Freelance blogging requires lots of reading and writing, but (thankfully for me) no arithmetic. I’ve developed my own blogging process. Here you go.

1. Discuss the topic with client. A phone conversation is preferred, as it lets me get all my questions asked – and answered – before I dig in. I need to understand what’s expected and who the audience is. I take notes as we chat.
2. Ponder the post. I think about the key points I want to make.
3. Do research. I take to the Internet to learn what I can about the subject, if I’m not familiar with it. This step is critical. I create a Word document just for this research, jotting down the URLs and key phrases or ideas that will be fodder for the post.
4. Ponder the post again. Looking at my client notes, my research notes, and my client’s website, I form the thesis in my mind.
5. Write. Now I’m ready to rock and roll. At this point, I know where I’m going with the post and have decided which points to make and when hyperlinks will help support my work. I suggest a few headlines, review my writing, and send it off to the client.

This works well for me. The research notes keep me honest and careful, and if the client wants to see them, I send them along. Some bloggers “dump” everything they know about a topic onto a clean Word document and whittle it down from there. I can’t work that way.

What’s your process?

(c) 2016 Margie Dana