Getting a blog seemed like
such a good idea at the time. Everyone else has one! It’s search engine food! It’s going to build relationships! It’s a way to market and promote your company!
But now the reality of having to fill up that blank page is keep you up at night. Relax! It’s only a blog. Our blog writing tips will make filling that blank page easier than you ever thought possible.
There are three steps to take before you can begin writing:
1. Define your audience
2. Come up with post ideas
3. Overcome the blank page (Write)
Defining Your Audience
This is an absolutely critical step because without knowing who you’re talking to, you won’t know what you should be talking about.
For instance, here at future-ink our main business is to build websites, and help site owners promote their site via search engine marketing. Our audience ranges from first time website owners to corporate marketing managers. There’s a wide gap of knowledge so we have to write articles to appeal to both types of people — those just learning, and those who want to take their site to the next level.
Before you start writing, decide who your audience is, how familiar they are with your type of product or service, and what questions they are having.
Come Up With Post Ideas
This sounds harder than it is. If you’ve done your homework, you’ll have a good idea about what kind of information you readers are looking for. Here’s a strategy for coming up with post ideas:
- Come up with 5-10 broad topics
- Within each topic write the 10 most common questions you are asked
- Write one or more posts for each of the common questions, using the following types of answers:
- Theoretical/Practical- this kind of post answers their question with theoretical/practical information.
- How To – this kind of post takes the theoretical post and gives the reader a step-by-step process to follow. This could be a tutorial as well.
- Series – if your information is lengthy, split it up into smaller chunks.
- Resource – once you have a good archive of information you can create a summary blog post that simply lists all the posts that apply to a similar topic. You may also want to include posts from other people’s blogs or websites in your directory.
Overcome the Blank Page
This one is all you. Or as Nike advised, “Just do it.” If you follow the strategy I outline above, you’ll have a stock pile of up to 400 post ideas just waiting to spill out onto the page. If you need help, consider hiring a blog writer who can give you filler posts for the days you’re on vacation, sick, or just plain don’t feel like it.
Need a little nudge?
We can help get you started. Contact us for blog copywriting, or subscribe to this blog and get stellar content like this delivered straight to your inbox.
About the author: Jeune Ortiz is VP of Marketing and Creative Director at future-ink. With more than 20 years of experience in graphic design and marketing, Jeune brings extensive knowledge and creativity to each website and internet marketing solution to grow your business.
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