How to STOP Writing Lame Blogs
It’s time to take control, and say goodbye to bad writing habits.
On your marks, get set, ready go.
You’ve set yourself the task of writing a blog post. Your fingers are poised over the keyboard. You know what you want to write about and the points you need to include. You’re inspired. All is going well. Hell’s bells you are on fire.
And then you read it back.
The words don’t quite work. It wasn’t meant to be like this. In creeps the self-doubt. You take a break.
And then you read it back.
Should you scrap it and start again? Or, will it be OK? You tweak some words, move a few sentences and play round with the headline. You take a break.
The pressure is on. You know you should publish more content but, and here’s the catch, writing for the sake of it is not going to help your business.
Let’s rewind a couple of hours and start again. Exhale.
Why are you creating content?
Pinpointing the reason why you are writing a blog post is SO important (note the bold and capitals – if I could add a fanfare, I would). It gives your writing purpose and direction. Every piece of content you create should work towards a marketing goal.
Without a goal your blog post risks being a collection of words that give no value to readers or your business. Thin content is a big no-no. Nobody likes generic waffle.
Ask yourself these questions:
Why you are writing the article? What do you want the article to achieve?
Here are the main reasons why people publish content:
Increase brand awareness
Generate leads
Serve your existing customers
Drive social engagement
To earn links
Grow your e-mail list
Promote specific services or products
Share news
But, be aware: multi-goal setting is simply an opportunity to screw up more than one thing at once.
“If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one.”
The temptation is to tweak your content to make it align with several goals. Don’t do this. Ever. When you try to get content to multi-task, you dilute its power and it starts its journey of underperformance.
Goal setting gives clarity and focus to your writing, but it also forces you to use the most logical (therefore effective) call to action – the message is clear.
Focus on one goal and give it 100%.
Who are you writing the blog post for?
If you have heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: you need to know who your target audience is. It’s not enough to write for just anyone – you have to invest time in understanding who you want to read the blog and who you want it to resonate with.
Not everybody wants your products or services – that’s the reality – so why spend time trying to appeal to people who are unlikely to buy from you?
If you are a therapist, why write a blog post for Joe Public if your ideal client is a divorcee called Joanna from Milton Keynes? Or perhaps you organise corporate events and have been writing for executives to raise your brand’s profile – but do they organise them? No. Sure, they attend the events, but are they responsible for booking them?
It’s easy to accidentally write for the wrong audience.
Once you identify who you are really writing for, you can enter the world of pain points.
What is a pain point?
A pain point is a persistent and repeated problem that consistently troubles your customers or clients.
For example:
A financial pain point – your products/services can help customers save money.
A productivity pain point – you can help them work more efficiently saving time and resources.
A support pain point – information to help customers get the best from your products or services.
Pain points are the reason why people are searching online for information. Searchers are looking for content to answer their questions. The more your blog content answers questions, the more search engines will reward your efforts and recommend your site to searchers.
No matter who your target audience is or the industry you work in, your blog post should help readers recognise a problem and show how your products or services are the solution.
Who are you writing as?
Yes, you need to write a blog post, but who are you writing as?
Running your business requires you to wear several very different hats during an average day– HR, administrator, bookkeeper, salesperson, barista – in addition to your main role.
But to create effective content there has to be consistency; a uniformity with the types of words you use, and the attitude and values you convey across all aspects of your brand.
You need to define how your brand’s voice sounds.
If you do one thing today, explore and identify the characteristics of the business’ personality and document them. Having a guide to refer to makes writing content less of a brain drain – even on off days. Click here to read more about how to establish your brand’s voice.
There are some big personalities online, and you may see their success and consider emulating their style.
But it’s not wise to. In fact, let’s strengthen that – don’t.
In the digital age we live in, human connection is crucial; readers want to see if you are in their tribe. Writing from a place of sincerity and understanding cultivates feelings of ‘like, know, trust’, and emotionally connected customers become repeat customers – perfect!
Defining the business’ personality helps you write authentically (I loathe this word, so apologies if you do too), and your audience will notice – it’s much less like hard work to create content that builds relationships when you are genuine.
If you continue to struggle with getting your head around writing effective blog posts, get in touch. There is nothing like flogging a dead horse to destroy any sense of confidence about your writing skills, but we can change this.
You have two options.
1. Run to the hills and avoid writing your own blogs. I can write them as a blog writing service – we agree the brief and the frequency you want to receive them, so you can crack on with running your business.
Or
2. Book in for a £99 Power Hour – a session to restore your confidence and give you clarity about your content strategy. You’ll be confident and inspired to write your own content and I’ll support you further by giving constructive feedback on your first two blogs.