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Writing in markdown is one of my secrets to being super productive in writing and creating content. It’s simple to learn and perhaps one of the easiest ways to never worry about trying to format headings, lists, bold text or anything else like that ever again.

While a lot of people are new to using markdown, it’s actually been around since 2004.

What is Markdown?

Markdown is basically just a way you type in different symbols to format your text while you write. This way, when you copy + paste a document you don’t have to format it again or worry about that formatting being all wonky.

The boring textbook answer is that Markdown is a lightweight markup language used to format plain text. It an easy way to create rich text using a plain text editor. Markdown is designed to be easy to read and write, and is often used to convert text into HTML or other markup languages.

If you can type in # signs and – signs, you can learn to write in markdown!

You can write in Markdown in the WordPress editor, but you can also use Markdown in a plain text editing software like Notepad or Text Editor.

There are also tons of great writing apps that make it easy to write in markdown. For example, I LOVE using the Bear app on my phone + laptop – I can write out a blog post in Bear, copy and paste into my WordPress editor and the post is pretty much instantly formatted and ready to publish.

Markdown Syntax Example

Here’s some example markdown syntax to get you started:

# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3

**Bold Text**

*Italicized Text*

~~Strikethrough Text~~

--- Separator

[Link Text](www.example.com)

- Unordered List Item
- Unordered List Item
- Unordered List Item

1. Ordered List Item
2. Ordered List Item
3. Ordered List Item

> Blockquote

If you copy that code above and paste into your WordPress editor, it will look something like this:

And the beauty of it all is I didn’t have to format a darn thing!

Example of an Article Written In Markdown

Here’s an example of a sample dummy content article I wrote in Markdown that you can use to get an idea of what it looks like in context while I’m writing.

#Things Cocoa the Dog Does - And Doesn't - Like

I have a dog named Cocoa. Today I will share some of her favorite toys and activities. 

## Flamingo

Cocoa loves her toy flamingo. We have bought them every year. It is awesome. 

## Barking at Deer and Turkey

If Cocoa could do what she wants to do all night long, she would spend it barking at deer and turkeys. She also likes to bark at other things, such as:

- Squirrels
- Falling Leaves
- Racoons
- Mailmen
- Garbage Trucks
- The UPS delivery driver
- Anyone who walks down the street

Let's talk about other things Cocoa likes. 

## Eating

Cocoa will eat anything. Here's what she likes to eat: 

1. Panacakes
2. Pizza
3. Cheese
4. Ice Cream 
5. Dog Treats

While there are many things Cocoa likes, there are also things she doesn't like. 

## Things Cocoa Doesn't Like

Here are the things she doesn't like. 

### The Cold

Cocoa hates when her butt is cold. 

### When You Leave

She mopes + sits by the door until you come back. 

### Taking Baths

You would think she would like baths, because she loves to swim, but she hates them. 

---

Cocoa is a great dog. Now you know what she likes and doesn't. Share your thoughts below!

And here’s what that looks like as an article pasted into the WP Editor:

Writing in Markdown Will Make Your Life So Much Easier!

If you’re tired of the time it takes to format a blog post, or maybe just not happy with how your blog posts look, writing in markdown just might be the ticket to being able to focus on the content you want to write and NOT worrying so much about everything else!

It doesn’t take a lot of time or effort to learn also – before you know it, you’ll be using Markdown for everything because it really does save you so much time in writing!