Content Writing For Blogs

Your to-do list shouldn't control your life. 6 methods that kept me from losing my mind: (And doubled my output) 1. The Two-Minute Rule If something takes less than two minutes, do it immediately. Not later. Not tomorrow. But now. This simple rule prevents small tasks from snowballing into overwhelming anxiety. --- 2. Never Miss Another Detail I used to scramble taking notes during meetings + interviews, missing key points and action items. Now, I use Rev’s VoiceHub to auto-record and transcribe everything. It’s more accurate than alternatives like OtterAI and it’s easy to share the info with my team. --- 3. The Focus Formula 3 hours of deep work beats 8 hours of shallow work every time. Block your calendar, turn off notifications, set a timer, and just start. Watch your output soar. --- 4. Energy Management > Time Management Stop planning your day around the clock. Instead, match tasks to your natural rhythms – creative work in the morning, meetings after lunch, admin work when energy dips. Work with your body, not against it. --- 5. The Weekly Reset Ritual Every Sunday, clear your inbox, plan your priorities, set three main goals, and prepare your workspace. This turns Monday from a bottleneck into a launchpad. --- 6. Automate Everything Possible If you do something more than twice, automate it. From email templates to calendar scheduling, let tech handle the routine so you can focus on what matters. --- These tools & techniques will help you stay organized, manage your time better, and maintain your sanity. Try them out and see which ones work best for you. Reshare ♻ to help others. And follow me for more posts like this.

So you've dabbled a bit too much with your favorite LLM and are struggling to write well, or authentically, without it. Here's some prompts to help — for you. Not your LLM. This post was inspired by a few conversations with professionals of all ages who wanted to regain confidence and authenticity in their own writing but didn't know where to restart, especially when the gulf between ChatGPT or Claude-levels of polish and their own thoughts seemed so wide. They wanted to re-learn (or some cases, learn for the first time!) what it meant to write in their own voice. I've distilled my suggestions into four prompts to feed into your biological, onboard superintelligence (that is to say, your brain). "How do I feel about [topic], and why?" Naming our emotions is one of the most powerful things we can do to arrive at a unique point-of-view. Are you feeling anxious? Astonished? Playful? Suspicious? Look up the "Emotion Wheel" for a great way to visualize and name your emotions. To go further, introspecting beyond "what" you're feeling into the "why" can connect your immediate thoughts to your unique life experiences and perspectives. This is the core of what makes you "you." "What do I hope to express by writing?" Writing is a deeply personal act. Yes, even when it's professional or academic-sounding! You're writing because you have something to say, and that special something overpowered the easy inertia of saying nothing at all. That's admirable already. But putting that "something" into words can help you hone and focus your intent, to raise the odds that after you hit "post" or "send" or "publish" that you can look at what you've written with pride. "What do I hope to achieve by writing?" One of the powers of great writing, beyond personal expression, is its ability to influence people's thoughts and behaviors. Writing can inspire, teach, connect, challenge, and so much more. Knowing what you want to achieve with your writing — who you want to reach, how you want them to feel, and what you want them to do differently after reading what you wrote — gives your writing added purpose. "What stories can I tell to express and achieve what I want to?" There's a reason we're so drawn to storytelling: because stories are windows into each others' worlds. Through stories, we share our thoughts, our feelings, our perspectives, our wisdoms, and our experiences. No one in the entire world can share the same stories that you can. And doing so with intent and purpose, even if those stories lack polish, naturally draws people in to your world. There's vulnerability in these questions, because ONLY YOU can answer them for yourself. And that same vulnerability is why so much AI-generated writing can feel so hollow: it doesn't know how you feel, what you want to express, what you hope to achieve, and what stories you want to tell. The combination of these things that makes your writing feel human. So sit with them. Sit, think, and write.

