My Writing Process Blog Tour

I C Publishing started their summer blog tour (#ICBlogTour) where they passed the pen to bloggers, from all different niches, to talk about their writing process for books, blog posts or pretty much anything.

The wonderful Lisa over at Inspire to Thrive has now passed the pen to me. If you haven’t checked out Lisa’s blog before I highly suggest it. She loves helping others thrive online through social media, blogging and SEO; and she has an awesome community of readers who always have a jovial time in the comments.

Since the #ICBlogTour is all about exploring different people’s writing processes, #MyWritingProcess will be focused on creating articles for business blogs since that is where my expertise is and even bloggers can learn about how to become a better writer on their own blog through this process.

How do you start your (writing) projects?

When I first get a project from a client, I research their competitors, industry blogs and who makes up their target audience. This info acts as a framework for all blog posts.

During my research, I also write down potential topic ideas that I send to the client for approval. Once approved, I dive into keyword research using SEMrush and Google Trends. I find the best phrasing for words along with a few targeted longtail keywords (longtail keywords can be three words or even a popular question the company gets asked).

How do you continue your writing projects?

Now the fun begins! With my keywords, topic and background info all on the top of my document, I then begin to write.

I pull up all reputable sources on one of my screens (because I can’t live without dual monitors) and scan through each one till I have a solid understanding of the topic.

As I scan the articles, I’ll write down bullet points, phrases, quotes and even my own thoughts regarding the topic (especially if I think of comparisons or how to word a particular section).

Once I have semi-finished outline I’ll begin to go through my sources more heavily and dig deeper into each point. I continue to write by rephrasing concepts and ideas while interjecting transitions and key points that should be said in each section.

While I’m writing, if my headline, intro or conclusion come to me I’ll jot it down. Within 2-4 hours (depending on topic difficulty and word count), I usually have a pretty solid article. Next, I’ll go through rewording, checking for grammar, inserting relevant links, coming up with a few optimized headlines, and making sure it all sounds smooth and cohesive.

How do you finish your project?

I’m lucky to have an amazing editor on staff who I send the article to and she edits for the client’s style and anything that I might have missed.

After the copy is approved, I’ll come up with a few ideas for design and send them to the designer who puts together a few graphics or pictures to go along with the published piece.

Include one challenge or additional tip that our collective communities could help with or benefit from.

Follow the One True Sentence rule. The One True Sentence is the thesis of your post, the reason behind your writing. It encapsulates your entire article and is the main takeaway. If you can write that one thought or idea in the perfect sentence (or in a few shorter sentences) then your articles will be a success.

Passing the Pen

Thanks for reading about #MyWritingProcess. I’ll now be passing the pen to a dear blogging friend of mine Brenda Lee over at My Girly Parts. Don’t miss her writing process as she is quite the character (she doesn’t take BS, I think she’s hilarious, she owns who she is, and she’s super sweet).