Writing Blog Posts: Plotted Out or On the Fly?

I write blog posts a couple different ways. Some days it’s the spur of the moment, when an idea strikes or I’m inspired by the day’s news. Other times I hatch an idea, dash something off in a hurry, then let it simmer half-written for days or weeks before finishing it off. Or I’ll have an idea but I’ll need to poll a bunch of people or do more research, so the finished post reads and feels more like a reported story.

Since I’m still a relative novice blogger, I wondered if this was normal. So I asked around. More than two dozen freelance writers and bloggers responded to a question I posted on LinkedIn asking how they handled writing blog posts. I guess that means this particular item falls into the category of researched post.

What I learned: when it comes to writing blog posts, anything goes. Here are some top blog writing styles:

1. Wing it. A lot of freelance writers who keep blogs as a sideline to their main jobs are shoot-from-the-hip bloggers. “That’s what makes it blogging rather than journalism,” writes Jackie Cohen, a San Francisco communications consultant, blogger and former colleague of mine at the Industry Standard. “I think of it as the writing equivalent of how athletes run sprints daily to get their blood flowing. For us, blogging frees up our voices so we stay in top writing shape. Then we can more expertly approach paid writing opportunities.”

2. Get organized. It’s more common for a paid blogger to have an organized system for tracking posts as they move from idea to publication. Jonathan Northwood, a professional blogger who writes for Weblogs Inc., focuses on blogging about breaking news first, then determines what other posts he can schedule in advance and shuffles his research and writing accordingly.

3. Do a little of each. Some writers with both personal and professional blogs use different tactics for different blogs. Jen Nipps, an Oklahoma writer, publishes a schedule of upcoming posts for Confessions of a Fat Chick, a blog that she’s turning into a non-fiction book, and another blog, The Idea Pocket. “Some posts have sources quoted, some don’t,” Nipps says. “Some were very easy to write and post and took very little time. Some have taken up to two weeks, depending.” For a third blog, Creatif, Nipps tried and failed to keep to a strict posting schedule. “It doesn’t work out for me on that one,” she says. Note: My hat’s off to anybody who can maintain three blogs at a time.

4. Change as your blog changes. When psychologist Barbara DeShong began her blog, Mysteryshrink.com, in January, she intended to be very organized about how she wrote posts, which she planned to use for teaching or manuscript development. “The result was that I was way too wordy and complicated,” she says. Then she started tracking which posts got the most page views and wrote accordingly. “As a result, I’ve gone to shorter, specific topic entries,” she says.

The most important thing isn’t really how you write, it’s sticking to the stated subject, having an authentic voice and getting posts up as often as you can. “Don´t worry about it too much as long as you can keep your blog interesting and attract visitors,” says Catharina Bethlehem, a Dutch software developer. “More important: make them come back and interact with you on your posts.”

You can read all the comments on the LinkedIn thread here.