If you hate content calendars…you might just be using them wrong 👀 I love a good content calendar, so much so that I professed my love in a comment last week that got quite a bit more attention than I expected. I also had a few questions about how I make and use mine. So, here are my top tips for creating a content calendar that’s 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 useful (and sneak peek of what mine looks like) 👇 — 1️⃣ 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 Believe it or not, your calendar doesn’t 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 to be locked in. In fact, the less rigid it is the better. Leave space for the last minute ideas and reactive content, and allow yourself to shuffle posts around when priorities change. If you’re worried about things changing around too much for stakeholders, keep a fluid version for yourself then share a more finalised one closer to the publish date. 2️⃣ 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 I know it’s tempting to have everything planned months in advance, but in my experience this often leads to content that feels a bit stale and “templated”. Instead, I try to plan 2-3 weeks ahead max (honestly it’s more like one week most of the time) so that ideas stay fresh and tapped into 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 conversations that are happening in my space. 3️⃣ 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 Another mistake I see all the time with calendars is filling in date slots for the sake of it. I may be in the minority when it comes to this, but I believe it’s better to post less often with content that’s 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 interesting/entertaining/engaging than to churn out filler so you can tick a box. I will argue for 4 high quality posts over 10 boring ones, every single time. 4️⃣ 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 My calendar isn’t just for future posts - it’s also a way to tag, categorise and log past content too. That way when I want to do some reporting or find an old post. I don’t have to spend an eternity scrolling back through my LinkedIn page and digging into CSV files. 5️⃣ 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 If your content calendar is locked away in a spreadsheet somewhere, it’s probably not doing as much as it could. I like keeping mine in Notion as it means I can link it to other databases - e.g. task trackers, client portals and dashboards. That way it becomes part of my workflow, instead of an annoying chore. — Tell me: are you a content calendar lover or hater? 💬

Blogging used to be simple. Write something helpful, rank on Google, and wake up to traffic. That worked for a long time. Then AI got good at summarizing it. A recent study tracked 100 once-successful blogs. The median one lost 85% of its Google traffic. But the split is what matters. The blogs getting destroyed right now are mostly describing things “best budgeting apps,” “how to start a podcast,” “top tools in 2026.” The ones still growing? They’re proving something. They didn’t write another roundup. They built the thing, tested it for real, spent the money, made the mistake, and showed what actually happened. That’s the new filter. Before you create your next piece of content, look at what people are searching for using Answerthepublic.com then you can create content for what people actually want to know about. Then ask yourself one question: Can AI answer this without me? If the answer is yes, you’re writing something a machine can already summarize better and faster than you. If the answer is no, if it requires your experience, your specific results, your data, or your actual outcome that’s where the opportunity is. The future of content isn’t more articles. It’s proof that can’t be faked.

Marketer: Let’s publish the blog today! Me: Sure, but don’t forget THIS: Traffic is the result. Structure is the driver. Here’s what most people miss when writing blogs: The title tag is your first impression on Google The intro determines if anyone scrolls further Internal & external links guide both readers and search engines Supporting visuals turn skimmers into readers The CTA? That’s where the conversion happens Every blog post is a mini marketing funnel but only if it's structured right. In other words: SEO is not just about keywords. It’s about how you guide the reader through the page. Blog posts require more than just good writing. From headlines to → links, Each part plays a role in keeping readers engaged and boosting SEO. Here’s a breakdown of what matters: Title Tag - Under 60 characters - Main keyword at the start - Clear, click-worthy phrasing - Matches search intent URL Slug - Short and descriptive - Includes main keyword - Avoids stop words (a, the, and, etc.) Main Blog Heading (H1) - Includes the main keyword naturally - Aligned with title tag - Catchy and user-friendly Introduction - Hooks reader with a question, stat, or bold statement - Clearly explains what the blog is about - Uses keyword in the first 1–2 sentences Featured Image - High-quality and relevant image - Keyword-rich alt text added - Visually supports blog topic - Helps with AI + SEO recognition Subheadings (H2 / H3) - Use H2 for main sections - Use H3 (and H4 if needed) for sub-sections - Breaks content into easy-to-read parts - Include keywords naturally Internal Links - Link to at least 1–2 relevant internal pages - Use clear, descriptive anchor text - Helps guide readers & distribute page authority External Links - Link to 1–2 trusted external sources - Add credibility and context -  Anchor text is descriptive and relevant Supporting Visuals - Includes graphs, charts, or illustrations - Adds clarity to complex ideas - All visuals have labels + keyword-based alt text Call to Action (CTA) - Invite user to take action (comment, download, try, etc.) - CTA is clearly visible and relevant to blog content Conclusion - Summarizes main ideas or takeaways - Optionally includes a closing CTA or question Marketer: Why isn’t our blog ranking? Me: No structure Weak intro No CTAs or internal links Google sees chaos, not clarity Want results? Fix your structure first. Source Insights: Semrush https://lnkd.in/ebacNpeb ♻️ Repost it to share with your network. Follow me Madhav Mistry for insights on marketing #semrushambassador

