Brooks is a successful blogger, entrepreneur, and founder of brooksconkle.com.

Seeing blogs with hundreds of articles, you may have asked, “how in the world is that possible?” If you’ve asked yourself that, you’re not alone.

It’s not simple, and it takes time to grow to this level.

In this article, I’ll share 11 ideas to help you write your blog posts faster.

1. Develop a Process

When you launched your blog, you may have also created a process for content creation. I’ve developed my own process that works well for me, and there may be some elements that could be useful for you to add to yours.

I perform keyword research in batches and keep an ongoing list of articles to write based on phrases that pass my chosen criteria.

You should keep track of topic clusters and organize them into categories. You probably want to add these ideas to your content calendar.

You can also monitor your competitors and see how they rank. If you find sites with lower authority than yours ranking on page one, it’s time to pay close attention. If they rank, you will have a shot to rank as well.

2. Use a Template

By preparing a template, you can create your outline faster. Remember, the more quality posts you publish, the faster you will see results.

I recommend using your keyword phrase within your title. If you’re comparing items, then add numbers as well as a descriptive word. For example, if your phrase is “meals for pregnant mothers”, your title might be “11 delicious meals for pregnant mothers.”

Your main topics will be your H2 headings. This is important because this is one of the main ways that Google ‘reads’ your post. It views the structure of the post to immediately understand it better. Each H2 will have a paragraph about that main item. In the example above an H2 example might be “Healthy Teas”

Then you will possibly have H3 headings. You will need H3 headings in the event you need to break down an H2 even further. In our example, “Healthy Teas” might be broken down into H3 subheadings of “Green Tea,” “Mint Tea,” and “Black Tea” (disclaimer: I’m not sure if those are healthy teas!)

If you hire help, it’s a good idea to save your template in a master document. You will send it to them as a part of your training process. In my opinion, hiring help for certain parts of your blog (writing and formatting) are essential for growth. You can find great help in multiple places. I’ve hired contractors using Facebook groups, Upwork, Freelancer, and even Craigslist. I’ve found that there are good and bad contractors on all platforms. You just have to create a process for them to follow and give them a sample job. Pay them for the sample job, but if they aren’t a good fit, find someone who is. It’s ultimately your responsibility to communicate clearly what your needs are and find the right fit for those needs.

3. Research the Competition

Creating an outline from your template doesn’t mean you have to depend only on your thoughts and ideas.

For the target keywords you’re searching, Google provides you with a list of the most relevant pages. Analyze the results of your search.

Consider the headlines and sections of at least four of the blogs you’re considering to determine whether they’re comparable to your site. Google has chosen them to rank on page 1, so pay attention to that. Google is putting the answers right in front of you. This needs to be a part of your SEO strategy.

Then, make a list of what you need to mention in your article, and add this to your template when you create your post.

4. Don’t Get Lost in Research

Conduct some research from reputable and well-known sites and brands. It will provide you with valuable information for your post. In our tea article example, you might find interesting data from the CDC, WebMD, or the Mayo Clinic. All of these are household brands that many will recognize. It’s a good idea to quote these sources within your article and link back to them.

But set yourself a time limit. And after you’ve done your research, stop and go write your first draft!

You may add notes on new ideas that spring up while writing but don’t stop to do additional research. Whether I’m writing on side hustle ideas, podcasting, or YouTube, I don’t have to be the world’s best expert. I just need to be able to provide the searcher with valuable information and quickly answer their question.

Another quick tip – I strongly suggest concentrating entirely on a single project at a time.

5. Write the Entire First Draft

To begin your initial draft, you need to write. Just get going.
I’m using a voice-activated typing tool in Google Docs as I write this. It’s free and convenient.

You can activate voice typing in Google Docs by clicking Tools > Voice Typing in a new Google doc. I even typed that sentence using the voice typing feature.

Write your initial draft without stopping to revise, edit, or do additional research. Continue writing and finish the whole thing. Of course, you’ll have to come back and edit and revise, but it’s a great way to get a first draft completed more quickly.

6. Use AI Tools to Speed up the Process

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently transforming the way we create content, and there are many AI tools available to help you write better and faster.

Grammarly was my absolute favorite tool of the year 2020. It checks my team’s articles against the internet to make sure we are writing well, using proper grammar and confirms we aren’t accidentally plagiarizing any work out there on the internet. This tool is a lifesaver when I’m on the hunt for a new writer and want to double-check their previous work.

