Focused blog posts give readers your knowledge in a neat package. Asking the big questions helps you shape your ideas into great content.

A blog post’s focus comes from the big-picture questions that drive it. When you define your focus, you answer the big questions that determine what information to share, what order it should go in, and why your message is important to your readers.

To illustrate how important focus is to your blog content, I’ll be creating a sample blog post and shaping it up as I answer some big-picture questions.

What Are the Big Questions?

You’re probably wondering what the big questions are. I explain these in my post 9 Skills That Will Instantly Improve Your Writing:

Ask yourself:

1. What am I trying to accomplish with this piece?
2. What journey am I taking the reader through?
3. How do similar [posts] share and build upon information?

These are the main questions that I recommend using. You can also ask tons more, like:

• Which blog post type makes sense for this content? (Not sure what blog post types are out there? Check out the Your Blogging Blueprint course… I talk about them there.)
• What facts/data/information do I need to cover to speak to this topic?
• What’s the most logical way to connect my ideas?
• What’s the best structure for this post?
• What does the reader get from this post? How is their life/business better after having read this?

And so on… 

Case Study: A Focus-Less Blog Post

The best way to understand how these questions shape your content is to see it in action. 

Let’s say that you want to write a blog post about how to negotiate for a higher salary at work. If you go into this post without asking yourself these questions, you might write something like the following.

Negotiating your salary is one of the hardest things to do, but if you don’t negotiate, it will cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over time. You may feel guilty or greedy, or maybe you’re not sure how to ask. 

Be straightforward when you ask and make sure that your conversation is private and free of distractions. It’s best to schedule a meeting in an enclosed room. If you have a good relationship with your manager, you can let them know that you want to discuss your compensation ahead of time. This can help you feel more at ease if you’re worried about catching your manager off guard. 

It’s also hard to know how much you’re worth. It’s important to figure out how much people make in similar roles at other companies in your industry, so you can compare your salary to the average. There are lots of online tools that collect anonymous compensation information that you can look at. You can ask for more than the average if you have an advanced degree or certification, or if you have extra skills or insider knowledge that no one else has. 

The hardest part is starting the conversation. Don’t worry, managers expect these kinds of conversations, and they can’t fire you for asking. The worst that can happen is they say no. But in many cases, they’ll help you find a solution that makes everyone happy.

There were a lot of great nuggets of information in there, but they’re a bit hidden. And what’s the takeaway? The post ends on a positive note, but it doesn’t really stir you to action. 

This post isn’t bad, but it isn’t memorable.

It’s Question Time

Let’s answer the three big questions with this piece in mind.

What am I trying to accomplish with this piece?

I want to help people make what they deserve, and empower them to ask for what they’re worth. If they don’t negotiate for the best salary they can get, they’re throwing away hundreds of thousands of dollars over time.

What journey am I taking the reader through?

At the end of this post, the reader will know why they should negotiate their salary. They’ll also have a few of my super awesome tips to help guide them through that conversation.

How do similar articles or books share and build upon information?

A quick search shows lots of list-based articles (“5 Tips to Negotiate the Salary You Deserve”). They all start with background and context before getting into the tips. They end with some inspiring words to instill confidence and get the reader to start the conversation with their manager.

This big-picture thinking can give this post some direction and make it more memorable. Here are some to-dos that come to my mind now that we’ve added focus:

• State the purpose of the post (i.e. what I want to accomplish) upfront. 
• State what the reader will get from this post near the beginning.
• Pull out the tips into a clear list post – that’s what similar posts do, and it will help make the tips clear and action-worthy.
• Make room for context and the “why” in the beginning.
• Tie up the tips with some reassurance and words of inspiration. The point of this post is to inspire action!

The Focused Rewrite

Let’s see how this example blog post is improved now that we’ve set a clear direction and purpose.

Negotiating your salary is one of the hardest things to do. You may feel guilty or greedy, or maybe you’re not sure how to ask. But did you know that by not negotiating, you’re setting yourself up to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars over time? In this post, I’ll share my 3 best tips for negotiating your salary so you can make what you deserve.

1. Be straightforward. It may be tempting to talk around the question as a way to “soften the ask,” but it’s best to be clear and upfront. Managers expect these kinds of conversations and are often happy to help you find a solution that pleases everyone. It’s almost always cheaper to give you a raise than to replace you. If you’re still nervous, remember that the worst that can happen is they say no (and they certainly can’t fire you for trying).

2. Schedule a time and place just for this conversation. Make sure that your conversation is private and free of distractions. It’s best to schedule a meeting in an enclosed room. If you have a good relationship with your manager, you can let them know that you want to discuss your compensation ahead of time. This can help you feel more at ease if you’re worried about catching your manager off guard.

3. Come in with a range that you’re comfortable with. It’s hard to know how much you’re worth. Take the time to prepare by researching how much people make in similar roles at other companies in your industry. There are lots of online tools that collect anonymous compensation information so you can compare your salary to the average. You can ask for more than the average if you have an advanced degree or certification, or if you have extra skills or insider knowledge that no one else has. 

These three tips can help you enter the negotiation with confidence and enable you to make what you deserve. Set some time on your calendar to do some research, then schedule a meeting with your manager. The longer you wait, the longer you miss out on thousands of dollars in your bank account. And remember: the hardest part of the conversation is starting it. Get through that, and you’re already winning.

Better, right? Now the post sets clear expectations, delivers on its promises, and leaves you curious and motivated to take the next steps. That’s a post that can make a difference in your reader’s life.

Focus = Value

When your blog posts are focused, you’re giving your readers all your best knowledge in a neat package. The big questions help you shape your ideas into something your readers will love and share with their friends and colleagues.

You can ask these questions when you’ve already got some ideas down as we did in this post; or even better, you can ask the big questions upfront. It will save you a lot of writing and editing time, and it will give your readers exponentially more value.

Want to know more about blogging? Take a look at my courses. I’ve got one called the Your Blogging Blueprint that will help you include the big questions in templates that will help you write your posts faster.