Just because you’re posting every day doesn’t mean you’ll get opportunities. Many people are consistent, but invisible. They’re active, but not attractive. They post daily, but their inbox is still dry like Sahara desert. Their page has traction, but their career is static. Their captions are fire, but their positioning is cold. Posting is not positioning. Virality is not value. Activity is not strategy. This is how you actually document your journey in a way that attracts jobs, clients, collaborations, and even scholarships. 1. Don’t just say “I’m learning” — show how you’re applying it. A lot of you post things like: “I’m learning data analysis. I’m open to roles.” That’s not documentation. That’s declaration. Try this instead: “I analyzed sales data from my cousin’s boutique using Excel and visualized the best-selling categories in a dashboard. It helped her focus her next restock.” You don’t need a job to showcase value. Turn everything around you into case studies. 2. Stop hiding the struggle. Document the process, not just the wins. You’re spending too much time trying to look successful. But trust me, the posts that attract people are the real vulnerable ones. Talk about: ~ The day you almost gave up on tech because you couldn’t afford data. ~ How you balanced learning with caring for siblings. ~ What it felt like watching your friends get jobs while you got silence. That’s how you stand out. Because people don’t connect with perfection, they connect with your process. The journey is the proof. Show it. 3. Document like someone who knows where they’re going. Many of you are freestyling online. But opportunity favours people who look like they have a plan. Instead of posting “anything or everything” Craft your content like a digital portfolio. ~ If you want a remote customer support job — share how you handled angry customers at your mother’s buka. ~ If you want to be a content designer — document how you redesigned a confusing church bulletins so people understood better. Be strategic. Every post is a building block. Use it to shape how the world sees you. 4. Teach what you’re learning — even if you’re not yet an expert. You don’t need 5 years of experience to be valuable. All you need is to learn one thing and share it. Let’s say you just learned how to use Canva: “Today I designed my first social media flyer using Canva. Here's what I discovered about font pairing and color contrast.” Teach from where you are. You’ll build community, attract curiosity, and stand out without faking anything. You’re not here to impress. You’re here to evolve publicly and intentionally. If you’ve been showing up and still getting no traction, You don’t need to work harder, You need to position better.

"I don't know what to post about?" We hear it all the time. We got you👇 Most people aren’t afraid of judgment. They’re staring at a blank screen. So they post nothing. Or worse, nonsense. And wonder why nothing changes... Let’s fix that. Here's how Thomas and I break the block: 1 - First, define your direction. Use ChatGPT to discover what matters. Build content from what actually fuels you: "Act as a personal brand strategist. Guide the user through a step-by-step process to uncover their core purpose and define the foundation of their personal brand. Each step builds on the previous one. Do not skip steps. At the end, generate a clear, compelling personal purpose statement and brand summary. Follow this sequence: Passions & Drivers Ask the user to list 5 things they deeply care about. For each, ask why it matters to them on a personal level. Identify recurring emotional drivers or values behind their passions. Strengths in Action Ask the user to describe 3 skills, traits, or talents they believe they excel at. Request one story or moment where each strength made a meaningful difference. Highlight the core abilities they naturally bring to the table. Peak Fulfillment Moment Ask the user to describe a time they felt deeply fulfilled, proud, or like they were doing what they were “meant to do.” Explore what made that moment special, who it impacted, and why it stuck with them. Purpose Patterns Reflect on all previous answers. Identify patterns in motivation, skills, and fulfillment. Generate 2–3 possible purpose statements based on those patterns. (e.g. “I exist to empower...”, “My work brings clarity to...”, etc.) Ask the user to select or refine the one that resonates most deeply. Brand Summary Statement Using their chosen purpose, strengths, and interests, generate a one-sentence personal brand summary - suitable for use on a personal site, bio, or elevator pitch. It should feel inspiring, grounded, and true to who they are." 2 - Start with your goal Charlie quit 9–5 after 30K followers. Tom landed a job with 700. It’s not luck. 3 - Pick your content pillars Choose 1–3 topics you can post forever. Clarity wins attention and trust. 4 - Optimise your profile Your profile is your homepage. People decide in 10 seconds. 5 - Study what works Use Kleo to break down top posts. Success has patterns. Steal them. 6 - Turn daily life into content Slack threads. DMs. Little wins. If it made you think, it’s post-worthy. 7 - Choose a format that fits you Video, text, carousel - your choice. Stick with what feels natural. 8 - Test, then double down Track performance. Follow engagement. Clarity comes from putting in reps. 9 - Engage like it’s your job Daily comments > random posting. Build before you ask. 10 - Keep evolving Your content will shift. Let it. Consistency + flexibility = long-term growth. 6 months of consistent posts can change your life. Not maybe. Probably... Save this for when you overthink it.

