How to write a blog / vlog / webinar /

You may have this downloaded this template because you found it via
a blog at MindMafia.com, or because a friend directed you to this link.
Or maybe you downloaded it ages ago and need a recap of how to
use it. The intro below will help.

The blank template starts on page 8 of this document.

What if I told you there was an amazing technology which had only
been around for 2 percent of human existence? That is was so difficult
it had only been invented twice?

Once you have this technology, you can live beyond the grave. It’s
how I’m magically transmitting an idea from my head to yours:
the written word.
Running a little business is about letting people know what you do and
why you do it. For years I worked as a writer in finance, but this wasn’t
a job I trained for. I’m lucky enough to come from a family of people
who love words, which admittedly an advantage in trying to string a
sentence together. What I learned on the job, however, was how to put
a structure in place to make it easy to create a lot of content. I’m going
to show you how I do just that.

Why you need to spread the word?

Firstly, before you start writing anything, go do stuff. Me personally, I

might read a book or a magazine. I need to give my brain input. Go
to a show, meet a friend for lunch, see some comedy. To have
something to say, you also need to have a life. The inspiration for this
blog came from the book “How to invent everything” by Ryan North.
It’s great. Get a copy. I give you full license to procrastinate.
 How to outline your article - make a skeleton

You might want to write a blog for your website, or a short article, and
are struggling to get it down. So how do you start?

Firstly, I aim to write about things that are useful for you, a little business
owner. Fun as it might be to write about my fitness regime (spoiler: there
isn’t one), if I’m writing a blog it’s to convey information that helps you
get ahead. Think about what’s useful for your audience, your clients.
What do you know that they might like to know?

The I crack open a word doc and write this skeleton list:

Distribution
Image
Title
Intro
Para one Heading
Paragraph One
Para two Heading
Paragraph Two
Para three Heading
Paragraph Three
Outro
Banging conclusion
CTA (Call To Action)

This is my paint-by-numbers approach to writing a blog, and you can use

it to help you get started if you’re struggling.

Before I start, I probably have an idea of where the article is going to

published, because I might want to tweak it a little for different audiences,
but on the whole I’m likely to distribute the article on the MindMafia
website, and also on Medium, LinkedIn and Facebook. Hence
“Distribution”. You can decide that at the very end.

Now, here’s the trick. I start in the middle of the skeleton I’ve made.
 Why should you start in the middle?

We start in the middle, because we need to get started! The stuff that
trips you up, in writing as in life, is worrying about the start. That first
gym session. Eating more leafy vegetables. The first kiss. That first
bloody wretched sentence.

So start in the middle, and you can knock something up and then
worry about the details once you’ve got the bones of it done.

I write paragraph one. Without knowing how I’m going to start OR

finish the article. I leap into the middle because I know I’m going to
make 3 main points in the article:

One: A bit of background as to why I’m raising the topic

Two: An explanation of what I’m going to tell you
Three: How to apply it to your life and your business

Then I write a short conclusion (my outro) and a (hopefully) funny

one-liner summarising the points I’ve made, to give the article a bit of
a punch.

Then I give each paragraph a headline, setting you up for the content
in it. If I can, I’ll phrase these as a question, with the first line of the
paragraph being an answer to the question.

By now, I probably have an idea of what my Title will be, so I go back

to the top and write and intro to the article – around 50 words. The
point of writing the intro LAST is that now you can set your audience
up for the punchline at the end of the article. Here’s where we start to
weave a theme through the article so that it all hangs together.
https://www.mindmafia.com/content-creation-opt-in?
fbclid=IwAR2_E60lIzoADE91HDNeZzQSCB_N4k_UCAqRxXlsWtq-2SQ
eRMH5BglF4wU
Okay, I might add a fourth paragraph heading from time to time.
Particularly if it’s a long article, like this one. But let’s say you’re going to
keep to 600 words. You could break it up like this:

Section No of words
Title 10
Intro 50
Para 1 150
Para 2 180
Para 3 180
Outro 50
Punchline 10

Finally, you need to decide on what image would match the point you’re
trying to make. So feel free to wander off to Shutterstock or Unsplash to
look for an image which works for the theme of the article. Try not to get
sucked into a time-vortex looking at pictures of puppies. The image often
acts as a bit of inspiration for a final title, too. Don’t do what I do, which
is to create a picture for the blog you write using tiny people, unless you
really like to lose time. I do it because it amuses me. For me, the first rule
of working for myself is that I’m having fun. That includes taking time to
make the image.

You should also have a Call To Action on every article at the end. Ask
yourself, what do you want you reader to do? Sign up for more blogs?
Direct them to something I’m trying to sell? In this article my Call To
Action is actually a word template you’ve got in this document, so you
flowed a call to action to get you here!

Once you’ve done all of the hard work pulling your content together, put
it aside for 24 hours. Read it again after you’ve had a mental break, at
which point you’ll tend to spot little changes you ‘d like to make, all of
which helps to put the final ounce of flesh on your skeleton’s bones.

Everybody needs a little cushioning.

When it comes down to it, writing might be art, but writing a short blog
needn’t be a pain in the art.
What are your distribution ideas? (add whatever
you’re going to do to the list)

Before you start writing anything, it’s good to have an idea about the
audience you’re writing for. Where are your words/script likely to be
used? Is it for a formal, business-like audience, or for a more personal
crowd? Are you going for a local audience, or for a global audience? If
you’re going global, you need to make sure you don’t use words, phrases
or examples which are going to fail to connect with your audience.
For example, I’m in the UK, but I try to use language which will be
understood by my American friends, and I often reference Dollars rather
that Pounds when talking about money.

