Steps of the writing process: how to write a blog post

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Writing a blog post can be an overwhelming task if you don’t know or follow the steps of the writing process. On the other hand, following a clear step-by-step process will make it easy for you to produce more posts and publish them more frequently.

In this post, we’ll find out the steps needed to write a blog post that also works with any other piece of writing. You’ll learn how to craft your piece in an easy and organized way.

Let’s jump in and explore the steps of the writing process.

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Find your idea

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you

Maya Angelou

Everything starts with an idea, and the first step to take when you want to write a blog post is to find this idea. Sometimes it may come out of the blue, and other times you need to brainstorm topics that you know about or have an interest in.

Having brainstormed topics, you need to select one idea in order to expand it and turn it into a post. This idea is the result of narrowing down your topics to a specific focus.

Now that you have an idea to write about, it’s time to search for more information and elements that you need to support this idea and turn it into a compelling piece of content.

If you want to find places where you can get content ideas, check out this post on it.

keyword research

The second step of the writing process needed after choosing the topic is to find enough keywords around the topic. 

Keyword research is a fundamental element in any writing process. 

It is simply the process of finding words or phrases that people are looking for and using them in your content.

Keyword research should be given enough time and effort to get the most asked-about keywords with the least competition.

For example, if your topic is “exercising,” you can research “morning exercises“, “easy exercises” or “quick exercises.”

Identifying what people are asking for is half the task; the other half is choosing a relevant keyword and building your content around it.

You must take into consideration the search volume of a particular keyword as well as the difficulty of using it based on the competition.

Keyword research can be done using different tools, such as:

• Google search: Just type in a keyword related to your topic and see what other keywords or phrases.
• Google suggests: You can also find “people may ask,” and “related searches” on the same page.
• Google planner
• Ubersuggest, SEMrush, or Ahrefs
• Other free or paid tools

Start with topic research

After getting an idea of what to write about, topic research is the second step you should take in the writing process.

It’s time to collect and gather information about your topic to make it unique and full of useful content that your audience needs. It is also important for SEO purposes if you need your post to rank high on the SERPs.

Doing topic research means that you go deep into knowing your topic and identifying its points and needs.

For example, writing a post about the steps of the writing process takes you on a long journey of research and gathering information about how to write, what steps you should start with first, and how you can combine these steps together to come up with a compelling piece of content.

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Here are some resources for topic research:

There are plenty of resources for topic research, including tools and platforms:

• Quora: Quora is the biggest Q&A platform on the internet, where people ask questions and find answers about almost every topic you can imagine. Use this platform to find topics of interest or collect information about a specific topic you want to write about.

• Reddit: Reddit is a famous social news aggregation website used by hundreds of millions of people who share their posts, links, videos, and images about various topics. You can use it to collect topics as well as promote your posts to increase your traffic.

• Google Trends: As the name suggests, Google Trends is a free tool that tells you about the trending topics on the internet so that you can choose the topic related to your niche. 

• Buzzsumo: Buzzsumo is another tool that shows you what topics are trending and being most shared on social media.

• Answer the Public: Answer the Public is also a tool that shows the most frequently asked questions on the internet based on the keyword that you enter. It helps you find different topic ideas that are popular and select the ones that are related to your niche.

• Social media: Social media is another free resource for topic research because it is a significant source of information and a place to engage with others and collect information about what people really like to read and what topics they are interested in.

Preparing an outline is a clever step in the writing process

Have you ever heard about the “lost in thought method”?

It is normal to say no.

It’s a writing approach where you start the writing process without having any plans on how to structure your post or how to organize your thoughts.

It’s just like starting up your car and driving with no prior destination in mind.

Professionals do not recommend using this method since it can be time-consuming.

So, what’s the best way to save time, organize our ideas and thoughts, and present them in a disciplined order?

simply by using a GPS while driving.

A GPS? What for?

Tell me, do you want to reach your destination without being lost?

Having an outline for your piece of content is the same as having a GPS in a car. It keeps you on track and clears your path toward your destination.

• Start with your main idea.
• Break down your post into sections.
• Organize your ideas in a logical, hierarchical way.
• Keep your path clear, leading your ideas to the end.
• Be flexible and make changes wherever needed.

Remember that starting the writing process by creating an outline will help you save time and keep you on track. 

Furthermore, it prevents you from forgetting important ideas, especially if you don’t usually finish writing a post at one time.

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Write a draft first

The first draft is just you telling yourself the story

Terry Pratchett

Look into my eyes and confess: Don’t you prefer to write a letter or send a message to someone you love over telling it face-to-face?

It works better whether you are shy or not.

