Once you post it, it's no longer yours (not in a copyright sense. That's 100% yours). People bring all their baggage and see what they will see, even if that's not what you thought or intended them to see. Accept that not everyone will see it your way and move on
Now that you have some getting started tips, hot to it. Hope to see you in the blogosphere. Just remember, long game. Pace yourself. Plan for bad days. Reward all your efforts. See you in the desert.