One Simple Change to Beat Writer's Block, Stop Procrastinating and Churn out One Blog Post After the Other
It's a big challenge to create a really good blog post.
Option 1: I sit down and try to hit the "big one".
Here, I run the risk of running out of steam and never publishing my article.
Option 2: I take the MVP approach and "ship" my post as quickly as possible.
As described here, in my opinion, this is the far better approach.
It only introduces a new problem.
You can guess it...
I have initially only a minimal version.
The task of turning it into a shining gold nugget still awaits me.
So the question is: How do I do that? How can I systematically improve a Minimum-Viable Blog Post?
My best answer: By creating versions!
What do I mean by versions?
These are different, defined stages that my blog post can have.
I know the stages in advance and understand what features they contain.
Version 0:
The post is published.
Headings are not yet formatted.
No internal links have been added.
Version 1:
Headings are formatted.
The first internal links are added.
And so on and so forth.
In short, I have a list of what a perfect post should look like in the END.
This is my standard for a really good blog post.
BUT, my post doesn't meet the full standard right from the start.
I work my way up bit by bit.
We can imagine it as a table:
(Haha, since this is a V0 post, you won't see the table here yet. It'll come in a later version!)
What are the advantages of versioning?
In short, I combine the benefits of quick publishing with the value of producing something of high quality.
Momentum: By not endlessly refining a post before publishing, I achieve fast output and immediate visible results.
Prioritization: I can focus my energy on the posts that have gained traction, whether they rank fairly well on Google, or I see other reasons to prioritize them.
Overview: By building versions, actually versioning my blog post AND knowing what each version contains, I always have a clear overview of what can be improved in which post.
Those are the immediate V0 benefits that come to mind.
If I think of more, I'll simply add them in a later version.
So, what does the standard for a really good blog post look like?
It's a long checklist that includes the most important dimensions, top-down, that make up a great blog post.
I don't have the list on hand today.
But that shouldn't stop me from publishing this article right here and now.
That's the beauty of a Version 0!
I can leave gaps and not hold back from publishing what I already have.
In due time, I will come back to this and link to a checklist for a great blog post.
But until then, today's post won't gather dust in some corner; instead, you can read it on your screen.
Which you just did; otherwise, you wouldn't have reached this point.
I hope there was something valuable for you in it!
Oh, I nearly forgot something!
Of course, we can use versioning in all areas where we want to produce something.
Because we will always be caught in the dilemma between getting fast output and delivering something extraordinary.
By publishing versions, we have a handy solution to that dilemma.
But here comes a secret...
The BIG challenge is to DO it.
To really go back and work on these versions.
How do we come to make that?
My solution is, to put it onto my daily checklist for publishing a blog post.
Step #1 is to take one existing post and bring it one version higher.