How To Write A Good Blog, Pt. 2: Generating Quality Ideas Over Time
Last time we talked about The basic guidelines for how to write a good blog post. Hopefully you found our tips from the previous post helpful, and
hopefully those itchy fingers of yours have been buzzing with blog
euphoria.
However, it should be well-understood
that a good blog is born over many moons. No matter who you are, it's
going to take a good while to get a great amount of people rounded up
and coming back. So today, we're talking about the long con: how to
stay motivated and build a community.
Delving Into Your Industry
Long running, successful blogs
inevitably rack up hundreds of posts, if not more, which can be a
daunting thing to realize. But never fear – there is always
something to write about.
Each blog should read and operate
differently, respective to its industry or niche. Hopefully you have
a lot to say about your business, and you can dedicate a lot of time
to helping people understand every intricate facet of it.
As you're doing that, remain aware of
what's going on in the bigger picture. It never hurts to read other
blogs in your industry to see what's trending, and if you can write
about how your business is impacting or being impacted by current
trends, the ears of the Internet will begin to prick up. And if you
find some blogs that you like throughout your research, you can even
make posts reviewing them, or reach out and try to get them to do a
feature for your blog.
Every niche is inevitably going to have
a lot that can be said about it, and hopefully you have a lot to say
about your own beginnings and development within that niche. Having
said that, writing posts that involve your readers is always a great
avenue to pursue.
Foster The Community
Your community of readers is obviously
an essential part of your blog. And, like anyone on the Internet,
they probably have opinions that they want heard, and they
probably enjoy participation. There are a few ways you can engage
your readers, and make your blog interactive.
One of the easiest and most effective
ways to pique the brains of your readers and get them involved is to
dedicate a post to a poll. Aside from the benefit of receiving
information straight from the target market, you will get people
involved. Get opinions on product ideas, event experiences, trending
topics, or anything else that you think will get people thinking
about your business.
If you can get people thinking about
your business, you can probably get them talking via your blog.
Always encourage comments from your readers. When someone has
something useful to say, acknowledge them specifically within the
conversation. If someone asks a question, you can use it as an
opportunity to direct them to previous blog posts, or you can connect
them to a helpful comment from another user. In this way, a community
will naturally form. It won't form quickly, most likely. But,
creating a loyal online network is worth the tenacity.
Staying Motivated
The process of building a blog from the
ground up is enough to fatigue even the most seasoned blog veterans.
At a certain point, your raging motivation to change the face of the
blogosphere forever will probably go to war with burn-out and apathy.
Here's a few tips for fighting the good fight.
First of all, one of the best things
you can do is set a deadline for yourself, and stick to it, no
exceptions. The mind is capable of incredible things when under
pressure, and in this state, you will discover, truly, just how much
there is to write about.
However, this is obviously not the most
pleasant part of your brain to mine creativity from. So in addition
to that, writing a blog series (much like this one) can be useful.
Rather than going after many small ideas, tackling one big idea and
breaking it down into bite-sized portions could yield abundant,
quality content over time.
Also keep in mind that as you write,
your blog will inevitably grow and receive new followers. If you
already have a lot of content, your new readers probably haven't seen
a lot of your older posts. Why not revisit some of those ideas by
carrying on the same line of thought in a new post?
Finally, a great tactic to employ if
you find yourself staring for too long at a blank page is to enlist
help. As mentioned earlier in this post, reaching out to other
bloggers to contribute to your own is a fantastic idea for a number
of reasons. It not only expands the reach of your online network; it
not only lends credibility to your work; it also exposes you to new
ideas and a fresh perspective. Having someone else write a guest post
for your blog is great for battling apathy and writer's block. You
may find that having a little new material to riff off of was all you
needed to rebuild the euphoria in your fingertips.
Conclusion
Creating a blog is easy, which is why
you see them in such tremendous abundance. Creating a good blog is
not quite so simple. However, if you abide by a certain set of basic
principles, you'll be surprised at how much you can accomplish with
your online writing.
If you're thinking of getting your feet
wet, we can help you build a blog for your business.
If you've already gotten started, we can help you improve your blog, whether that means coaching you, helping you
brainstorm ideas, or ghost-writing for you. Contact us today.
