Hey you!
One topic I’ve been getting tons of questions on lately is BLOGGING. Or, writing articles. Posts. Sharing your knowledge. Whatever you want to call it, it continues to be a point of confusion and casts fear and doubt into those bold, intelligent, creative souls I work with every day!
It breaks my heart because it doesn’t have to be that way. Writing a blog helps you position yourself as an expert, build a following of readers and potential clients, and share what you know! I don’t care if there are 10 or 100 or 1,000 people already talking about whatever it is you do, I promise you, the world needs your unique perspective on the topic. Your voice matters and your people want to hear it!
And it’s actually not as hard as the world makes it out to be BUT… it does take practice.
So, without further ado, here are FIVE tips to help you just start writing so you can gain confidence, grow and connect with your ideal clients, and establish yourself as a go-to-expert in your field.
#1 – WRITE TO YOUR ONE PERSON.
Think about the blogs you love to read and follow. You may not even realize it, but I promise you absorb the words because it feels like they’re talking to you directly. If you’ve worked with me or read any of my posts, you know that knowing your person – your ideal client – is imperative for connection!
For those of us with one line of business or a single service we offer, this is a little easier. If you’re an entrepreneur with multiple lines of business, you may have a different audience for each service.
Let’s say you’re a recruiter who represents both clients and candidates while also growing your recruiting firm. Your person would vary for each line of business, and you can cater each post to one of those people (Client, Candidate, or Recruiter) – not all of them.
#2 – WRITE ABOUT SOMETHING THEY CARE ABOUT OR WANT TO LEARN OR SOMETHING YOU WANT THEM TO KNOW
You know your person better than anyone! What are their hopes and fears? What do they want to know that you understand or have thoughts about? I find that my best posts (like this one!) come from my clients’ questions. I tend to assume that if one person is asking the question or having the problem, other people are, too.
Perhaps you’re a therapist who works with clients with eating disorders. While this issue presents itself differently for all of your clients, one facet of your approach that you KNOW works is to practice mindful eating. What does mindful eating look like? How could they apply it in their daily life? Write about that!
HOT TIP: Keep a running list of content ideas/client questions! That way you’ve always got something to write about.
#3 – CREATE AN OUTLINE
Now that you know who you’re talking to and what you’re going to write about, it’s time to clarify the takeaways you want them to get from your post. Take a few minutes with a piece of paper or a google doc, however you work best, and jot down every single thing you want them to know after reading your post.
Bonus #1: If you’re anything like me who tends to do brain dumps as you write, working this way also gives you an opportunity to make sure you stay clear and on topic and make the points you want to make! I used this approach to write this article, and just filled in each section as I went!
Bonus #2: In addition, those takeaways will become your headers to help your reader skim the article. Win/Win!
#4 – BREAK IT UP WITH A LITTLE VISUAL SOMETHING
I’m not a fan of images for no purpose as I find them incredibly distracting, but a wall of text makes my eyes cross! Whether a quote, bold text, bullets, a relevant image, a graph, a meme, a GIF, or an illustration, having something visual to break up the wall of text helps keep your person engaged.
Make sure it’s on topic and matches with the content it’s positioned with.
#5 – SHARE IT WITH YOUR PEOPLE
Whether it’s in your newsletter, on your socials, share it out! If people don’t know you wrote it, they won’t know to read it!
Hot tip: Remember to set a “featured image” (WordPress) or “thumbnail” (Squarespace) that corresponds with your link.
Some things to note:
-Like all things in life and business, consistency is key and success will likely take time. You may be starting with a readership of ZERO. It’s ok! Keep going, keep writing, keep sharing.
-The frequency of your posts will vary based on your industry and time you have available. I would aim for once a month at a minimum. For me, I post every other Monday and share it with my subscribers in my Wednesday evening bi-weekly email. Some of you may want to post once a week, or even daily! It depends on your business goals.
-Increase reader engagement by linking to relevant articles or pages on your site. Keep ‘em coming back for more!
I can’t wait to see what you write. Send me an email and let me know how this helped you or what other questions you have on the process.
If this article still has you saying “what the f?ck”, it may be time to get clear on your brand story so you can show up as yourself for your people. I’d love to help you do that! Get in touch.
