Blogging has its benefits.
It can help drive traffic to your site. It can help build trust and authority. It can help you establish yourself as a leading voice in your industry.
And because taking time to write things out brings about clarity of thought and purpose, blogging regularly can help you become a more effective leader.
With so many benefits, why aren’t you blogging?
Even as a marketing professional, it took me several months after I launched my website to finally jump into the blogosphere. For too long I let my personal “what ifs” outweigh the professional benefits blogging could bring.
What if I didn’t have anything relevant to say? What if I couldn’t find the time? What if nobody liked it?
Yes, all of those “what ifs” can be overwhelming. But whatever may be holding you back, whether it’s confidence or time, the key to blogging is just to start!
3 tips to get started:
1) Just start writing. Write anything. A word. A sentence. A question. For now, forget about what readers might think. Forget about how “good” your writing is. Forget about things like headlines, keywords and the countless articles you’ve probably read about blogging. It’s far too easy to get lost in the sea of “how-to’s” and “what ifs.”
Don’t let the details paralyze you. Just start. Find your voice, and see what you have to say.
2) Proofread. Not you. You cannot proofread your own work.
Yes, you need to look it over enough so you know it will be comprehensible to someone else. But find someone with a fairly decent grasp of grammar who can be a second pair of eyes to point out typos or confusing sentence structure.
My mom was a schoolteacher for 30-plus years. I still send her stuff to proofread every now and then!
3) Stockpile. I always advise my clients to stockpile at least six months’ worth of posts before posting the first one. Whether your goal is to have a blog on your business website or to publish on a third-party platform like LinkedIn or Medium, have plenty of articles ready before you hit “publish.”
Why?
• Because nothing looks worse on your website than having your last post be dated a year ago. It diminishes your authority and can leave your reader wondering if you’re even still in business.
• Because it’s difficult to establish yourself as a leader in your field with just a few random articles scattered throughout the digital world. In order to build trust with those unfamiliar with your work, you need to be consistent.
Blogging isn’t for everyone. It takes commitment and perseverance.
Start slow.
Plan on a monthly schedule and write a minimum of six posts before publishing. Going through this process will help you discover your voice, develop your style and decide if you’ll be able to commit to blogging for the long run.
My personal experience was that by my fourth or fifth post I had so many ideas and thoughts I wanted to get out that I had to start a log of titles for all of my future blogs.
Once you have several posts you feel good about and maybe even a few published, you can dig in to all of those how-to’s and other awesome advice.
About Your Columnist
Jacqui Genow is a featured columnist for Women Taking Charge, the official blog of Connected Women of Influence, where she covers all topics related to marketing. Jacqui is a small business marketing consultant who helps business owners take the guesswork out of marketing by providing clarity and direction – a roadmap – to reach their marketing goals. Jacqui is an Independent Marketing Consultant at J. Genow Marketing.
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