How to Write a Blog Post & Make It Look Sexy
Think about the last time you got ready for a date.
You got your hair and nails done, went to the mall and bought a fly-ass outfit, and prayed fervently to the style gods that everything would come together perfectly. And it did! You were going for the classy-but-sexy look, and you nailed it, sis. You did that.
Writing a blog post -- or any form of creative writing -- is really no different than getting ready for a night out with "bae". The same rules that apply to your physical style also apply to your writing style. How so?
You must prepare. The same way you plan what you're going to wear, you should plan what you're going to write about.
You must strategize. Once you decide on a topic to write about, you need to figure out how you're going to actually "style" or structure your post.
You must execute. You've laid out the framework, now it's time to piece everything together for the final "look". And last but not least...
Make that s*** look sexy. Be captivating. Be creative. Be confident. It's not just what you write, it's how you write it.
First, let's talk about how you should prepare to write your blog post.
Prepare
As cliché as it may sound, preparation really is key. My last post breaks down how to choose a topic to write about, which falls under the Preparation stage of creating your blog post. The same way you like to take your time picking out an outfit for bae, you also want to take your time choosing a topic to write about. You can do this by brainstorming a list of topics and narrowing it down to the ones you feel good writing about. I have a working list of blog topics on my phone that I randomly add to and reference whenever I'm deciding the topic of my next post.
Strategize
Once you've selected a topic, think about how you're actually going to structure your post. Drafting an outline is a great way to do this because it sets the tone for how your writing should flow. You can almost think of your outline as your "mood board". It can include ideas for your headline, introduction, the main points you'd like to cover in your blog post, and your conclusion and/or call-to-action.
Execute
Now that you've drafted your "mood board", you should have a solid framework for writing your actual blog post. This is the part where everything comes together for the final "look". A few key things you want to keep in mind when writing your blog post are: 1) be clear and concise, 2) dumb it down and 3) proofread, proofread, proofread! I elaborate more on these points here.
Make It Look Sexy
Have you ever rocked the same outfit as someone else and it looked totally different on both of you? That's because you have your own unique style. You threw your own sauce on it. The same thing goes for writing. As I mentioned earlier, it's not just what you write, it's how you write it. You could be covering the same topic as another blog, but your writing style is what's ultimately going to set your content apart. It's what's going to give it that extra "umph". So how, exactly, do you do that?
Be captivating. Think of ways you can grab and keep your audience's attention. A catchy headline and/or shorter, cryptic statements in the intro of your blog post have a tendency to draw more attention. This recent piece I wrote on my blog is a good example.
Be creative. Nine times out of ten, the topic you're writing about has already been written, so think of some ways you can put your own spin on it (like how I wrote this post you're reading, for example lol). Forming your own, unique writing voice is one way you can do this, which is something I'll dive deeper into in a future post.
Be confident. Like I said earlier, your style is what sets you apart; and a key component of style is having confidence. Don't get all caught up worrying about whether people are going to read your blog. If you follow the steps I've outlined in this post, I already know it's dope. YOU just need to know it.
Are you in the process of starting a blog? If you need more help developing your content, book a Blog Coaching session with me!