8 Steps to writing longer blog articles – Part 1.

Most blog posts are short, usually one page or less and one to four paragraphs long. But, there are times when you will want publish larger articles. In the mortgage industry there usually are no short answers and there are times when you need more than a paragraph or two to cover the topic effectively. Larger articles are approached a little differently.

The regular blog post is usually a quick opinion on a current situation, some information that you want to comment on, or some news you want to make everyone aware of. The longer blog is a more in depth look at a situation or it is an education article that needs more than a few paragraphs to successfully tell the whole story.

For these types of blog articles I suggest that you make the article an installment piece.

Instead of making the article 3, 4, 5 or more pages, you can break the article into easier to digest segments. This way your readers will have the benefit of your full explanation because you were not limited by regular blog limits of space.

In this series of posts I will try to give you some useful ideas on how to approach writing a long blog article.

I broke the process down into 8 basic steps.

The 8 steps are;

1. Title / Theme. Like any article long or short you start with a basic title or theme. Write out your blog title in one or two sentences.
2. Brainstorm. Free form thinking of the major elements.
3. Outline. Using the main title, start with an outline of your article. Write down the main points that you want to make.
4. Tags, Categories & Images. When your outline is finished you should think about tags, images and categories. Tags should be written out in a list and used throughout your article. A few well placed images can also add a lot of impact to your blog article.
5. Forms. Next, decide if there are any forms or references you will use – make a list to use as a check list as you complete your article.
6. Break it up. Decide how to break up the information into 2 – 4 blog posts.
7. Details. With your outline, tags, categories, and forms you can flesh out the article. Write in detail to explain each of the main points.
8. Recap. Summarize your article by reviewing the key points and link to your forms or references.

In part 2, I will review each step involved in writing longer multi-part blogs in more detail.

If you find this information helpful please let me know. I always welcome suggestions, comments and new subscribers.
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