What I frequently find is that not only are my headlines too big, but so is the scope of my original blog post idea. So my usual MO [modus operandi] is to create a big mess and then get the scissors out. I find that instead of one thing, I have at least two if not a series. Maybe not the most efficient way to work.
When you start with writing a headline before writing your post, you can use the headline to focus your writing. This works especially well if you write a how-to headline, because a how-to requires you to think about what you’re teaching your readers in your blog post.
You may want to try this out. I’m not saying you have to change your process – sometimes freewriting helps to generate better ideas, but it can be useful to play around with different writing processes. You can see whether it helps you to bring focus.
How do you use the materials I referenced above?
I use these as a separate step in the process. I still start with a specific benefit, then I write a how-to headline, then I usually write my blog post, and lastly I play around with power words and different headline templates. The challenge with using headline hacks is that it’s easy to get side-tracked and forget about including a specific benefit. We’ll look at this in module 5 in more detail. 🙂
So surprisingly, it’s travel, food, and lifestyle stories. Not new media or writing. Aside from technical difficulties, it’s one of my problems in relaunching the site on self-hosted. I feel I need to be clearer on the next step.
This is exactly what module 2 is for. Just like each blog post needs one big idea, a blog needs a strong focus – especially when you’re building an audience.
“To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.” ~Emily Dickinson Lori Sailiata