Jarvis.ai is a relatively new AI tool, but it’s already generating buzz. Recently, I’ve seen articles that were entirely written by Jarvis. It’s pretty impressive, but I’ve found it’s not good enough to fully replace a human – yet. However, it’s a good option if you’re searching for some broad facts to get your post started and it’s pretty good at getting ideas flowing. You’ll be surprised with what it can write on your behalf!

7. Expand Your Team as Soon as Possible

The faster you can build a team of contributors, the quicker you can publish blog posts and build your brand.

When it comes to writing and formatting information, I have people that assist me. I currently do all of our keyword research and set the article topics. I then pass on articles to a writer. Once written, another member of my team formats the article. Then another team member completes a final check and gets the post ready for my final approval before I hit publish online.

You don’t require a whole team; but when you’re able to, get help. Start with a task that you can create a process for. Then train that person in that process, like how you format each of your blog posts for example.

8. Create a Formatting Process

WordPress also requires a back-end formatting process. We use Google documents to compose our blog posts and store our images in a folder with the content.

The new Gutenberg WordPress editor is simple to copy and paste articles and upload images to the media library. Then, you can insert them into your post. I used to have difficulty formatting in WordPress, but the new Gutenberg editor has solved that. It’s a beautiful thing and has proven to be the most efficient option.

You’ll need to create a process that works for your brand.

For example, before uploading any photos to WordPress, we employ third-party services that allow us to resize the images to a smaller JPEG format. It’s a part of our process. TinyJPG is a great one, and more recently we’ve started using Birme.net.

There is no need for an extra plug-in such as Smush to reduce the size of our picture files since the images themselves are already compact and quick to load.

Set up your other processes and document them. Use a screen recording tool to train others and store these instructions in a tool like Trello or Google Docs. I find that a mix of the written word and video is the best for training. If our process changes, I will make a new video. Or, if we add to the process, I make an additional video and add it to our training.

I use a similar process for reviewing your blog posts for spelling, grammar, and flow. Again, Grammarly is a major player in this, and my team has access to it.

9. Write the Intro First or Last – Whichever Way is Fastest

It doesn’t matter how you do it as long as it works. Some people may have the most incredible hook and opening paragraph, while others have difficulty getting started.

In the meantime, you may compose the rest of your material, and perhaps even the ending.

Just do something. Take action. Do whatever it takes to get your blog article written as quickly as possible, and keep improving your writing and process as you go.

10. Timers are Your Friend

I often set a timer next to my workstation for 20 minutes so that I may concentrate on work that I don’t feel like completing. I can do anything for 20 minutes!

Since there is a timer ticking next to me, my mind is alert to any distractions that could take me away from the task.

Consider also trying the Pomodoro technique which consists of working in sprints of 25 minutes, separated by short breaks of 5 minutes, and sometimes longer breaks of 15 minutes.

11. Networking Online With Others

For a bonus topic, let’s talk about networking online with others. It isn’t going to help you publish posts quicker, but it will help you grow more quickly.

Building a blog is a silo and it can be easy to go it alone. But it’s wise to connect. You can connect with individuals doing the same thing as you. We can all benefit from one another’s hacks and suggestions. Network regularly with the owners of sites in personal finance, marketing, and lifestyle businesses to share goals and ideas.

As your relationship progresses, you’ll gain trust and build actual friendships. You’ll also build a network of contacts that continuously expands as you create more connections, along with the satisfaction of helping others make connections. Eventually, you may even get to meet IRL (in real life).

It may seem counterintuitive, but I believe networking is the most significant thing in writing blog posts. It doesn’t make physically creating posts faster, but it probably has the most effective long-term impact on your brand, and can be truly inspiring.

Wrap up

Hopefully, you’ve learned some new ways to improve your blog article writing. The more articles you write, the more you’ll be able to build your personal brand through blogging.

For success, you don’t necessarily need to follow every step I mentioned. It’s overwhelming to try it all at once. You need the one thing that can take you to the next level. From what you read today, pick the one thing that you can instantly start and perfect. Once you do that, choose another one. Eventually, you will be doing all of these items. At that point, I hope to learn from you!

As soon as you’ve mastered them, you may go on to additional strategies for expanding your blog. Don’t forget about networking, either, because I think it’s pretty essential.

My website is packed with content, but if you’d like to get in touch, it’s best to find me in YouTube comments, on TikTok, or on Twitter. I always love to meet other content makers!