But why does this happen to most of us?

Simply because crafting a letter or a message gives you more time to gather your words and thoughts and choose the most suitable ones for the situation.

Moreover, people feel more comfortable expressing their thoughts and feelings by writing than by speaking.

One of the most important steps in the writing process is to first write a draft.

This rough version is a must if you really aim to write a quality, well-polished blog post because:

• It gives you more time to think and gather information about your topic.
• It prevents writer’s block.
• You can focus on the subject of your content more freely.
• You don’t have to worry about grammatical, punctuational, or any other kind of mistake.
• Your audience will not see this rough version, and this will reduce the pressure. 
• You can write freely and edit as you like.

Choosing to write a draft version of your post is an act of productive blogging and one of the best steps in the writing process to craft a professional piece that pleases your audience and increases your visibility and rank.

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Edit your draft

The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter-’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning

Mark Twain

I always like to write continuously without looking back or stopping to fix any kind of mistake.

I know it is somehow frustrating to see red or pink lines under your words; we all hate it. Editing as you are writing is time-consuming and has many disadvantages, like repressing your flow of ideas and creativity, which in turn leads to losing your momentum and slowing down your progress.

Once you finish writing down your draft, there will be enough time to edit it and come up with the best version that your audience deserves.

Editing your draft is a critical step in the writing process since it works like a sieve. It is important for these reasons:

1. Catching and fixing errors and mistakes: No matter how professional you are when you start editing your post, you will find a large number of mistakes ranging from grammatical, punctuational, and spelling mistakes. Find these mistakes and fix them.
2. Enhancing your readability: Editing your draft can undoubtedly enhance the readability and clarity of your post. After editing, you can make sure that your post is easy for your audience to understand.
3. Ensuring that your post is well-structured: While editing your draft, you may find that the structure of your post is not right and that it is not flowing smoothly from one section to another. By editing your post, you will make sure that your readers will easily understand your points by moving smoothly from the main point toward the conclusion.
4. Improving your post: Editing your post allows you to improve it by adding more ideas or sections and/or removing others. This will help you add more supportive ideas to your main points or remove unnecessary ones.

Add media

Adding media to your post is a recommended step in the writing process. It is also a necessary part of on-page SEO.

Images, videos, infographics, and audio enrich your content and increase the likelihood that people will be attached to it from the beginning to the end.

Supporting your post with images and videos not only splits the wall of words but also makes it more visually appealing to readers. It also adds more context and illustration to your text. Using Canva to create images and videos or embedding videos from YouTube is the most common way to add media to your post.

On the other hand, using infographics is another visual way to support your ideas with valuable information and to help readers easily understand complicated information in a visual way.

To create infographics, Canva is the easiest place where you can find and edit ready-to-use templates or create new ones.

As for audio clips, you can embed them into your post from many audio hosting platforms like SoundCloud and others.

Keep in mind that using media in a post requires optimizing this media to ensure your website works smoothly. 

You need to compress your images and optimize your videos to load fast in order to keep your readers hooked on your posts and reduce the overload on your site.

Publish

The scariest moment is always just before you start

Stephen King

Publishing your post is the final step in the writing process, and without it, everything you’ve done remains a draft.

It’s important to know that before you hit the publish button, your post should be well-written, easy to read, error-free, and engaging.

It’s also critical to know your audience, their preferences, location, and time zone.

One last piece of advice to keep in mind is to set your publishing frequency and let your readers wait for your next post.

After hitting that publish button, it’s time to consider another crucial step, which is auditing your blog posts.

Audit your posts

Following the above steps of the writing process alone is a shot in the dark if you don’t do a site audit frequently.

Site auditing involves auditing your blog posts to view their performance and catch areas of weakness in order to make changes and improve them.

This will help ensure your posts are always updated and performing well.

Very often, you can find many mistakes in previous posts, even after editing them. You may also find that some posts lack vital information that needs to be added or that some images and videos need to be optimized or removed. 

If you want to run a site audit by yourself, I’m offering a free eBook that you can download and follow the steps every time you need to do it. 

By frequently auditing your posts, you will ensure your blog always meets your audience’s expectations and keeps providing value to them.

READ MORE>> How to update an old blog post

Conclusion

In conclusion, following the steps of the writing process needs time and effort in order to become a habit.

These steps start with selecting your idea, doing keyword and topic research, crafting your outline, writing your draft, editing it, adding media, publishing your post, and frequently running a site audit.

These are the common steps of the right thing process that I recommend. Now it’s your turn to tell us what other steps you take when writing your posts. Let me know in the comment section below.

Until next time.