Writing an epic blog post is a lot of work.
Most of the time, it’s worth it.
But there are days when you’re not feeling up to the challenge.
We’ve all been there.
Don’t worry about it.
On the days when you don’t have the time, energy or resources to write a masterpiece, you can still share something that’s relevant and engaging with your readers.
Here are 4 tricks to writing a blog post without doing any work.
1. Survey Thought Leaders
Invite 4-6 leaders in your space to answer a question in 100 words or less, and then showcase their answers in a post.
This is a great way to tap into the heart of what’s trending in your industry. And, since you highlight other professionals in your field, there’s a higher chance your post will be shared by them and reach their following.
Plus you’ll look like a genius for pulling it together.
Without doing any work.
Ekaterina did a great example of this on her blog EnergyMatch.
She posed the question “How can content marketing help small businesses generate leads and drive revenue?” to several content markers, then published their comments in her post: 6 Content Strategists On How To Use Content Marketing To Drive Revenue.
She also included a call to action to encourage readers to send a “thank you tweet” if they liked the post.
This is easy to do using ClickToTweet, and once again, increases the likelihood that people will share your post.
Remember to include names, Twitter handles and photos of the professionals you showcase.
2. Showcase Your Best
You’ve written great blog posts.
Why not take a few minutes to choose your top 5 and create a “Best Ofs” blog post.
There are a lot of ways you can do this.
- Best Of for a time frame
Eg: [Blog Name]’s 5 Best Blog Posts of 2013 or [Blog Name]’s 3 Top Performing Blog Posts of January
- Best Of for a topic
Eg: [Blog Name]’s 5 Best Posts on Content Marketing or [Blog Name]’s 5 Most Surprising Posts on Stress Reduction
- Best Of on social media
Eg: [Blog Name]’s Top 5 Shared Posts on Native Advertising or [Blog Name]’s 5 Most Popular Posts on Twitter
Once you’ve chosen your angle and selected your posts, include the title of each post along with a quick summary and the link. All you have to do is add a quick introduction and conclusion, and you’re set!
3. Invite a Guest Author
Maybe you’re already guest blogging on popular blogs to grow your readership.
Maybe you’re not.
Either way, inviting great bloggers in your space to do a post on your blog is a good way to generate relevant and engaging content for your readers, increase the diversity and scope of your blog, and build relationships with industry professionals. Plus, there’s a good chance your guest blogger will share the post, helping you increase your online reach.
Before you invite guest bloggers, read Neil Patel’s thoughts on the 7 Rules You Need To Follow Before Accepting Guest Blog Posts.
4. Social Media MashUp
We have a lot of conversations and share a lot of content on social media.
Since social can be fragmented, summarizing what’s trending in your industry through a blog post can be a great way to capture the heart of the conversation for your readers.
There are a lot of ways you can do this.
My 2 favourite tools to make a blog post from the social web are Storify and Spokal.
- Storify is a free social media tool that lets you find and curate tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram pictures and other social media content into one post.
- Spokal also allows you do to this using our drag and drop editor, so you can easily find and add engaging tweets, videos and images from across the web.
- You can also find content from the social web and curate a post using your blogging interface.
In all cases, the key is to narrate the flow and guide your readers through the conversation. Check out these examples on hot items by Marc Jacobs, on teleportation and the beginning of Dreamforce for an idea of what this can look like.
Final Thoughts: Easy Blogging Tips
Writing a blog post is easy.
Writing blog posts on a regular basis that are relevant and engaging – and that convert your readers into customers – is challenging. This is why most people stop blogging within the first 3 months.
And this is why it’s crucial to create an effective blogging strategy that works for you. So when you’re not in a mood to write a post, you have a group of content and ideas ready to go.
So, what keeps you motivated to keep blogging?