The following is a guest post by Kristen.

If you have been involved with blogging for any length of time, I am sure you have come across your share of shallow posts. I am referring to the posts that are obviously thrown together in 30 minutes for the sole purpose of adding content to their blog. Perhaps this trend stems from the idea that “content is king.” Although I do believe content is important, I would argue that quality is vital.

credit: Nic's Events

This principle is especially true for internet marketing agencies and bloggers alike. It is important to get subscribers to your blog, but if you do not have quality posts, you will begin to lose people’s attention and eventually their money. If you think about some of the best blogs you have read in the past, they were probably focused, proven with evidence and their topic was arguable. To achieve such a post, it most certainly takes more than 30 minutes — but more than that, it takes a strategic approach from the time of inception to final draft.

As a blogger, you are probably stretched for time, so I would like to share a couple steps you can implement to achieve greater depth when you are writing a post. As a part of a graduate class I took at Johns Hopkins, we read John Trimble’s, “Writing with Style,” (get this book if you don’t already own it). Trimble outlines steps to launch a writer into a good piece of work. These steps are focused on long-term posts, but most steps can be implemented into any length post. Here are 7 ways to get your next great post off the ground:

1. Listen to your feelings

While you are still in the conception stages of writing, try finding a topic that you can relate to or one that sparks emotion. Ask yourself, “does this interest me?” — if not, don’t write about it! If you are not interested, then it will come out in your writing and readers will not be interested either. Once you have come up with a topic of interest, try brainstorming different details surrounding it.

2. Start Small

Once you have determined a general topic, it is now time to trim it down to size. One common mistake that writers make is trying to tackle an entire topic. The result is a post that covers a bunch of things with little detail, as opposed to a specific aspect covered in much detail. You can achieve this by reviewing your brainstorm and picking the detail that has the most potential for supporting evidence.

3. Stockpile Data

Now it is time to give your brain a break. Let the topic “cook” so to speak. Meanwhile, start gathering information about your topic from credible sources. Read all kinds of stories, opinions and other posts. Don’t limit yourself to ones that you agree with either. The more opinions, the better!

4. Pose Tough Questions

In order to generate facts and ideas, try forming a variety of questions one might ask regarding your topic. Start with the classics: Who? What? Where? When? and How? As you ask these questions, begin to develop answers in the form of mini-paragraphs. For me, I like to use 3×5 cards, but a word processor works just as well.

5. Develop a Thesis

A thesis serves as an organizing principle for your post. To develop it, you must look over your mini-paragraphs from step four and determine which is the meatiest, or which has the most support. Once you have picked the topic, form it into a question that you will answer through your post. For this reason, it is best to make the question into one that is somewhat controversial. Then it will be your job to bring your reader to your side.

6. Free Write

Once you have determined the general direction for your post, take 20 minutes and write anything and everything that comes to mind. This will break through the writer’s block and give you something to work with. Now read over the draft critically, move paragraphs around, delete sentences. Next, create an outline to achieve the most logical flow. Finally, write a second draft.

7. Filter

Once you have the draft completed, glance through it by imagining that you are seeing it through a magnifying glass where the glass is your thesis. This way you can ask yourself, “Does this information answer my thesis question?” If so, you can elaborate and, if not, you can get rid of it. This creates focus for the post where you may have otherwise become sidetracked. I would like to note also that if you are noticing that there is evidence leaning against your original thesis; allow your thesis to change accordingly.

By following the steps suggested by John Trimble, you will undoubtedly have a post that will be seen as well-developed. Obviously this process will take some time, but I guarantee your readers will be glad you did it.

Author:

Kristen is a Web Outreach Analyst for an internet marketing agency. When she is not blogging she enjoys synchronized ice-skating (like its swimming counterpart, except the water is frozen).