You ever find yourself writing a blog or email only to re-read it later and think what am I even trying to say?
You’re not alone!
Some coaches are great at putting their ideas out there but cannot get the ideas to stick. They don’t know what to do to make it cohesive and succinct. Here are 3 steps to turn your meandering ideas ideas into meaningful content:
- Get it out of your head and down onto paper. (Hint: If you are better at talking than writing, use the voice to text button on your phone). You can also record an audio/video file of yourself and use a transcribe service like Descript to transcribe it for you.
- Once you have it down on paper, re-read what’s written, fixing any words you might need (if the transcribe/voice-to-text got the word completely wrong).
- Write a note next to each section with the general idea of what you are saying. You can write this note in a different color font to make it stand out from the rest of the document.
Put yourself in the mind of your reader – your audience, remember, this ideal client avatar worksheet? That one…those are the people you want to put yourself in the shoes of.
Would they understand what you are trying to say? Go back and rephrase any paragraphs or sentences that might not make sense to them.
Think about these questions:
- Are you talking over their heads?
- Are you using jargon they are unaware of or unfamiliar with?
- Is the idea of what you are saying staying on track with what you want it to say?
Now, I usually recommend doing this next step before you start writing/talking, but for some people, it’s hard for them to think in this way. So now that you have what you want to say – think of what the action is that you want people to take from this blog or email.
Think:
- Where are they going to click?
- What is the one big take-away?
Go back to your writing and add those call-to-actions throughout your writing in a subtle but impactful way. (In general, an email should have at least 3 links to 1 specific call to action).
Now that you’ve gotten your ideas out, you’ve rephrased the content, and now you have your call-to-action, you can use this checklist to check your writing for clarity.
If you’re thinking – wow, that’s a lot of work!
Yes, yes it is.
That’s why it’s so much easier to to START at Step #4 and think of your call-to-action or goal first and write with that in mind. It helps you stay on track from the beginning and if you start to ramble, you can pull yourself back in and bring it back to the main point.
But sometimes this can be overwhelming or feel very constrictive. There’s always a way to make your writing concise and succinct and you don’t have to feel like you are being stuck in a box.
Don’t get overwhelmed trying to create content and let that STOP you from creating content that will allow your audience to find you, hear from you, and take actions to help them move their life in the direction that you can help them.
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