“Ever since we got on a call, I read your posts in your voice.” Someone told me this recently. It stuck with me. Because that’s the whole point. When people read your content, they should be able to hear you. Not a template. Not a trend. Not whatever format is working this month. You. Lately I keep seeing advice telling creators to change how they write because AI has learned the formats. Apparently if your posts have spacing now, people assume it’s AI. So the solution is… rewrite your voice? No thanks. I’ve been writing like this since 2022. Same tone. Same rhythm. Same way I talk on calls. If someone reads my posts and hears my voice, that’s the signal I care about. Not whether an AI detector approves it. Formats will get copied. Styles will get imitated. But your voice only works if you keep using it. And I’d rather sound like myself than constantly rewrite my personality to keep up with the internet.

📌 10 ways to add a unique angle to your blog post (so it ranks)—outside of SME inputs (All of these are derived from my real-life editing experience) 🌻 Data, but make sure to contextualize the heck out of it. For example, absolute industry size may be irrelevant to me, but the trends—whether it's growing or shrinking—may help me make a business decision 🌻 Examples that support your POV, when you have a dry, theoretical topic (like leadership theories). I may not understand what laissez-faire leadership is via its definition alone, but I may aspire to be a laissez-faire leader when you tell me Steve Jobs was one 🌻 Niche examples that resonate with your audience. If writing for developers, reference debugging rather than general problem-solving (ClickUp is great at this) 🌻 Personal storytelling that transforms abstract concepts into visceral, memorable narratives. Instead of just explaining the Pomodoro rule, share how it helped you overcome a seemingly insurmountable professional challenge (A lot of writers on Medium use this approach) 🌻 Counterintuitive insights that challenge conventional wisdom, making readers pause and reconsider their existing assumptions about a topic. The more you can surprise and provoke thoughtful reflection, the more likely your content will stick (Check out Y Combinator founder, Paul Graham's blog)) 🌻 Visual breakdowns for complex ideas. Create infographics or diagrams to simplify dense concepts into digestible visuals—even a TL;DR block or a comparison table for tools counts (Finshots does it well) 🌻 Humor or personality to make it fun. A touch of lightheartedness can make even technical topics more engaging (Looking at you, Buffer) 🌻 Historical comparisons to provide depth. Show how past events or trends relate to your topic today. Conversely, predictive analysis that doesn't just describe the current state, but offers sophisticated forecasting about where trends, technologies, or professional practices are heading 🌻 Case studies to demonstrate real-world applications. Walk readers through a specific example to ground your ideas in reality (ClickUp does this well too) 🌻 FAQs that provide extra nuggets of knowledge and more than satisfy the exact search intent What else would you add to this list? Did I miss something obvious? Let me know in the comments! #mishkawrites #writing #editing #writer #editor #blogwriting

I’m occasionally asked for advice on “doing what you do,” which I take to mean: running a paid blog. My advice is simple and perhaps unsatisfying. Write something. Do it now. Take a recent shower thought, unpack it into 500 words, and publish it somewhere — anywhere. Wordpress, Substack, LinkedIn, Twitter, Threads. The specific medium isn’t important. Just broadcast your thoughts. There are no gatekeepers; there is no friction. You don’t need to be anointed as a blogger or an “expert.” You are an expert because you deliver expertise. Just publish an idea. And then do it again a week later, and so forth. But don’t quit your day job. I started Mobile Dev Memo in 2012. I first monetized it with a paywall two years ago, in April 2023. You’ll need to genuinely find the topic of your work interesting to support regular, structured pontification. I almost abandoned MDM at many points in time. The most recent was in June 2021, after a long and thoroughly-researched post I wrote got almost no traction. It was the day of the WWDC 2021 keynote, where something was announced that reinvigorated my interest in writing about the mobile ecosystem. I’m grateful that thousands of people now subscribe to the blog. And that the podcast has become successful. But I spent more than a decade publishing merely for the joy of it. Getting started is the easy part; maintaining a regular schedule, navigating vacations and birthday parties and date nights, is the hard part. And it’s the nature of the internet that you’ll be exposed to vastly more criticism than praise. You’ll accumulate haters and people who compulsively, reflexively push back. Criticism is valuable and can be productive to embrace; you’ll need to develop a heuristic for determining which to absorb and which to dismiss. When to thank someone, when to ignore someone, and when to block someone. It can be exhausting. But it’s also rewarding. You’ll learn more through the process of public, analytical intellectual digestion than you imagined. Just don’t expect to quickly turn it into an income stream. If you’ve considered it, take the chance, and know that I believe in you.