The 10 Minute Blog Post

by Julia D. Stege, MFA

Today is the last day of Connie Ragen Green's 30 day blogging challenge. Her challenge was to write 30 blog posts in 30 days. I got behind at several points, especially during the holidays, but this is my 30th post and it's day 30. On some days I wrote up to 5 posts in one day!

I've learned a few things in that time about how to write valuable blog posts fast.

First, I determine a topic: For instance, "The 10 Minute Blog Post" My topic is always something I feel will be of interest to me and my perfect customers. Once I get the topic, ,all I have to do is relax and let it flow, writing stream of consciousness.

I also use basic essay writing strategies I learned in high school:

1) Write an introductory paragraph outlining what your post is about.

2) Write several paragraphs to support your point.

3) Write a concluding paragraph to tie it all together.

With blog posts, it's a good idea to use headlines, bulleted or numbered lists and short paragraphs, given people are mostly scanning your piece for information that will help them. They don't have a lot of time to read a lengthy article. I suggest keeping it to about 300 words if possible.

Once I have my blog post written, I go on to www.dreamstime.com and find a free picture to use with my blog. I go onto Blogger (my current blog software, though I am slowly shifting to Wordpress) and paste in my post, upload the photo and publish. I can easily do this in 10 minutes, and thus get at least one blog post done in a day. Today I created two such posts in one lunch break while sitting in the living room with my hubby and dogs.

Blogging is a great way to get found online, to create buzz about your expertise, and to build a visible brand. Give my 10 Minute Blog idea a try and let me know how it works. You can post your blog links in the comments below so we can see what you came up with!