My Writing Workflow: A Quick DIY Guide for Articles and Blogs

I love words. I spend a big chunk of my life reading them, writing them or speaking them. And I love that we are in this new phase of media where people can present thoughtful ideas and valuable information to others through articles and blogs via so many different mediums.

People have asked me a couple of times about what my process looks like when it comes to writing, so here is a friendly little guide of the steps I take when I am putting together a new piece to publish. It’s been a long journey, and I’ve made many errors along the way, so hopefully my mistakes can help you if you hope to start publishing some writing pieces (or already are!)

1. Consider the topic and message.

Most of the time, my topics come from direct questions people ask me in training sessions, things I notice at work or in the world, and conversations I have with friends and family.

You need to have a clearly defined topic, but it also needs to be relevant to the people you’re writing for. I’ve written some things that I have had so much passion for — but people weren’t that interested because it had no relevance to them. I note that personally, the pieces that have gotten the highest reach for me are the ones that came directly from a prominent question from a trainee or colleague.

When it comes to your message, I think the critical argument of any short writing piece should be easily expressed in a 30-second elevator pitch. For…