Never stare at a blank page again

Welcome back to Copyblogger! I'm Stefanie, Copyblogger's Editor-in-Chief, and today Brian Clark is sharing a super effective writing process so that you never have to stare at a blank page again. --------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsored by Copyblogger Academy Exclusive Discount You'll Only Find in This Email: [Join Copyblogger Academy Today for $100 Off the Regular Price](=)! --------------------------------------------------------------- The 5-Step Writing Process That Solves 3 Painful Problems ​ written by Brian Clark I once asked the Copyblogger community to name their biggest writing problems. From the many responses, a pattern about the writing process developed ... How to: - Get started - Cut the fluff - Finish a draft These three issues are really symptoms of the same painful challenge, which boils down to not clearly understanding what you’re trying to accomplish with your writing. Don’t worry ... it’s a fairly common ailment. There’s a five-step process you can work through that will help clarify your objectives, which leads to greater clarity in your writing. This method also helps you overcome writer’s block and finish any writing project with only the necessary elements, because you’ll know exactly what you’re after and how to make it happen. Step #1: Begin with the end in mind The most important step in the writing process happens before you even write a word. You must understand your objective for the content. You have an idea, but what’s the goal? From a content marketing standpoint, you’re usually seeking to educate or persuade (often both, and as we’ll see in the next step, they’re actually the same thing even when intentions vary). Having a “great idea” and sitting down to write can often lead to a half-finished train wreck. What’s the “why” behind the idea? Figure this out first, or move on to another idea. Step #2: Identify questions to simplify your writing process Okay, so now you have a goal in mind — a mission, if you will. What’s standing in the way of your mission? The obstacles you face are the concepts your audience does not understand yet, but must accept by the time they’re finished reading. These are the questions you must answer before you can achieve the goal you’ve identified in Step #1. In copywriting circles, we say an unanswered question (an objection) is a barrier to buying. With education, an unanswered question is a barrier to learning. Education is persuasion (and vice versa) when you realize this fundamental truth. --------------------------------------------------------------- Love to write but don't know how to make sales? Content creators love to write, but many don't know how to persuade with their writing to make sales. What's worse is that many writers think they're content entrepreneurs, but they don't actually sell a product or service. So, they spend a lot of energy creating content that never earns them any money. It's disappointing and it feels like a waste of time. Like you should give up and focus on a different job. But we can show you how to turn your passion for writing into revenue, even if you've never sold anything before ... ​[Click here to learn about Copyblogger Academy (and get $100 off when you join today)](=). --------------------------------------------------------------- Step #3: Write the headline and subheads With your goal in mind and the questions you must answer identified, the next step in your writing process is to start putting things down on virtual paper. What promise are you making to your audience with this piece of content? What will you teach them? And why should they care? That’s your working headline. Then, each of the major questions you must answer to achieve your mission (and the promise your headline makes) becomes a subheading. Your subheads don’t ultimately have to be phrased as questions, but this technique helps you learn how to write subheadings to compose a focused draft. Take some time to decide if a particular question is its own subhead or part of the content below a subhead. It’s simply outlining at this point. Step #4: Fill in the blanks Want to write lean content? Answer the questions designated by each subhead, and answer only that question. Do not digress. Do not go off on a tangent. Just answer the questions for this step of your writing process. Do it as simply and clearly as possible. Step #5: Now ... edit If you’ve followed these steps, you’re not likely suffering from fluff. Rather, you might find that you need to add more details or rephrase for clarity. This is also the time to refine your word choice. Experienced writers can often pull the perfect turn of phrase in some places of a first draft, while in other places there are opportunities for better, more descriptive language. Finally, it’s time for content editing: - Does your working headline still reflect the fulfilled promise? - Does your introduction keep the momentum going? - Can you revise the headline, opening, and subheads so that they are even more compelling? Find the writing process that works for you Everyone’s approach to overcoming these problems and finding an efficient writing process is different. The idea is to find the right method for you that you’ll stick with over time. Read on Copyblogger: [The 5-Step Writing Process That Solves 3 Painful Problems](=)​ Talk with you again soon, ​ ​[Stefanie Flaxman](=)​ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, COPYBLOGGER MEDIA​ --------------------------------------------------------------- Share with friends, get discounts to The Copyblogger Academy Have friends who'd love our newsletter too? Give them your unique referral link (below) and get MASSIVE discounts to The Copyblogger Academy. 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