We have covered so much information; now it is time to really write. I have an exercise that will help put your mind at ease. Have no fear; all of this information will become second nature to you as you continue.
But what is most important is to begin writing. Practice will help the most, as well as the information in all 5 of these modules.
What Will You Know By The End Of Lesson 4
Objectives
- How to write – writing exercise
- Apply SEO
- Proofreading
- Proper transition word placement
- List of power words
How To Write – Writing Exercise
It’s time to write and you say “it’s about time.” LOL
Write your post in WordPress or Site Content if you are a member of Wealthy Affiliate. Many like to write in Word, but for most themes and block editor (which WordPress uses), reformatting it into WordPress will increase your time. In other words, when you copy and paste it from Word to WordPress, it will take more time to set it up. However, if you start writing in WordPress or Site Content, you automatically save precious time.
Just Write!
We have covered a vast amount of knowledge to help you begin writing. We did an exercise much like this in module 1, lesson 14. But I want you only to use one piece of that knowledge to start. Set your imaginary friend, the person you will be writing this post for, in your mind and put that person right in front of you.
This second writing exercise will be a story about you or someone you know. It will not be something you post instead it is a writing exercise. But I still want you to write in WordPress or Content Writer. You can trash it later but for now it will help with the learning process.
Begin to write anything that comes to your head that is a story about you or someone you know and write like you are talking to a friend. Don’t worry about grammar or SEO or the proper placement of transition words. Just write! And keep writing and writing. Try to reach 700 to 1000 words.
Empty your head of everything except your subject and the words you are pecking out. Sometimes I close my eyes and just type. Let perfection go out the window. Just Write!
Go Back
When you finish the writing exercise look back at what you have written. If some grammar or typo errors jump out at you then fix them but don’t focus on this.
Your focus will be to reread your work to see if it makes sense. Read it back to yourself but put you into your friends’ place. If that friend reads it, will they understand what you are saying? Have you conveyed your idea and painted a picture? Are there parts of the story still in your head that you did not put on paper yet?
Organize your thoughts so they flow and are easy to follow.
For example:
In this WordPress Block Editor post I start broad with an introduction, then a bit of history, and overview and then I drill down to individual blocks. Easy to follow and flows down just like a funnel to the end.
Picture a funnel in your mind with the largest part as the big information that flows to the small part of the funnel which is the details.
In addition, it is important that each thought is complete. For example:
“Joey went to the store to get ice cream.” How did Joey get there? What kind of car did Joey drive, or did he walk? Is Joey’s ice cream important to our story?
See where I am going with this? Details may be important to convey the proper thought process to your reader. Write to your friend and paint a picture they can understand.
When you are writing a product review the details are also important. Make sure every thought you put down follows through.
Do your words and sentences make sense? When I was a beginning blogger, I would write something down, but when I went back a few months later, I realized it made no sense because my thoughts were broken and scattered.
Read it, reread it and rewrite whatever you need for it to make sense to convey your story or message.
Example of explanations to bring a thought home:
Please read this post and note that I put the meaning of different smiles to help my readers understand what a smile is along with studies to back up facts. All of this helps to clarify what the writer is trying to say.
Apply SEO For Improvement Along With Proofreading
The writing exercise may have taken you a few days but it won’t always take this long. Be patient with yourself.
If you installed the AIOSEO plugin it is time to use it. Remember in Module #2, Lessons 8 and 9 we went over the AIO SEO plugin. Refer back to that lesson if you need a refresher. Now use your SEO plugin and fix the issues at hand.
Proper Transition Word Placement
Transitions help readers understand how to put together their ideas into logical thoughts. Transitions are not just to look good and decorate your writing; on the contrary, transitions have specific meaning for your reader and help them know how to react to your ideas.
When someone reads your work, their minds may be in many different places. Transitions help the reader focus on your ideas and pull them together for a clearer picture. We can use these words to help us write a more concise sentence. Not to mention, Google looks for proper transition words in your writing to help it rank.
With this in mind here is a list of transition words to make your life easier. If you are not sure how to place a transition into a sentence here is a simple way to check it.
While watching your transition word percentage on your post dashboard, put in a transition word or phrase that you think may fit. If the percentage number rises, then it is a good placement. If there is no change, remove it and try again either in the same place or a different area.
List Of Power Words
Use power words sparingly because too many of these words can make a post look like an infomercial and create distrust.
Here is a list of Power words you can choose from to make your life just a tad bit easier.
If you would like to share your post with me in an email, I am happy to look over it and offer feedback. Because your post is in the draft, you will need to copy and paste it into an email. You cannot share the URL in a draft form.
Conclusion
Lesson #4 is complete. You are almost ready to write a product review and publish it but please do not publish the post you just wrote. Instead, use it as an exercise and a guide to follow. Just look how far you have come! Give yourself an extra pat on the back for a job well done. Let’s move on to lesson #5.
