How to write a complete article in 90 minutes » Portal Insights

Between September 2016 and March 2017 I wrote 164 articles and 12 eBooks.

Yes, I have everything recorded in a Google Sheets spreadsheet.

164 articles and 12 eBooks are approximately 170 thousand words – more than double the words used in the first Harry Potter book.

But why am I saying this?

Contrary to what it may seem, this is not to “brag”, but rather to reinforce what I promise to teach in this text, which is how to write a complete article in 90 minutes.

Important: Please read the article until the end before forming your opinion on the methodology I am presenting. Thanks.

Why write an article in 90 minutes?

Whenever I say that it is possible to write an article in such a short time, reactions vary between:

1. The person completely ignores me;
2. She agrees, but comments that the article will probably be horrible and not generate any results.

Obviously, an article in 90 minutes will most likely not win the Nobel Prize for Literature or be used in an Enem Portuguese question, but they can generate results for a company (or professional) that wants to invest in Content Marketing but does not have condition of hiring an in-house or freelance writer.

The chances of the article being successful are even greater when written for more restricted segments, whose information on the internet is of poor quality or confusing.

In other words, learning how to write a complete article in 90 minutes – even without much writing experience – is not only possible but extremely useful in most cases. Especially in small and medium-sized companies with limited resources for Marketing.

How to write a complete article in 90 minutes

Before we begin, it is important to highlight that the objective of this text is to teach you how to WRITE a complete article in 90 minutes. All the work of defining personas and the editorial calendar, which I will not address here, is important and can often take a considerable amount of time.

Understood? So let's go.

First Step: Agree, promise and inspire (10 Minutes)

Writing the first paragraphs of a text was always the most complicated part when working as a freelance writer. No matter how many references I had, I always felt stuck when typing the first words.

This changed when I read, on one of these websites specializing in Content Markerting, about the APP strategy (Agree, Promise, Preview), which I decided to make some adaptations and today I call CPI: Concorde, Prometa and Inspire.

In practice, applying it is very simple. To better illustrate, I will use as an example a term that is generally more complicated to be understood by the general public, which is CRM (Customer Relationship Management).

Agree: Despite being quite common, many professionals still have difficulty understanding what a CRM is and why it is important for companies in the most diverse segments.

Promise: If this is your case, in this article we will explain in detail what it is, how to use it and what the benefits of a CRM are.

Inhale: Don't worry, when you finish reading, we're sure you'll be ready to discuss the subject with your co-workers and, who knows, implement a quality CRM in your company.

Step Two: “What?” (10 minutes)

In the same way that there is no point in studying quarks or Toeria das Cordas without first understanding what quantum physics is, starting to address a subject without first giving it a name is inefficient and harmful to the company.

Like a good teacher, you need to “hold the reader’s hand” and guide them through the content in such a way that they can absorb the right information at the right time.

Following the same CRM example:

A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a tool (software) used to collect and organize data from a company's customers or potential customers.

Contrary to what many people imagine, a CRM is not the same thing as an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning).

This is because, while CRM is used to “take care” of a company's consumer base, ERP focuses on fiscal, accounting and financial control.

Third Step: “Why?” (15 minutes)

Now that the reader is at the same pace as you and ready to understand deeper aspects of the topic (in our case, CRM), the time has come to explain the importance of what is being discussed – be it a product, service, technology, term or pretty much anything else.

The use of a CRM has become increasingly common and indispensable in companies that seek not only to increase, but also to better manage their contact base, which can be customers or potential customers (leads).

We can mention the three main benefits of a CRM:

Practicality: It facilitates access to information at any time and from any device connected to the internet.

Security: As all data is stored in the cloud, there is no risk of losing files due to technical failures or operational errors by employees.

Flexibility: There is currently a wide variety of CRM on the market, which makes it very easy to adapt the tool according to your company's needs and budgets.

Step Four: “How?” (30 minutes)

ANDThis part may require more time than the others, especially when the topic covered is more complex and/or abstract.

A good tip at this stage is to imagine that you are explaining to a 12-year-old child. As the topic is top of the funnel, there is no need to go into much depth.

Introducing the reader to the topic is more important than giving them a PhD on the subject.

