Buffer runs one of my favorite company blogs. They set a great example for anyone looking to utilize a blog to grow their business (which everyone should all be doing).
One of the two content creators over at Buffer, Kevan Lee, recently shared how they generate so much high quality content. Buffer writes 4 or more 1,500 word blog posts every week. Their content regularly goes viral with thousands of social shares.
Here are some of the key tips and tools Kevan and the Buffer team use to keep the quality up on such a rapid pace.
1. Spend More Time On Your Posts
Each Buffer blog post takes about 6 hours to write. Most bloggers do not spend that kind of time. Kevan also recommends a three day writing schedule for each post.
“Good content needs time to breathe, and a good writer uses time to reflect.” – Kevan Lee
[Click to tweet]
He suggests researching on day one, writing on day two, and editing on day three. And if you need to produce more than one blog post per week, you can do what Kevan does and overlap your content so that you are editing, writing, and researching each day on three different posts.
2. Write Terrible First Drafts
Write with no judgement and get the content out on the page. Because you can always come back and edit, it is more important to get something on the page.
“Having something terrible is better than having nothing at all.” – Kevan Lee
[Click to tweet]
3. Use The Right Tools For You
A few of the key tools that Buffer and Kevan use:
- Distraction Free WordPress Editor: In WordPress there is a little used feature that allows you to write without any of the WordPress buttons and menu items. It is the 4-way arrow icon on the top right of the wordpress editor.
- Skitch: For screengrabs.
- Trello cards: For keeping notes and link resources on post ideas before the research phase.
- Google search tricks: Get better at researching your topics. For instance, add “AND research” to your search query to find academic research around the topic.
The Buffer team is successful at blogging because they have a system that they stick to. And they work to perfect that system. They commit to the type of content they want to create, at a very high level, and they ruthlessly build a system around achieving that goal. Whether that means improving their research, time management, writing process, or toolset.
Determine what kind of content is ideal for your business. Find your own system based on these tips. Work to perfect it.
- Home page
- Content Marketing
- Digital Marketing Strategy
- Digital Marketing Strategy
- Digital Marketing Strategy
- PPC
- SEO
- Social maketing
- WordPress web development