And if you missed it, be sure to check
out the first part in this series: A Few Basic Guidelines on How to Write A Good Blog. Also, be sure to stay tuned –
next we'll be discussing ways to get that perfect post into the hands
of the readers who need it.
As always, happy blogging.
Last time we talked about The basic guidelines for how to write a good blog post. Hopefully you found our tips from the previous post helpful, and hopefully those itchy fingers of yours have been buzzing with blog euphoria.
However, it should be well-understood that a good blog is born over many moons. No matter who you are, it's going to take a good while to get a great amount of people rounded up and coming back. So today, we're talking about the long con: how to stay motivated and build a community.
Delving Into Your Industry
Long running, successful blogs inevitably rack up hundreds of posts, if not more, which can be a daunting thing to realize. But never fear – there is always something to write about.
Each blog should read and operate differently, respective to its industry or niche. Hopefully you have a lot to say about your business, and you can dedicate a lot of time to helping people understand every intricate facet of it.
As you're doing that, remain aware of what's going on in the bigger picture. It never hurts to read other blogs in your industry to see what's trending, and if you can write about how your business is impacting or being impacted by current trends, the ears of the Internet will begin to prick up. And if you find some blogs that you like throughout your research, you can even make posts reviewing them, or reach out and try to get them to do a feature for your blog.
Every niche is inevitably going to have a lot that can be said about it, and hopefully you have a lot to say about your own beginnings and development within that niche. Having said that, writing posts that involve your readers is always a great avenue to pursue.
Foster The Community
Your community of readers is obviously an essential part of your blog. And, like anyone on the Internet, they probably have opinions that they want heard, and they probably enjoy participation. There are a few ways you can engage your readers, and make your blog interactive.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to pique the brains of your readers and get them involved is to dedicate a post to a poll. Aside from the benefit of receiving information straight from the target market, you will get people involved. Get opinions on product ideas, event experiences, trending topics, or anything else that you think will get people thinking about your business.
If you can get people thinking about your business, you can probably get them talking via your blog. Always encourage comments from your readers. When someone has something useful to say, acknowledge them specifically within the conversation. If someone asks a question, you can use it as an opportunity to direct them to previous blog posts, or you can connect them to a helpful comment from another user. In this way, a community will naturally form. It won't form quickly, most likely. But, creating a loyal online network is worth the tenacity.
Staying Motivated
The process of building a blog from the ground up is enough to fatigue even the most seasoned blog veterans. At a certain point, your raging motivation to change the face of the blogosphere forever will probably go to war with burn-out and apathy. Here's a few tips for fighting the good fight.
First of all, one of the best things you can do is set a deadline for yourself, and stick to it, no exceptions. The mind is capable of incredible things when under pressure, and in this state, you will discover, truly, just how much there is to write about.
However, this is obviously not the most pleasant part of your brain to mine creativity from. So in addition to that, writing a blog series (much like this one) can be useful. Rather than going after many small ideas, tackling one big idea and breaking it down into bite-sized portions could yield abundant, quality content over time.
Also keep in mind that as you write, your blog will inevitably grow and receive new followers. If you already have a lot of content, your new readers probably haven't seen a lot of your older posts. Why not revisit some of those ideas by carrying on the same line of thought in a new post?
Finally, a great tactic to employ if you find yourself staring for too long at a blank page is to enlist help. As mentioned earlier in this post, reaching out to other bloggers to contribute to your own is a fantastic idea for a number of reasons. It not only expands the reach of your online network; it not only lends credibility to your work; it also exposes you to new ideas and a fresh perspective. Having someone else write a guest post for your blog is great for battling apathy and writer's block. You may find that having a little new material to riff off of was all you needed to rebuild the euphoria in your fingertips.
Conclusion
Creating a blog is easy, which is why you see them in such tremendous abundance. Creating a good blog is not quite so simple. However, if you abide by a certain set of basic principles, you'll be surprised at how much you can accomplish with your online writing.
If you're thinking of getting your feet wet, we can help you build a blog for your business. If you've already gotten started, we can help you improve your blog, whether that means coaching you, helping you brainstorm ideas, or ghost-writing for you. Contact us today.
And if you missed it, be sure to check out the first part in this series: A Few Basic Guidelines on How to Write A Good Blog. Also, be sure to stay tuned – next we'll be discussing ways to get that perfect post into the hands of the readers who need it.
As always, happy blogging.