Barb’s email reads a lot like others I get:

I appreciate your blog posts, and I understand why creating my own content is important, but I really, really hate writing! Whenever I sit down to write an article or two, I space out and waste an hour and get nothing accomplished…

I can empathize with Barb’s pain - I hate writing, too! However, this internet marketing business we are in is all about writing. Whether you are writing blog posts to keep your clients informed, training manuals on how to use your product, salesletters to sell your product, autoresponder series to turn prospects into customers, or just about anything else, you’ve got to be able to put pen to paper (or electrons to screen) and get your point across.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, you should almost always use ghostwriters for the vast majority of your content, but you still need to be able to do some writing yourself should the need arise - sometimes you just need a quick article on a certain topic right now, and it doesn’t make sense to sit around for a week while waiting for a ghostwriter.
Writing your own content is NOT something that most people can just sit down and do. Without a writing plan, you can end up going on tangents that have nothing to do with what you’re intending to write about, and your 400 word article on HDTVs could end up being an 800 word article about what you like to Tivo.

Your Writing Plan

When you sit down to write your content, always start with a plan. Whether I’m writing a niche article, an ebook, or user documentation for a software product, I always create a writing plan and follow these same steps to help me focus on the goal.

State your Goal

At the very top of a clean sheet of paper (or at the top line of a blank Notepad file, if you prefer), write down your exact, specific goal for this writing session. For example, you may write “Write a 500 word article about getting started with crochet.”

Stating your goal ahead of time and then writing that goal at the top of your page keeps it visible and, more importantly, helps your brain “stick to the subject”.

Create an Outline

Write a brief outline describing exactly what you want to present in this article. Here’s how it may look:

• Crochet is easy to get started with
• As you get better, you can start working harder patterns (keeps it new and challenging)
• Harder paterns keep it from getting boring
• Can provide a unique sense of accomplishment
• Can be a relatively inexpensive hobby
• If you mess up, you can “undo” it, unlike some other hobbies
• Growing in popularity every year

By using bullet points, I can now see what it is I am trying to convey to the reader. Instead of trying to write a single 500 word article, we can attack it in small, bite-sized chunks. You’ll want 6-8 bullet points for a 500 word article.

Flesh Out Each Point

Take each of your points and write just a couple sentences expressing that point. For example, for “Crochet is a relatively inexpensive hobby”, you may write something like:

Unlike many hobbies, crochet can be a very inexpensive to get started with. You don’t need tons of equipment or training manuals. In fact, all you really need is a crochet hook, a skein of yarn, and a basic beginners guide. You can get all of these items for less than $20 at just about any crafts store or online hobby shops.

Just that one point has netted me about 45 words, and it took about 10 seconds to write. It’s not optimized in any way, but don’t sweat perfection - just get the words on paper. You should shoot for 3-4 sentences for each point (which should give you around 50 words per point), and be sure to use your main keyword (or a supplementary keyword) once or twice. Once you have written for each of your bullet points, you will have 300-400 words total.

Glue Them Together

All you need to do now is put your snippets together in a logical order. To help me do this (especially with topics which I am somewhat unfamiliar), I’ll write my snippets on index cards, and then arrange the index cards in different ways until I get an order that I like. You may need to add a few words to the end of some snippets, or to the beginning of others to help “flow” from one point to the next.

Add an Intro and a Conclusion

Write a 30-50 word introduction that explains what the article is about. You already know what the article is about because you’ve already written it. Then add a 30-50 word conclusion that summarizes the article, and closes it out. It’s important that after reading your conclusion paragraph the reader is not left “hanging”. Don’t introduce new material in your conclusion.

Smoothe it out

Set the article aside for a few hours or even a whole day. After some time, pick it up and read it. You’ll be more likely to notice any rough spots that need to be smoothed over to help the article flow better. Also, have a spouse, partner, or mastermind group member read it over and give you their impressions.

Don’t get discouraged - just as with any other skill, you can train yourself to become a better writer… it just takes a little practice. Don’t think of your writing time as “wasted time” like so many other people do - by actually writing, you are training yourself to become a better writer, and in the long run the benefit to your business will be huge.