5 Business Blogging Tips for People Who Hate Writing

If you're already breathing deeply into a paper bag after reading this title, chances are you're exactly the person I was looking for.

You hate writing. It's simply not your thing. 

I totally get it. I was that guy in high school asking his math teacher, "when are we really going to need this?" 

Unlike the Pythagorean Theorem however, you need to be writing and publishing in order to have any success with online marketing. Now more than ever. 

"But you don't get it, I hate writing. I can't do it."

I hear you. Loud and clear. This is why I'm not going to wax poetic on how you can learn to appreciate the craft and instead focus on how to make it a bit easier for you to manage.

All I need from you is an agreement that publishing content is critically important to your marketing efforts right now. We all know this, so let's not focus on theory and get right down to helping make it a more manageable process.

5 business blogging tips for those who hate writing

1. Record and transcribe

Contrary to what you may believe, great writers don't necessarily have an abundance of free time on their hands. Many are even expert procrastinators and find the hardest part of writing is in fact getting started. 

What the great ones do, however, is carve out those invaluable periods of time where they can be productive and hit their word counts. 

You don't have one. And that's okay, because you can manufacture it right now. First, let's think about a time during your day where you're alert, attentive, yet free of any responsibilities. Maybe it's your morning commute. Or when you're waiting to pick the kids up from practice. Whenever it is, this can be your time. 

Find a topic that makes sense for your business, or maybe a common question you hear from prospects and customers. Write down as many of them as you can. Every day during your window of opportunity, record yourself talking all about these topics into your smartphone or other audio recorder. Don't worry about organizing your thoughts. Just talk. 

Later on, take a seat in front of the computer and transcribe everything you said. Organize it in a way that makes sense, with paragraph breaks, headers, and maybe even some bulleted lists. 

Before you know it, you'll have the makings of a solid blog post. Notice how we found a way around the traditional "writing" portion? 

2. Outline 

There's nothing worse for someone who hates writing than a blank screen and no direction. This is not the same as Picasso pondering a blank canvas, and more an opportunity for a beleaguered writer to anguish and express cursory remarks in front of the whole office. 

In other words, it's bad news for everyone.

Never attempt to write without an outline. Ever. That'd be like a novice chef cooking without a recipe. Would you eat it? (Don't answer that.)

A great outline should contain:

• Takeaways – List everything a reader would learn after reading your article.
• Sections – Organize the takeaways into segments that relate to each other.
• Talking points – Briefly list major talking points for each section that support the takeaways.

Sounds simple, but if you give this process the respect is deserves, it'll make writing the article more paint by numbers than creating from scratch. 

3. Crowdsource your ideas

One of the most common challenges I hear among aspiring bloggers is, "what the hell do I blog about every day? Won't I run out of ideas?"

Well, not unless your customers stop running out of challenges or questions. 

Make it a habit to comb through your social networks every day looking for ideas. What types of challenges are people talking about? Not sure how to find this? Simply tack the word "problems" to the end of your industry and hashtag it. 

Marketing agency? Look up #marketingproblems. 

IT company? #ITproblems. 

You get the idea. Social media is fertile ground for discovering ideas and finding questions that need answering. Once you find them, you're doing less writing and more answering. 

Pro tip: Check out our interactive blog title generator and you'll never run out of ideas. Promise. 

4. Write drunk; edit sober

The most frustrated of writers tend to over edit. Before they finish a sentence they're already thinking about everything they hate about it. What happens next is a vicious cycle of writing and backspacing that leaves you still working on an introduction three hours later. 

Take a little advice from Ernest Hemingway (he knew a thing or two about writing) and write drunk and edit sober. 

Now, before you go clamoring for your flask, understand the interpretation is more about writing without the limits of editing on your mind. Simply write. Then write some more. Your writing process should be a freewheeling transport of thoughts and ideas from your brain to your processor of choice. 

Once you have everything down, that's when you go back and make your edits. 

5. Give yourself a break

Another misconception about writers is that it comes easy. They simply sit down, stroke the keyboard for an hour or two, and voilà, the next great American classic is born. 

Even the most prolific writers need a break. A walk. Hell, even a drink. 

Don't be so hard on yourself. If you're not feeling it right this second and time permits, give it a break. Sleep on it. Come back refreshed and you'll notice your approach will be much more deliberate and productive. 

Give yourself permission to get up. To take a break. To say, "I'm just not where I need to be mentally right now." 

Great writers look productive because you don't see them when they're not feeling it. Granted, deadlines are real, and sometimes you just have to grind it out. But save that for the times when it's necessary.

Otherwise. cut yourself some slack.

If you're looking for more ways to improve your writing and overall blog production, fill out the form below to get the book full of tricks.