Writing is hard.

I’m sure you’re well acquainted with the woes of creating and publishing blog posts. You’ll think of a great idea, get to your computer, and open a word document ready to type— but no words come out.

Your idea was great; but no matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to organise your thoughts on paper. And every 10 minutes, you think,

“Where was I going with this again?”

But is that what writing is? Are you doomed to play this confusing game every time you sit down to write? Or is there some way we can escape the limbo?

Ann Handley, a popular marketer and CEO of MarketingProfs, claims that the solution to your suffering is simple:

Stick to a process.

In her book, Everybody Writes, Ann details the 12 step process she uses to consistently pump out high-quality blog posts on a weekly basis. With it, she claims anyone can create easy to read, consistent blog posts without dreading the writing process. And it all starts with a goal.

1. Define a goal

Without a goal, writing a blog post is like trying to navigate through the woods without a compass. You’re going to get lost. So before you write a single word, ask yourself:

“Why am I writing this post in the first place?”

Is it to help your readers optimise their email marketing campaigns as part of their digital marketing strategy? Is it to teach them how to do a proper pull-up?

Once you’ve figured it out, write it bold and clear at the top of your page. It’ll help guide you when you begin to write.

2. Next, reframe the post with your reader in mind

Whether we like it or not, our audience is consuming our content for one sole reason: to benefit themselves.

So to write effective blog posts, you have to determine why your readers would want to reach the post in the first place. How is your post making their lives better? How are they benefiting? What are they learning? Slap it under your goal.

3. Gather data and examples