As a business owner, you’re required to wear a lot of different hats.

And one of those hats is labeled “Content Creator”. Regardless, of the medium or media in which you share your content, one thing remains the same. You still have to WRITE something in order to create content.

But what if you suck at writing?

For a lot of business owners, writing isn’t their forte.

But you and I both know the importance of content in your marketing.

Obviously, this can be a scary and potentially overwhelming thought. Many folks fear writing or put it off because they don’t consider themselves to be writers.

Good news, friend! You don’t have to be a “writer” to write good content for your website or blog.

To help you get a grip on fear (or dread?) of writing here are my proven tips and tricks to help you write your content even if you’re not a writer.

BE SPECIFIC

If you haven’t heard by now, niching down is a great way to distinguish yourself from competitors. Likewise, the content you post on your website doesn’t need to appeal to a broad audience or be a broad topic. Quite the opposite, actually. Your content should be quite specific.

For example, it could be "10 Fun Ways To Bake Better Cupcakes." A post like this provides value to a very specific target audience (you know, people who LOVE cupcakes). And if you have a website about baking or desserts, then you can pretty much write this article without thinking about it much.

So, why would it be easy to write this? Because the information is already inside of you. See? Easy, peasy.

Be specific.

WORDS

If you’re reading this blog post, you know that my tone is mostly informal, slightly sassy, and totally conversational. Your blog post needs to feel personal - as if you’re having a conversation with your audience. You’ll want to use words that have a lot of “you” in it.

You would use words like:

* You

* Your

* You’ll

* You’re

* And sometimes “I”, “Me” and “We”

Also, think about your verbs (sipping, chugging, drinking) and your adjectives (beautiful, gorgeous, pretty). Your sixth grade teacher was RIGHT - vocabulary will help you win at the game of life.

Make friends with your words and you’ll find your writing becomes easier.

FOCUS ON FORMATTING

According to this often referenced study, peeps on the web don’t read, they SCAN. So, what does formatting your blog post for easy reading mean to you?

Well, it means you can take advantage of using bullet points, numbers and headings and subheadings to break up your content into bite-sized, scannable pieces.

Think lists posts, “Top 5” posts, and how-to posts. You don’t want to over do it with the all the bolds, italics and underlining. But you do want to make sure they’re getting the gist of what your blog post is about very quickly.

BE STRAIGHTFORWARD

What does being straightforward mean?

It means being snappy and short with your sentences (like this one).

It means getting to the heart of what you know - “This blog post is about baking cupcakes”

It means stating clearly how reading it will benefit them - “In this post you will learn how to make yummy cupcakes using only 3 ingredients”

It means writing in conversational tone - “Don’t worry if you make mess, you’re human!”

It means writing so it’s easy to read online, aka: scannable

See, how being straightforward kept you engaged AND informed?

SET UP YOUR STRUCTURE

The simplest method to use when you’re writing your online content is to spend a few concentrated moments creating the outline (or  structure) for your blog post.

Here’s my foolproof process to putting together your outline:

Write down the main point or takeaway of the article.

Using our baking example from earlier, the main takeaway would be how to bake cupcakes in 10 new, fun ways.

Write a rough headline and subheadings.

These could be the number of different ways to bake cupcakes (in our case 10!)

Fill in the content.

Write in the details. List out the steps. Describe the thing.

As you’re completing this process, keep these helpful tips in mind:

Write it as if you’re writing a quick note to a friend. Keep your tone conversational and relaxed.

Don’t worry about grammar and spelling on the first draft. They call it the first draft for a reason. You can always go back to edit later.

Once you have your thoughts fleshed out on paper, then you polish. Go back to edit, clarify, and tighten up.

If you’re into SEO, this is also the time to add your keywords.

So, as we wrap up this blog post, remember to take what you’ve learned and apply it. With a little confidence and a little more patience, you can write valuable content to build and grow your business.

P.S. I’ll be teaching the content strategy class, Content Love & More, where we will creating your content strategy from start to finish.

This class will be focusing on the different types of content, teaching how to create a unifying theme among your blog posts, opt-ins, newsletters, and social media graphics, organizing a "tailored just for you" editorial calendar, and putting your email autoresponders together.

As a class *bonus* you will also get 10 content “cheat sheet” templates PLUS email copywriting scripts so you never get stuck with HOW to write your blog posts or newsletters again. The cost is $95 USD (or 2 payments of $47.50 USD). Class starts May 8th. GO ENROLL NOW.