Getting started with blogging isn’t easy. Anyone who tells you otherwise either hasn’t done it or probably doesn’t understand how busy you are.
And while starting a blog can be challenging, with the right strategy in place it’s a heck of a lot easier.
It all starts with figuring out what you’re going to write.
Keep it simple. The most effective content will be the stuff that answers your audiences’ burning questions.
By providing answers, you will build credibility, strengthen relationships with your current customers, and give yourself more opportunities to be discovered when prospective customers are searching for answers to questions online.
Take some time to jot down the questions you answer on a regular basis.
Make sure to write down both the basic and complicated questions so that you’ll have a wide range of topics to choose from. When starting out, you’ll focus on the more basic questions first, but can then use those more detailed questions for inspiration when creating future posts.
Once you have your list of questions, choose one that you think would be relevant to the most people.
For a mechanic, this could be a topic like, “how to change your oil.” For a wine store, a great topic could be, “how to choose the right bottle of wine for a particular occasion.”
Once you’ve decided on a topic, think of how you would answer those questions with a few simple tips.
This will be your first blog post.
Let’s say you’re an event planner and your question is, “How do I get more people to show up to my events?”
Your first post might be, “10 Ways to Sell More Tickets for Your Next Event.”
Here is a basic template for writing your first post:
- Introduction: This is where you set up the problem. “As an event planner, one of the questions I am constantly asked is how to sell more tickets before an event. Here are 10 secrets to consider.”
- Body: This is where you outline your list of tips. You only need 1-3 sentences to explain each tip.
- Conclusion: This is where you wrap up your tips and set up the value of your business. “These are just 10 ways you can improve event attendance. Want to learn more? Call us to set up an appointment.”
Congratulations! You’ve written your first blog post!
See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?
Not only have you written your first blog post, but you’ve also set yourself up for future posts as well.
Take a look at the tips you’ve outlined in your first post. Each of those tips could be turned into a post of its own.
Let’s use the event planner example one more time.
The first few tips might look something like this:
10 Ways to Sell More Tickets for Your Next Event
- Send invitations in advance
- Hang up flyers at your store
- Post about the event on Facebook
Each of these tips can turn into posts of their own:
- How to Decide When to Send Your Event Invitation
- Tips for Designing an Effective Event Flyer
- How to Promote Your Event on Facebook
You can follow a similar structure with each of these posts too. Set up the problem, give your advice, and conclude with a recap and a strong call to action.
Now all you need to do is set up your schedule.
Come up with a schedule that works for you. Don’t feel like you need to fill your content library in the first few weeks. A lot of business owners will wait until they have a few posts written before they even launch their blog.
As you get more comfortable with writing, you can increase your frequency. You can also try different writing structures so that you can dig deeper into the topics you cover.
When you feel like you’ve done enough with the first series of tips, revisit your list of questions and follow the same format for your next series of posts.
As your content starts to generate more traffic and engagement from your readers, Google will pay attention. Soon you will have your current customers reading and sharing your posts and you’ll also have new customers discovering your business through search as well.
Get started today!
Set a goal to have your list of questions done by the end of the week. If you need help, ask your employees about the questions they’re hearing or spark up a conversation with a loyal customer and see what topics are on their mind.
Once you have your list of questions, pick one and start writing your first post. It may be a little slow at first, but once you start getting your ideas down on paper you’ll be surprised at how much great advice you have to share.