Start blogging.
Or if you don’t like writing, then do a video or a podcast or something else. But start creating some content.
Because it helps you build your credibility, raise awareness around what you do, showcase your personality and your expertise. And it increases your visibility.
If your competitors are sharing stuff everywhere and you aren’t, they are getting seen and you’re not.
So start a blog.
Everyone’s got a great excuse for not blogging – I’ve heard them all. But in this post, I’ll be focusing on three of the most common reasons people don’t blog.
If any of these apply to you, then read on…
If you don’t know what to blog about, start with the questions you get asked the most and write in-depth answers. Think about the questions you get asked at networking events or the questions clients ask you at your first meeting or the biggest concerns people have around what you do.
Because if people are asking you these questions face-to-face, they are probably searching for them online too.
You can also do top tips, how to guides, things to avoid, pros and cons. There are loads of things you can blog about.
And don’t worry if everyone else in your industry has written about it already – it doesn’t matter.
Imagine if newspapers, TV channels and radio stations decided not to cover a story just because all the other channels were already covering it.
But that doesn’t happen. Instead, they all talk about the same events, they all cover major news stories, and they all have a share of listeners, viewers and readers.
Why? Because they all communicate news in a slightly different way. They might include their own assessments, get expert opinions or look at the story from an alternative perspective.
And the same goes for your blog posts. Your customers are interested in the way you approach a topic.
Do you have a different take on it to your competitors? Can you add an expert opinion? What’s your view on it?
Ignore the fact that your subject might not be original, because the way you talk about it will be.
And who knows, your next best customer might stumble across that post and decide you’re the one for them.
Unfortunately, blog posts don’t write themselves so you either have to pay someone to write them for you or make time to do it yourself.
Schedule time into your diary to write, and stick to it. It doesn’t have to be hours – I have a handy process you can use that takes one hour a week. If you follow it, you’ll have a great piece of content every month.
Here’s how it works…
In week one, you use your hour to plan your content, decide what you will cover and create a rough outline. Maybe pull together any statistics or links you want to include and so on.
In week two, you write your post or article. Doesn’t have to be perfect. Just get all your ideas down on the page and get it in some kind of logical order.
Week three, use your hour for editing. Cut the bits that don’t quite fit and remove anything that isn’t relevant or useful. Make sure you aren’t repeating yourself or using too much jargon. Get your content as near to perfect as possible.
Then in week four, do a final proofread. Use a screen reader to read your content to you – it helps highlight any sneaky typos. Find any images you need and then publish it.
And if you follow this process every month – just one hour a week – you’ll have one piece of good content every month.
There is no right or wrong way of blogging. It’s your blog – you can write long posts or short posts, you can use text only, videos, images, audio files – you can do what you want. So if you’re worried about not having the right skills, just play to your strengths or invest in some learning.
There are loads of writing and proofreading tools that can help with spelling and grammar if you are worried about that. And there are loads of free and paid resources and training courses to teach you how to write blog posts or make podcasts, videos or whatever.
And if you’re letting your confidence hold you back, don’t.
Maybe you’re experiencing a bit of imposter syndrome – you feel like you aren’t really an expert so you shouldn’t position yourself as one.
But that’s rubbish. If you know more about your subject than the average person, then you can add value. Who cares if there are people who know more about the subject than you? You’re not writing your blog for people that know what you know – you’re writing your blog for people who need your help.
And if you’re worried about people not liking your content, remember that you won’t get millions of new blog readers the minute you share a post. Unless you let people know it’s there, very few people will find it, which means you can build your confidence slowly.
Start by putting a blog post on your site and just sharing the link with people you trust to get some feedback. Then you can start sharing it on private groups and then more widely on social media as your confidence grows.
Ok, no more excuses it’s time to get started. You made time to read this post so you can take another five minutes to complete these three tasks:
And if you get stuck at any point, book a 90-minute consultation and let me help you Make Your Copy Count.
Do you want to improve your copywriting skills and get confident creating content?
My free 14 day email course will help you do just that.
What’s covered?
And much more.
Tips, advice and practical tasks delivered straight to your inbox.
Sound good? Sign up now and let’s Make Your Copy Count.
Blogging for Business
Nine modules taking you from blogging beginner to blog confident. Watch the videos, complete the tasks and use your blog to generate leads.
Borrow my Brain
Need help generating ideas for your blog? Want to learn some writing and editing tips? Struggling to attract readers? Book a 90-minute 1-2-1 session.
