Two Tools That Fix the Hardest Part of Writing Content: Getting Started

You've decided you want to get some more information about your products or services on your website. Perhaps a blog post would be good, let your audience know a bit more about what you do or the way you do it. It's an ideal way to add that human touch, a "peek behind the scenes" perhaps, at the way you work or expand on your values and what you bring that makes you stand out.

You sit down, face a blank page and then what?
"What can I write about? It needs to be something that my audience finds appealing… It would probably help if it's something they might already be looking for…"

The page remains stubbornly blank.

"I could do some keyword research" you tell yourself, then realise you're not sure what keywords are best to look for if you don't know what your audience is likely to be searching for.

"I know!" you think, "I'll just pick something I do and talk about that… but what do I pick, what do I say and how do I say it?"
"Maybe just get an AI to generate something?" No, not the best idea if you want the content to actually sound like you. You quickly scrap that idea.

The page still remains stubbornly blank.

We've all been there. Paralysed by a blank page, going round in circles trying to think of what to say and how to say it. Wondering if what we write will resonate, and if it's even worth writing, or whether it's just a waste of time.
You end up resisting the idea and twiddle your mental thumbs hunting for content creation tools, or Googling for "how to avoid blank page paralysis".

If you're really determined, perhaps you force yourself to start writing an intro, but then you're not sure where to go next, so you end up stuck there. Endlessly tweaking and polishing three paragraphs.

The page might not be completely blank now, but it's still just as stubborn.

• A good idea
• A clear sense of direction and purpose
• A reliable and repeatable system made up of easy to use tools
• A fast way to get started creating content
• Less dread and delay when it's blog time, or landing page time, or any content writing time

"You know what I need? A tool that asks who my audience is, and checks out what they're likely to be searching for; especially if I tell it my product or service. Oh and if it could rank those results by priority, that would be neat, and then come up with some topic ideas for blog posts. Just the topics. Absolutely do not allow it to write the content."

We began from there, testing and refining until we had something pretty good. After that I put the idea and prompt into Second Opinion and let Pessimistic Pattie point out all the problems and everything I'd missed. Then iterated again, until she was only mildly disappointed, and we had a grudging "green light" to go.

For a final touch, I sent it all through Name or Nope? (You can get that here), and Find Your Hook was born.

So, you describe your audience to Find Your Hook; detailed or brief, it's entirely up to you, it'll ask one or two questions to guide you, and then you'll get a selection of keywords that your audience is likely to be searching for, with intent and notes, (and of course you can do further keyword research now you actually have something to work with, if you want).

It will give you a short-list of titles for blog post and landing pages - your hooks; with a brief description of their tone, along with some SEO Notes and Snippet Opportunities.

Finding your idea, finding your hook, just became ridiculously simple.

As we were finishing off Find Your Hook, I was already looking ahead. Now, jumping straight in and starting to write would end up meandering and losing the plot.
Find Your Hook does offer to give an outline, but I knew I wanted something more planned, more intentional.
So I had another conversation with ChatGPT as we planned out the sections to cover: The intro, the reader's pain points and goals, how to get there, and what "there" actually looks like.

We ran the first versions, adding ideas, refining until the basic idea was sound, and once again, took it to Second Opinion.
Unsurprisingly, Pattie was unimpressed, (if you've tried Second Opinion you'll know what I mean), but this time I didn't agree with the direction she thought it should go, and so the final stage was to take the working title into Name or Nope? and Message Map was ready.

Take your chosen hook, and again, describe your audience, and Message Map will help you organise your idea before you start writing, clarifying the structure and flow, giving you a strategic plan with clear outcomes and a focused direction. It doesn't write any content, it gives you the scaffolding to hang your words on.

You found your hook, you mapped your message, and all you had to do after that was say what you wanted to say in the right places and you ended up with your final piece. Clear, structured, and simple.

Guided by AI, not written by it.

By using these tools, you get a repeatable and dependable system to get you past that blank page with confidence. Because starting your idea shouldn't take longer than writing it.

Once you’ve structured your content and written it clearly, there’s just one more step before publishing. Run your finished piece through Send-Ready Checker for a second pair of eyes when you've finished.

Need to write more content? You know what to do. No more guesswork, no more blank-page block.

In Part Two, we dive into Find Your Hook in more detail: how it works, when to use it, and what happens when you hit Expert Mode.
I've just scratched the surface in this introduction. Read Part Two here

Oh, and what you've just read? That was the tools in action. I found my hook, mapped the message and then began to write.