It’s Monday night so it’s time to get your weekly blog post done. You sit staring at the screen. You pop over to Facebook and then you get caught up on the latest celebrity gossip blind items and did you know that….oh wait, it’s two hours later and still nada, nothing, zippo, zilch has been written.
Tick, tick, tick. You throw in the towel and opt to watch three episodes of House of Cards or Orange is the New Black on NetFlix instead.
Tuesday comes and goes and still no blog post. The pattern continues for weeks…until it feels ridiculously awkward to suddenly post on your blog.
Does this exact thing sound familiar? I thought so. I call this a case of the blogging “shoulds”…as in I’m blogging because I should, not because I know what to say or because I really feel connected to this in any way.
Creating content doesn’t need to be hard. If writing 500 or 1000 words about a topic related to your life or business seems this challenging, this post is for you.
Why Are You Blogging?
I’ve been blogging personally and professionally for longer than I care to admit. I’ve played the role of coordinator, editor, content wrangler, promoter and writer.
Inevitably, there reaches a point where the blog isn’t shiny and new, it hasn’t been an overnight success. The blog becomes just another thing to do on the to do list and coming up with the idea for a new post feels like trying to suck a bowling ball through a straw.
Every time this issue comes up, it’s because of a single thing.
We don’t really know WHY we are blogging. We’ve lost the why for the blog or didn’t really ever have it in the first place.
[Tweet “Why are you blogging anyways? New blog post from @magspatterson”]
You know that whole Simon Sinek Start with the Why approach to business and leadership? Much like with your business, if you aren’t connected to your purpose or cause, you are going to struggle with your blog content.
Why Exactly Are you Blogging?
Blogs have become something of a marketing “should”. The refrain is that we “need” a blog.
WHY?
If you stop and really think about it in the context of your vision and mission for your business, do you really know WHY you are blogging? Aside from the fact it is the “thing” to do or everyone else is doing it…
There are plenty of reasons why to blog from a marketing standpoint. It could be to create community and connection to showcase your expertise or drive traffic to your site…but please…let’s get real for a second.
For most of you, your blog is not your business. If you build it they will not come. Especially if you are too busy watching four hours of random reruns on NetFlix come Monday night.
Struggling with your content week after week is a sign that you need to lock down already and figure out the purpose for your blog. Start by asking yourself these questions:
- What’s the purpose of your blog?
- Why are you blogging? Is this the best way to share this content?
- Why would your audience read it?
- What do they need from you?
- How can you share this information in a new or unique way?
Deep thoughts, right? Getting a clear understanding of why you are blogging and how it connects to your business makes creating a plan for your content and managing it week over week, dare I say it? Simple.
Not convinced? Think we’re all just navel gazing here about our why when we should be writing content?
Listen to this. Last week, one of my clients told me that since going through the process of getting clear on her blog’s why and getting strategic about what exact content would support her business, that writing posts is so much easier and she’s getting way more engagement.
That my friends is no accident. That’s the power of clarity.
[Tweet “Doing anything because you should sucks, including blogging. New blog post from @magspatterson “]
Enough said. Stop blogging for a checkmark or because you should. Maybe a blog isn’t the right thing for your biz or you have some work to get connected with that why. Whatever you decide, make it the right decision for you and end the pain and misery of struggling for a topic to write about.
Take Action: What’s your blog’s why? Don’t write another post until you have a clue why you are doing it.
Introducing Content Camp
Are you struggling with your content? Seriously slacking off and you’ve not sent a newsletter for….well, since you can’t remember when? You are flying by the seat of your pants every week to figure out blog posts, social media and more? Or do you just have no idea where to freakin’ start with any of it?
It’s time to kick your content apathy to the curb and get ready for Content Camp! This is a beta offering with special pricing. Click here for all the details.
