It’s not irony that you happen to be reading this article  on a blog. Chances are if you follow this blog you see the importance in it and in the content it proves. So, why do people following blogs not have one of their own? This is something I have often wondered. So many of my coaching students don’t have blogs – some do not really even want one.
This is really strange to me because blogging is actually pretty important. To me it goes hand and hand with email marketing. When I bring up the topic to local business owners, several of them gave me responses like “I have a Facebook fan page. I update it every now and then” or “I send out things in the mail” and that is there whole advertising method right there.
Most people don’t have blogs for several reasons. They don’t want to take time to actually run it. They don’t think they can learn how (or want to) or they don’t want to invest into it. I’m sure there are other reasons but these are the most common in my experience. But the truth is, blogging isn’t rocket science. You can learn it. You just have to be consistent in keeping it up and making sure you’re learning from the right sources. Here is my advice on ways you can improve your blogging.
Learn How to Write Better
First of all, you need to learn to write good copy. If you are already a decent writer then this should be fairly easy for you. But if not, I recommend you look at other people’s blogs (make sure they are good ones) and see how they go about writing their posts. You can also look at good emails and see how they are worded and laid out. This is something I did when I started email marketing but I transferred these habits over to blogging.
I have heard that sometimes writing these posts out by hand helps. I didn’t do this myself but I did continue to look over other’s work until I found my own voice. I’ve never had trouble with that part. I have always talked a lot 😉
Be Better Organized
This was always my problem. I wanted to talk about everything but couldn’t seem to fit it all together. Often I would start talking about one thing but end on something totally different. I have no idea why. I just did. Don’t do this. It really doesn’t work out well. Have a topic in mind and write a draft. Then just keep expanding and making your points clear. Sometimes when I have writer’s block I have to actually step away from this line of work and go do something else. Then I can refresh my mind and come back.
Make sure your post is laid out neatly and that you actually make your point. You don’t want to be going on and on with no one knows where it’s going. I had that problem too. But that is easily fixed with organization.
Keep Your Blog Updated
I can’t tell you how many times I have looked at friend’s blogs and they haven’t written anything since 2011. That annoys me to be honest. You won’t have any views or engagement if you aren’t active. Make sure your content is fresh and you are actually updating it at least twice a week at bare minimum. Truthfully you should be updating it twice a day or more when you are starting out. And if you can afford it, hire some writers. This can help take some of the responsibility off you, and you also get to produce new content easier.
Just make sure you are keeping up with updates and engagement. Also, if someone comments or asks a question, answer them. Let them know you are a real person who will take time to speak to them. That doesn’t mean you have to get into a long conversation with everyone, but I do suggest you interact with your readers.
Build Relationships
I don’t mean be best friends forever with everyone. Here is an example for you. There is a popular blogger named Matt Wash. I’m sure you’ve heard of him. You will either love him or hate him. I also follow his wife’s blog. People expect to hear from her. They wait for her updates, they appreciate her advice, and they genuinely like her. It isn’t like they just stumble on to her posts each time she shares something new. They expect it and often wait for it.
Continue to meet your viewers needs. You will know what they are by interacting with them. You can also ask them what they’d like to know, see, or get from you. I do this from time to time. Mostly with my email marketing but it works for blogging too.
Care About It
Make sure you talk about things you actually have some sort of liking for or disliking. For example, I wouldn’t talk about coin collecting all the time because that isn’t something I really do or enjoy. I can reference that topic, but I wouldn’t create a blog around it. Â Remember that most people don’t really care what you care about unless it is something that they care about too. You won’t know what that is until you see their reactions though. So remember to blog about topics that are meaningful to you.