The functioning of a CRM is relatively simple, but it requires training and engagement so that all its benefits are utilized in the best possible way within the company.

Basically, it automatically collects all contacts (leads and customers) that interact with the company and organizes the most relevant information, such as communication records, stage in the Purchase Journey and lead qualification (Lead Scoring).

With all this information collected and organized in the CRM, the responsible manager will be able to analyze (often in an automated way) which customers need attention, which potential customers are already “ready” to be approached by a salesperson, and so on. other sales and marketing actions.

In other words, CRM collects and organizes information about the company's contacts and provides tools to assist the sales team.

Fifth Step: CTA (Call To Action) (5 Minutes)

In Content Marketing, every article has a purpose that needs to be conveyed through a CTA (Call To Action).

Generally this CTA is inserted at the end of the article, in the form of text or image, but in some cases it is also possible to insert it throughout the content – ​​in this case it is possible to be extra careful not to “force” an action from the reader. explicitly.

A CTA can be a call to read another article, share the page on social media, get in touch or go to any other page that is compatible with the topic discussed, such as Landing Pages for eBooks, Quiz or any other type of rich material.

In the example used so far, we can imagine that the objective of the article is to provide more complete training on how to use a CRM.

Want to know more about how a CRM can increase sales by up to 200%? Sign up for our free online training on how to use “Igor`s CRM”.

Step Six: Review twice (20 Minutes)

Personally, I think the article review process is one of the most important. This is because, no matter how brilliant or innovative the content is, a mistake in Portuguese can cause a negative impression on the part of more demanding readers.

You can find hundreds of methodologies for reviewing articles, so I won't delve too deeply into the topic here, but a simple method that works very well for me (in terms of quality and time savings) is to read the article out loud, word for word. word.

If possible, a tip is also to send the article for someone else to review. When we write a lot, our reading can become “biased” and miss errors that would be easily identified by someone else.

Final considerations

The example text presented throughout the post was written by me in approximately 60 minutes. Obviously, it could be longer and more complete, but as the intention here is to teach how to write an article in 90 minutes and not explain everything about a CRM, I preferred to keep it short.

But, if there is time or more essential information on the topic covered, it is always a good idea to make the article as complete as possible – even for Google ranking (SEO) purposes.

I hope the method is useful. If you have any questions, we can continue the conversation in the comments.

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CRM: Everything you need to know

Despite being quite common, many professionals still have difficulty understanding what a CRM is and why it is important for companies in the most diverse segments.

If this is your case, in this article we will explain in detail what it is, how to use it and what the benefits of a CRM are.

Don't worry, when you finish reading, we're sure you'll be ready to discuss the subject with your co-workers and, who knows, implement a quality CRM in your company.

After all, what is a CRM?

A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a tool (online or not) used to collect and organize data from a company's customers or potential customers.

Contrary to what many people imagine, a CRM is not the same thing as an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning).

This is because, while CRM is used to “take care” of a company's consumer base, ERP focuses on fiscal, accounting and financial control.

Why use a CRM?

The use of a CRM has become increasingly common and indispensable in companies that seek not only to increase, but also to better manage their contact base, which can be customers or potential customers (leads).

We can mention the three main benefits of a CRM:

Practicality: It facilitates access to information at any time and from any device connected to the internet.

Security: As all data is stored in the cloud, there is no risk of losing files due to technical failures or operational errors by employees.

Flexibility: Currently, there is a wide variety of CRMs on the market, which makes it very easy to adapt the tool according to your company's needs and budgets.

How does a CRM work?

The functioning of a CRM is relatively simple, but it requires training and engagement so that all its benefits are utilized in the best possible way within the company.

Basically, it automatically collects all contacts (leads and customers) that interact with the company and organizes the most relevant information, such as communication records, stage in the Purchase Journey and lead qualification (Lead Scoring).

With all this information collected and organized in the CRM, the responsible manager will be able to analyze (often in an automated way) which customers need attention, which potential customers are already “ready” to be approached by a salesperson, and so on. other sales and marketing actions.

In other words, CRM collects and organizes information about the company's contacts and provides tools to assist the sales team.

Want to delve deeper into the subject?

Want to know more about how a CRM can increase sales by up to 200%? Sign up for our free online training on how to use “Igor's CRM”.

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