Blog Posts: Answer a Question

Jan 28, 2014 | Better Blogging

Sometimes it’s easier to write a post when you start with a general format. Conventional wisdom has it that children are always asking questions. Guess what? Adults ask questions too, but they may not be as public about it. That’s why posts that answer a question are popular. They’re easy to write, too.

You probably answer questions every day. People ask, “What do you do?” and “How does it work?” and “What does it cost?’ and “What results can I expect?” and a host of other questions. Now all you have to do is capture those questions and turn the answers into blog posts. Here’s how to do it.

Someone asks you a question directly. Capture the question. If it comes in via email this isn’t a problem, but it might be if you get asked while you’re trying to get the groceries and a four-year-old into your car. Write the question down or use some form of digital recording. Do not think you’ll remember it. You won’t.

Answer the questions that everyone asks. Usually the way this works is that you’re talking to a client and you (suddenly) realize that you’ve answered this question 1042 times. Capture it.

That’s how the process starts for individual questions. Sometimes you get questions in batches.

Answer questions from the audience. If you give speeches or do training, you’ll get questions from the audience. Don’t try to capture them yourself. Make sure you have someone present who will write down every question. Or record the proceedings and take the questions from the recording.

You can answer the questions in two ways. Answer one per blog post. Easy, simple, nothing difficult here.

Answer a group of related questions in a single post. You can answer these as a series of questions or turn the answers into a list post with a title like “6 Things You Should Know about Roof Maintenance.”