I am not a writer. I am a builder. This is how I build my blog posts.

I would love to be a full-time writer. I publish regularly on my blog (The Hosting Insider) but I don’t really consider it to be writing. I have always loved reading, and consider many of my heroes to be authors. So comparing what I do, to the incredible talent it takes to write an inspiring work of fiction is a bridge too far for me. Like many people I have aspirations of completing a book of my own. I hope one day I am going to make that leap and actually get it done. Until then I will try to post regularly on my blog. I find composing articles a good way to demonstrate my knowledge and I enjoy putting my ideas into words. An additional benefit involves the amount of research required. This leads to a greater understanding of the subject.

In this post I am going to share how I build my blog posts. When putting one together I follow a fairly standard process. This helps me stay focused, which enables me to publish regularly. I typically set aside three hours a week for each entry. I have a pretty busy full-time job and time is precious. I require this level of organisation, so when I sit down in front of the keyboard, I know I will finish. It keeps me disciplined.

The importance of planning

I heard a story in an interview with Seth Godin, about an audience with Stephen King. At the end of the session, fans were given the opportunity to ask questions of the legendary author. One was: “Which pencil do you use when you are writing?”. The point was that using the same pencil as Stephen King will not make you better or more successful writer. I completely understand that this method won’t work for everyone. My hope is that by showing you my method you might learn from it and develop one of your own. Some people are lucky and the words just flow. They’ll just sit down and put pen to paper. There is no right or wrong way of doing this. In my case, I have to plan what I write. It’s taken me several years to develop and refine my process.

The first piece of advice I would give to anyone starting a blog, or aiming to produce regular copy is to just get on with it. Sit down with your laptop (does anyone still use desktop computers?) and get into the habit of writing as often as your schedule will allow. Like anything else, practice will drive improvement.

Step 1 — The Idea

Coming up with an original subject idea is not easy. When I blog, sometimes I have two or three great ones and I can dive straight in. At other times it can take me several days to work out what I’m going to do next. I should put together a content calendar to make life easier. It would start with a brainstorming session, making a list of post titles. I would then schedule the next three or four months of blog posts. It is something I have been meaning to get around to, but for now I work week to week. My advice is: write about something familiar, your area of expertise or that which interests you.

Step 2 — Start building

Having decided on a topic, I start by making a few short notes. This framework helps me build out the content. My tool of choice here is Evernote. I start with a title (which can change several times before the final edit). Then I devise five sub-headings. Typically starting with an intro and three key areas which I’m going to address. I finish with a conclusion or closing summary. The principal is: Start by talking about what you are going to talk about, the main content and finally a wrap-up.

I recently blogged about employee experience and saved each version of my notes. By presenting these along side this article, you will see how my building process works.

Now I have a list of sub-headings, I can start thinking about detailed points for each. I aim for three to five, but this varies depending on the subject. I list each as a bullet point. As I’m doing this, I think about how the points will connect and how each paragraph will flow. I will often change the order of the sub-headings and the bullet points several times until I am happy. When completed the planning is done. This usually takes about thirty minutes to one hour.

Step 3 — Fleshing it out

Now it is time to put words on the screen. Now I switch to Microsoft Word. I have tried several editors but this is my standout favourite. This is because it is so easy to review with (see step 4). I start by writing several sentences about each bullet point. Each having its own mini structure. First comes an explanation of what the point is about, then how it is done or by whom, and finally the “so what” or why it is important. When complete each sub-heading will consist of a paragraph of about 150 words. I like my posts to consist of at least 600 words. This step typically takes one hour.

Step 4 — The edit

The completed paragraphs from the previous step are still somewhat raw. Now comes editing. For me, this is the most important part of building a blog post. It is where I spend the most time. I work paragraph at a time, often restructuring or rewriting whole sentences. I sometimes find myself cringing at what I had previously written! It took me about a year to realise I will always make mistakes. This step is where you fix them. Being thorough is absolutely vital. Just by re-reading, I find incomplete or missing words which the grammar and spelling checker didn’t pick up.

I follow several rules which ensure the English is correct. This guarantees the right tone, appropriate for business. For example, I will search the article for any uses of the word “that” and appropriately substitute for “which” (this is one of my common mistakes). I will spend at least an hour on the edit and often make significant changes, including the entire order of a paragraph. My best advice is don’t be too precious, be willing to use the delete key ruthlessly. Keep going until you are happy.

Step 5 — Finishing touches

After editing, I’m almost done. I perform a final read through, which I do out loud. You will be amazed at how many small mistakes this exposes. There is something about saying the words aloud which helps draw attention to errors. After this final check, I review the title. I am no SEO expert, so I use online tools to help me identify search optimised terms. A good title helps your post get discovered. Before publishing I often make minor formatting changes and include an image from a stock image site (there are plenty to choose from). Then I can hit publish and share my hard work across social channels.

Conclusion

So there you are, that’s how I build my blog posts. You might have noticed that this article has followed the same formula. It’s a bit longer than I would typically publish and is one of my first attempts at longer form composition. I have been a voyeur on Medium for sometime, and would appreciate any feedback. To that end I would love to hear from you. I am always happy to receive tips, comments and criticism. My long term goal is to move from builder to writer and this is the first step. Thank you for reading and I hope you found this glimpse into my process helpful.

You can read the final version of my blog post on Employee Experience here.