Or why your shitty first drafts should never be published – and how you can clean them up

In 1994, Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird changed the way many writers looked at their first drafts. If we thought we were alone in our crappy never-to-be-seen first drafts, she cured us of that fantasy. She told us, in no uncertain terms, no one writes perfect prose right out of the gate and even the best writer needs a good editor. For me, it tore down the fear of being a “bad” writer and gave me permission to explore my creativity. “All good writers, write shitty first drafts. This is how they end up with good second drafts and terrific third drafts,” she wrote.

Trouble, is most of us are blogging without the safety net of a copyeditor and our content goes out into the world unseen by anyone but ourselves. And if we’re not carefully editing our work, typos and broken links can sneak through unnoticed. Unlike my print publishing days, correcting some of those errors is quick and painless. But sometimes the errors are larger and can impact whether a potential customer visits our site again. Ouch.

If you’re interested in strengthening your published blog posts, have a look at these common blogging weaknesses and how to correct them.

1. You haven’t defined your blog strategy. A business blog can be an effective content marketing tool but without a strategy, it’s like swimming against the tide. Eventually you’re going to get tired and give up, which leads nowhere good. To fix this issue, set some goals before your begin so you know where you want the blog to take you.

• Do your keyword research to help you map out a content plan
• Ensure each post aligns with your chosen keywords and your larger business goals
• Create an editorial calendar to keep yourself (or the blogger you hire) on schedule with your goals

2. Your headlines make promises your blog posts don’t keep. A great headline that doesn’t match the body text is called bait and switch. It may have worked in the days of Blackhat SEO but it’s not a smart way to attract and retain customers. The good news is that we all fall into this trap once in a while – and it’s fixable.

• Keep your headlines simple and short
• Write your headline first and consider it your thesis statement
• Save the creative headlines for your H2’s where you can have a little more (honest) fun

3. You aren’t writing to readers who scan. If your headline snags the interest of a customer but your content is a big block of text, you’ve still lost them. We’re all scanners now, trying to grab the essence of an article without actually investing the time to read it. It might be lazy but it’s also our reality. So how do you fix it?

• Take as much time to craft your subheads as you do your title
• Add images and pull-out text boxes to grab attention and help you tell your story
• Use bulleted (or numbered) lists to provide more white space and make your posts easier to scan

4.Your blog posts are unfocused and ramble too long before getting to the point. Your college professors might have enjoyed a long, drawn-out argument but your customers won’t thank you for taking them the long way around to the point. If you can use 10 words to convey a message that you originally wrote with 20 words, do it. Likewise, a good writer doesn’t need big words to make them look smart. They use the right words so their customers can get the information they came for, quickly and easily. Remember, your posts should be about what your customers need:

• Constantly ask yourself if everything in your post truly serves your customers
• If your posts feel too long, consider breaking them into parts that you publish on different days
• Simplify your ideas with shorter sentences and paragraphs (or a balanced mix of long and short)

5.Your blog posts are too generic. Do your blog posts read like they could have been written by anyone? Do they offer specific information or do they generalize, not offering real, tangible solutions? Writing is hard work. Good writing that’s peppered with personality and creative solutions will separate you from the crowd. Here’s how you can correct this problem:

• Give your writing some space to express its personality
• Do your research and offer your readers the solutions they’re searching for
• Remember that anyone can start a blog – give your readers a reason to come back to YOURS

6.You haven’t honed your copy editing skills. Whether you’re a new or seasoned writer, it’s too easy to rely on tired clichés or worse, miss opportunities for colorful metaphors and storytelling. Those errors belong in your shitty first drafts – not your published posts. When you’re editing your posts, try these tips:

• Eliminate all clichés – or crack them open and create new, interesting ones
• Let your creativity out with color commentary or metaphors to help tell your story
• Ask for help – sometimes another set of eyes on our content can make all the difference

7.You forgot the call to action. A blog post is the start of a conversation between you and your customer. And everything in that post should be about helping them in some way – but the call to action is important too. Whether you want them to read more posts, reach out to you for more information or come into your store, don’t assume your customers will know what you want them to do.

If you’re struggling with your digital strategy, I’d love to hear your questions and how I can help. Drop a comment below or shoot me an email and let’s start talking.

In the meantime, these posts might help you begin your content marketing journey:

• How to work with guest bloggers
• Facebook versus Google advertising
• Why competitive keyword research is important