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10 ways to blog without doing all of that yucky writing

By Marc Carson · Tuesday February 18, 2014

[Above: Castle Lichtenstein, Germany. Photo by Donald]

If my estimates are correct, approximately 2.5 trillion people refuse to blog because they don’t like writing. Of those 2.5 trillion, 2.4 trillion especially do not like writing about themselves.

Now, even if my estimates are off a bit, there are a LOT of people who don’t like to write. I hear people moaning about this all the time. Sure, they don’t like to write, but they’ll happily talk your ear off about it.

Their problem is, they want other people to notice them and their business. They know that blogging is an excellent way to get noticed (it really is), they know blogging can turn into a powerful lead-generation system for their business (it really can), but they aren’t ready to commit to all of this writing stuff.

For those people, I created this list. Here are ten ways to write a blog without doing so much writing.

1. Start a Link Blog
This one is great if you like to explore the web or use it for research.

Just post a link to a website and maybe share a few words on why it’s interesting or useful to you.

The incredibly popular Mac-related website Daring Fireball was built on this principle. A lot of the included descriptions are basically quotes from the linked pages.

From time to time, owner John Gruber will write longer blog posts, but it’s done on his own schedule, and usually only when he has something really important to say.

2. Create a Photo Blog
My sister runs a fashion blog called Style Blackboard. It’s basically photos of pretty people wearing pretty stuff and doing pretty things, like walking toward a bunch of cameras.

There is no accompanying text at all.

What good is it? Well, who do you think comes to mind when I think about anything fashion-related? That’s right, my sister. I think of her as a kind of expert because I know her creative personality, but also because she keeps this blog. It’s like visual proof of her taste and expertise. So even a simple photo blog can boost your reputation as a subject matter expert. And that’s actually a very important part of the sales process for most businesses.

3. Make a Video Blog
These are really popular right now. And some of them don’t even show any pictures or videos when you arrive at the site. Check out the mega-popular video blog, Wimp.com. Do you see any pictures or videos playing when you open the site? Nope, not until you click on a link. It’s just a very well-curated list of entertaining videos. It’s aimed at people who don’t want to have inappropriate content pop up on their screen while they’re looking for neat videos online.

And it has over two million likes on Facebook.

4. Start a Podcast
Or, as some are calling it again: Internet Radio. This is where you record yourself talking about things, and let people listen to it.

“What,” I hear you ask, “are people expecting me to just get on the air and talk about myself? Ha ha ha.” No! They want you to talk about the niche or niches that interest you. There are other people out there who are also excited by the things you’re excited about.

There are podcasts for people who like organic food, podcasts for people who want to learn how to save money, podcasts for geeky web designers, etc. Next to no writing required.

5. Keep a Quote Blog
Let’s say you do a lot of reading. Over time you’ve built up a huge collection of other peoples’ words. Please share it. That kind of stuff is really valuable. If you have a specific area of interest (say, gardening), your quote collection on the subject just became even more valuable. The internet loves specialized information.

(On a humorous note, it reminds me of the blog of unnecessary quotation marks.)

6. Transcribe Your Words
You can skip the writing part if you are good at talking into a microphone. You can use software like Dragon Naturally Speaking to convert your spoken words to text. Then read it, copy and paste into your blog, and hit publish.

7. Make it Somebody Else’s Job
If you have an intern, an assistant, or anybody else who already works for you, ask them if they’d like to do some blogging. A lot of people love to write and would love to be able to put “business blogging” on their list of professional skills.

8. Pay Somebody to Do It
The web is full of writers who are looking to get started. One of my clients found a local writer who was happy to receive some amount of money in exchange for blog posts that are really helpful for my client’s target audience.

9. Write it with Somebody Else
Consider pairing up with someone who has interests similar to yours. If you have a lot of experience, and they have more patience for writing than experience, you might be able to strike a simple agreement to co-author blog posts. You might meet once a week or so (even over Skype or on the phone) to discuss topics, provide helpful experiences or information, and go from there. Don’t expect them to do all the work—you’ll want to make sure you hold up your end of the bargain by digging deep into your trove of experiences.

10. Do a Small Amount of Writing
What if you just aimed to write most of your blog posts with no more than four or five sentences? That’s what Seth Godin does all the time, and his readers love him for it. Forget all the useless flowery buzzwords and mercilessly trim down your message. The message is what counts.

In Summary

Have you heard the saying, “teach once, learn twice?” Beside the monetary rewards from things like lead generation, blogging about your specialty, interest, or professional experience is absolutely worth your time.

And, unfortunately, “I don’t like writing” is no longer a valid excuse.