• Blog/website
• Medium.com with image/url
• Facebook post
• LinkedIn post on your LinkedIn business page or your own
profile
• Tweet – with link to website
• Pinterest – Pin with link to website URL and Pinterest handle
• Instagram – Image with quote
• Snapchat – flash your boobies at them Do a story
• Some obscure thing no one else is using yet (you genius).
• YouTube video
• Video Ad
• {where else might you distribute?}
Or in Word Here’s an outline for a blog– a blank template is on the last
which to count page
do it

12 Image You can get images from free sites like Pixabay and Unsplash,
or paid sites little shutterstock, istock, or creativemarket.com

11 Title 10 Tell them what the payoff is for reading your article.

10 Intro 40-60 Your intro is the setup. If it was a part of a joke, it would be
the bit that goes “My dog has no nose…” It’s there to intrigue
your reader and to pull them through the article

Para one 8 A heading is also there to intrigue the reader, and to help them
6 Heading get a grip on the content you’re about to lay on them. Let’s say
you’re going to tell them how to bake a cake. The heading might
be “Why a home-baked cake is better than anything”

Paragraph 150 Paragraph one is your background.

1
One Your first paragraph is going to lay out why you’re writing
about cakes. Maybe story about how your grandma used to
bake with you, and how it evokes memories.

7 Para two 8 Pull them through to Paragraph 2 with your

Heading heading

Paragraph 150 Paragraph Two is an explanation about why what I’m going to
2
Two tell you is important. If this was about cakes, it might be about
pre-heating the oven, or how adding more fat or sugar changes
the cake.
Para three 8 Pull them through to Paragraph 3
8
Heading

Paragraph 150 Paragraph 3 is how to combine the knowledge you’ve laid down
3
Three for your audience into something new. Here’s where you deliver.
The short version or the blog which lead you to this template
would have been: “Break your article into word lego, and build it
this way”.

Outro 150 This is where you wrap up, and reiterate what you just taught
4
them.

Banging 25 Try to write a funny one-liner here. Or a serious one. It doesn’t

5
conclusion matter. But it needs to be punchy, and provoke some kind of
emotional response in your reader, so that they are more inclined
to share your article.

CTA (Call 15 What do you want them to do? Ask them to share the article, or
9
To Action) point them towards an action you want them to take.
Or in Word What about using it for a Facebook Live?
which to count
do it

1 Paragraph 150 Since [ ] I’ve struggled with [ ] and when I finally worked
One out how to do it quickly, it saved me a ton of time/money.
[give the background to how you got here, and what it is
you’re going to teach them how to do.

2 Paragraph 150 The reason that this is so important for [your audience] is that
Two being able to do [the thing] will enable you to [whatever the
benefit is]

3 Paragraph 150 Here’s how you do it [demonstrate the answer]

Three

4 Outro 50 So there you have it, now you know how to do [ thing ], and you
no longer have to [what life was like before]

Banging 25 [this is where you write a one-liner about what you have
5
conclusion taught them and you’re looking to highlight an emotion – joy,
excitement, relief – whatever is appropriate the theme of the
Live]

6 Para one 8 [Phase this as a question]

Heading So why is it so hard to [ ]?

7 Para two 8 [Phase this as a question]

Heading Why is so important to fix your [problem]?

8 Para three 8 [Phase this as a question]

Heading So how do I do it? I’m going to tell you…

9 CTA (Call 15 [What do you want them to do?]

To Action) [facebook] If this tip worked for you, please give it a like, and
feel free to share it with your [your audience type] buddies/
fellow business owners, so that you can help them too.

10 Intro 40-60 Hi. I’m [ ] and on this FB Live we are going to talk about
[ ] and in just five minutes time you’ll know how to do [ ].

11 Title 10 The five minute guide to [ ]

12 Image Make an image of your face doing the live for the thumbnail,
with the title of the piece on top.
 Your Turn!

Look at the numbers in the left hand column. Start halfway down at 1, and then
fill it in as you go.

Or in Word What about using it for a Facebook Live?

which to count
do it

12 Image 0 You can get images from free sites like Pixabay and Unsplash,
or paid sites little shutterstock, istock, or creativemarket.com

11 Title 10 Tell them what the payoff is for reading your article.

10 Intro 40-60 Your intro is the setup. If it was a part of a joke, it would be
the bit that goes “My dog has no nose…” It’s there to intrigue
your reader and to pull them through the article

6 Para one 8 A heading is also there to intrigue the reader, and to help them
Heading get a grip on the content you’re about to lay on them. Let’s
say you’re going to tell them how to bake a cake. The heading
might be “Why a home-baked cake is better than anything”

1 Paragraph 150 Paragraph one is your background.

One Your first paragraph is going to lay out why you’re writing about
cakes. Maybe story about how your grandma used to bake with
you, and how it evokes memories.

Start Here!

7 Para two 8 Pull them through to Paragraph 2 with your heading

Heading
Or in Word What about using it for a Facebook Live?
which to count
do it

2 Paragraph 150 Paragraph Two is an explanation about why what I’m going
Two to tell you is important. If this was about cakes, it might be
about pre-heating the oven, or how adding more fat or sugar
changes the cake.

8 Para three 8 Pull them through to Paragraph 3

Heading

3 Paragraph 150 Paragraph 3 is how to combine the knowledge you’ve laid

Three down for your audience into something new. Here’s where you
deliver. The short version or the blog which lead you to this
template would have been: “Break your article into word lego,
and build it this way”.

4 Outro 50 This is where you wrap up, and reiterate what you just taught
them.

5 Banging 25 Try to write a funny one-liner here. Or a serious one. It doesn’t

conclusion matter. But it needs to be punchy, and provoke some kind
of emotional response in your reader, so that they are more
inclined to share your article.

9 CTA (Call 15 What do you want them to do? Ask them to share the article,
To Action) or point them towards an action you want them to take.