How to Spend Less Time Writing Your Blog

Blog post writing has become an essential part of real estate marketing, but finding the time to put ideas into writing can sometimes be tough—especially if writing is not your strong suit.

But there are things you can do to spend less time thinking about and preparing blog posts so you have more time to spend getting work done.  Here are seven great ideas to help you spend less time writing your blog.

1. Clip and Save Ideas. Sometimes, coming up with a topic is the hardest part.  So always be on the lookout for good article ideas.  When you see them, save them.  Copy to bookmarking sites like Delicious, or use a digital clipping service like Evernote to save photos, web pages, parts of e-mail messages, and anything else you see and hear that inspires you.
2. Write When You’re Hot. All of us have a peak time in the 24-hour cycle when ideas flow easily and we can accomplish much in little time.  For me, it’s early in the morning, soon after I wake up.  Your best time may be late at night or in the middle of the day.  Whenever it is, use it to make blog-post writing go faster.
3. Keep it Simple, Sis. The KISS principle works with almost anything, including your blog.  One of the simplest formats is the list—articles like “The 10 Best Ways to Blah, Blah, Blah” are easier to write than plain narrative and are more likely to be a big hit with readers.
4. Be Short and Sweet. Don’t have a lot of time?  No one said you had to write a dissertation.  Short blog posts are OK and can also be a hit with readers–especially busy people who are short on time.  Outline your ideas in a brief paragraph or two.  Include links or photos so readers can learn more and you’re good to go.
5. Write About What You Know. It’s much easier to write when you’re an expert.  Conversely, reading and researching to prepare a blog post can make the process drag on for hours.  So focus on your area of expertise and blog writing will be a breeze.
6. Don’t Try to Be Perfect.  Every post you write doesn’t have to be outstanding. To be effective marketing, each one should be well written and make sense, but no one will be grading you on your effort.  So don’t spend a great deal of time editing and rewriting.  Accept the fact that every post doesn’t have to be Pulitzer material.  Post it and move on.
7. Always Be Writing. Sometimes when you’re busy, you don’t have a block of time to devote to writing your blog.  If that’s the case, you’ll just have to write on the fly.  Jot down ideas and parts of paragraphs whenever you have a spare moment.  Later, you can pull your ideas together into a coherent whole.  This method works really well when writing a “list” article as in #3 above.  Take five minutes to write one list item while you’re waiting for an appointment.  Write another list item while you’re on hold on the phone. Keep doing that and by the end of the day, you’ll have more than enough for an article.