I Can’t Blog.

I can’t believe how many times I hear my clients say this. “Of course you can,” I say.  But then I realized, they really don’t know how to get started or if they get started, how to maintain it. Blogging does take time but the benefits can be great. I am going to share with you my best advice on blogging.

You Are the Expert, and You Can Do it!

You and the people who work for you are experts at what you do. You do it with pride and you do it better than the competition.  You want to increase your sales. Lead generation today for many businesses takes place primarily on the internet. At some part in the buying cycle your prospects will look you up online. You try to stay in front of them and be relevant online and through your email marketing. In order to do that, you need great content.

Sharing what you know how to do and sharing about your industry are important. Sharing what you think about your industry and how things can improve is critical. It’s thought leadership. People like to buy from thought leaders. Blogging is a way to share all of these things.

[Tweet “Blogging your thoughts about your industry and how to improve it is critical. #BlogTips”]

But Wait?

I’ve convinced some of you, but now you’re saying, “Great, tell me how to do it and how to find the time to do it.” Ok, I will.

5 Steps to Start Blogging:

1. With your team, brainstorm 52 topics you could write about.

• Coming up with ideas can be difficult, read this blog by Coschedule that curated 150+ Blog Ideas That Will Absolutely Kill Writers’ Block.

2. Take the top 10 and write 3 to 5 key points about each one.

• Don’t forget about SEO! Read this blog by YOAST, 10 Tips For an Awesome and SEO-Friendly Blog Post.

3. Schedule 1.5 hours to write the first 3 blogs.

• There are lots of ways and tools you can use to organize and write your blog posts. One of my favorites is Evernote. For more on how to use Evernote for your blog read this article, How To Use Evernote For Blogging To Boost Your Efficiency

4. As soon as you post the first blog, schedule 1.5 hours to write the next three.

• Finding time to write is one of the hardest parts of blogging. Social Media Expert, Neil Patel, runs 2 companies and still finds time to write 8 blog posts a week! Learn how he organizes his time to be a blog writing machine in his blog titled, How I Write 8 Blog Posts a Week While Running 2 Companies.

5. Be consistent. Post on a regular schedule.

• Having a content calendar keeps your blog organized and also makes sure that your blog is in line with your overall social media strategy. Buffer wrote a very detailed article I suggest reading titled, The Complete Guide to Choosing a Content Calendar: Tools, Templates, Tips, and More.

Bonus Idea: Find some guest bloggers. Find other thought leaders in your space and ask them to write a post once a month.

6 Things to Remember:

1. Keep the posts short.

• Resource: “The Anatomy of a Perfect Blog Post”, by Buffer

2. Find a great editor to proofread for meaning and grammar or use an online editor.

• Resource: “Grammarly”

3. Come up with catchy titles after you write the post.

• Resource: “100+ Blog Post Title Templates That Grab Attention”

4. Make them graphically appealing with headlines and photos or graphics. (Note: be sure to pay for the graphics and photos you use unless they are yours.)

• Resource: “23+ Sites to Find Free Images You Would Actually Use for Your Marketing”

5. End with a bang!

• Resource: 7 Powerful Ways to End Your Next Blog Post

6. Find guest bloggers

• Resource: 5 Ways to Help Clients Get their Guest Blogging Down to a Science

A Few More Things…

Find some blogs on your industry and any topic you are interested in and see what they are writing about. One of the quickest and most effective ways to find the top blogs in your industry is to use the website, Alltop.com. Alltop finds the latest top stories from the best sites and blogs that cover a topic. It’s the perfect place to start finding out what people are writing about in your industry. If you find a certain blog that you like, ask the owner if you can re-post it on your blog or have them guest blog.

Lastly, if the spirit strikes, write.  You can always use more blog posts. When several clients ask me the same question in a short period of time, the answer becomes a blog post. When I answer a question in one of my LinkedIn groups, my answer becomes a blog post. When a salesperson calls me and does a really bad job trying to sell me something, it becomes a blog post.

I love blogging but I am still always challenged with finding the time to do it. The only thing I can tell you about that is you have to make time. Once you have a year’s worth of blogs many of them can be re-purposed and used in other places or next year with a new title and a quick update.

I can’t wait to see your blogs. Let me know how this works for you.  If you have any other great blog tips, please add them in the comments below.

And if you need help with a content strategy that drives sales, schedule a 30 minute meeting with me.