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Okay, if you have landed here searching on ‘how to research before writing blogs,’ then I can safely assume that you are a writer or aspire to become one. Working at a content writing agency for quite some time now, I feel that I’m at a good place to help you start with your research. But, before we get started, let me warn you that research is a game of patience. Don’t let anxiety or boredom get the better of you. The ultimate aim of any writer is to create quality content that will capture the hearts and minds of its readers. And this, I bet you can’t half do without proper research. As Maya Angelou has said,
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
So, as a writer, you should produce a piece that connects with your readers emotionally. Makes your readers feel your intent. And the stage for these emotions is set during the stage of research. Research starts with some of the most basic questions-to-self, such as:
- Am I providing the right information?,
- Is the flow of the content going in the right direction?,
- Have I included enough facts, and so on?
The above questions are definitely important while researching. But, your research can’t start with these. The very first thing you’ve got to research on is your audience. Be sure of your target audience and write blogs accordingly. Once this is done, here’s a broad outline of how to go forward with your research:
Understand the topic
Clear your questions and have a clear mind before writing!
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Whenever you are given a topic ensure that you have a clear understanding of it. For example, if you are given a topic, say, ‘Blockchain Vs. Corruption. Who do you think will win?’ Your research on the topic should begin with an understanding of:
- What is Blockchain (in case you don’t already know that)
- How can blockchain help curb corruption
- Will Blockchain succeed or fail in its mission to finish corruption
Prepare an outline
Now comes the hard part, you have to create an anatomy for the given topic. Take help from the points you have already identified in the step above. See, how you can arrange the understanding you have gained in the previous step, in a logical narrative. Identify any sub-points or other details that you may want to include but missed out in the last step. Your outline is essentially the skeleton of your article. You need to flesh it out to create the final piece.
Jot down the main points on what you will be talking about. Make sure that your introduction hooks your readers. Include pictures, infographics, or smart arts for increasing your reader’s understandability. Ensure you aren’t stuffing unwanted and useless points in your introduction. So, in your introduction, try including ‘quotes’ or ‘surprising facts’ or a question to readers to excite them. Researching for trivia related to the given topic so that you can write an introduction that is more engaging.
Fill the outline
Once you have the structure ready, start researching for each section header separately. Collect lots of information for each section, determine how you can use the information for your blog, and build your story accordingly. Create a sense of excitement for readers with every sentence you write. Seek help from only authoritative and credible websites. The real potential of a writer lies in creating engaging content for the driest of topics also. Writing a blog is easy, but writing an impactful blog isn’t. It requires extensive research, high-quality content, and facts to back your statements. So, research is the key.
Anyway, coming back to the research. For each section header (identified in the last step) research between two to five articles existing online, at least. You can read up as much as you like, depending on the complexity of the given topic and the time at hand. Club the researched facts with your original narrative and build a creative story.
This is the approach I follow before I start writing a blog. And trust me, it has helped me become a more confident writer, and above all, a more credible writer. After all, what’s the whole point researching – its credibility! The training sessions conducted at my content writing agency have helped me fine-tune my writing tremendously. And, one of those sessions was on ‘how to research before writing blogs.’ And now that even you have a fair idea on how to research before writing blogs go ahead and watch some more tutorials or hear some interesting podcasts on the same subject to nail your research skills!
