How to be a Blogger in 30 Minutes Flat!

By February 11 2010, 11:03 am 4 Comments
Tagged:

I’m often asked where I find the time to blog. I often have to try and persuade people at Microsoft and externally to blog on our site, and they ask me where on earth they are going to get the time too.


 


Now, when I was asked a couple of years ago to write for Media Week, I was as concerned as anyone that it would be a huge time constraint and I’d end up letting everyone down.


 


So I came up with a strategy:


 


If you set yourself a goal of, say, two posts a week, that commitment can be achieved in less than an hour of actual writing time.


 


How?


 


Well the first mental block is that most people think they have to write a bazzilion words or it’s not worth their or their readers’ time.


 


That’s obviously wrong!


 


In this time constrained era, we love to read short stories and articles with impact when we’re consuming news & views online. A few hundred words is just fine if there’s a start, a middle and an end.


 


That might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how much content on the web just rambles on, not taking into account it’s being read off a screen and meanders along with no structure, ending up leaving the reader with what I call the “so what factor!?”


 


The other thing you should do is think about what you’re going to write before you settle down and do it. So, on the tube or in the shower, ponder the subject that grabs you and start writing it in your head. Think about the opening, what direction you want it to go and how you’ll wrap it up. Go over the pattern a few times over a couple of days and you’ll find you re-assess parts, adding and taking away bits and bobs as you go.


 


When you’re happy with what’s in your head, sit down, turn the email off, put your headphones on with some classical music, or else you might start typing the lyrics, and just write it all down.


 


When you’re done, go back over it a couple of times and tweak, hovering over the publish button as your refine and then…..click……and your finished.


 


It really doesn’t take long, and the rewards are not only there for your readers but you’ll feel better about having thought deeply about your subject and for having been able to articulate your position or impart your advice.


 


See….now you’re a regular blogger……and it only took up 30 mins of your time!


 


PS: You can also follow me on Twitter & Facebook

  • Ed Lamb

    I think the key thing is to write a blog on a subject you follow religiously anyway and are really enthusiastic about. My Cricket Burble blog (cricketburble.blogspot.com) takes about 10 mins a day on average – you may question the quality though! Research time is zero because I read cricketing media all the time anyway, blog or not, and I would say a post takes on average 10 mins – sometimes more than one post a day, sometimes none.

    But you will see that some of my posts are written at 5ish in the morning so there’s no getting away from it – if you have a job with long hours, you’re still not going to find it easy to post. That’s why the subject has to be something that you’re really into.

  • Mel Carson

    Ed – I’ve taken the liberty of adding your blog as a link so folks can easily click to it and see your quick fire balls –

    http://cricketburble.blogspot.com

    I agree if you write a blog on something that isn’t your work too (which is what I end up writing about) then something that floats your boat makes perfect sense.

    The world would be a very different place if it was filled with content written by people who hated the subject.

    You do not want to read what I think of football or flower arranging…….or maybe you do?! ;-)

  • Ed Lamb

    Agreed. But even with work blogs, the people posting need to be genuinely enthusiastic about blogging….you shouldn’t need to twist anyone’s arm! How many company blogs that started in 2006/07 are still there now? I’d guess at less than 50% (bit with no facts to back that up)!

  • Ami Palgi

    Hi Mel,
    I think there is a big difference between a blogger and a professional blogger, to make it a business (or a home business) it takes much more than 30 minutes, you need a host provider, a domain name, a good blogging platform (like WordPress) and so on. So it is very possible, but like anything that’s worth anything – it requires work! and of course guidance.

    Happy Blogging – Ami

Jobs