If you’re looking for a reason to start or continue blogging, the short answer today is it’s no longer an option.
Without exception, this single activity can do more for your online visibility and performance than just about anything else you might consider.
Why? The reasons are many and the requirement for continual and relevant content publishing is rising.
As any credible online marketer will tell you, if you want a modern online presence for your business that will turn a website into measurable business value, a blog is THE essential first step that must be built and put in place, period.
Consistency can be very rewarding.
But make no mistake, committing to a blog is anything but a one-time event. So unless you’re willing to make the significant investment to continuously add content, forget about it. It’s well known that over 25% of all blogs that launch end up dormant in less than 60 days. Feeding a blog is real work. But it will also deliver true long-term value for virtually any business online.
As the inbound marketing experts at Hubspot point out, businesses that create, optimize and promote their blogs get 55% more traffic and 70% more leads than those who don’t. What’s more, About 46% of daily internet users read more than one blog every day. And 36% of daily internet users read 5 to 10 blog posts per day.
If you want to build awareness for your brand, increase credibility and trust in your business and stay “top of mind” with existing clients and prospects, consistent blogging in a structured content marketing program can help you accomplish these goals.
How to feed the content beast.
Unless blogging is an integral part of your job with specific deadlines, it can be a challenge to consistently keep up with the unrelenting demand for fresh blog content—especially if you’re running a business, meeting customer expectations and managing people.
The only effective way to stay focused is to create a structure and schedule to ensure that your blog becomes part of your “have-to-do” routine. Consider these 3 tips to help manage your blog and the demands of continual content creation.
1. | 80% of success is just showing up.
You need to show up at the blank page on a regular basis to be able to remove the many roadblocks you’ll encounter. Writing must become a habit. And if you do it first thing in the morning, chances are you’ll capture or express a valuable idea or insightful point of view before the demands of the day distract or interrupt you.
As any writer will tell you, writing and producing thoughts through the written word is not a magical, creative event. The reality is that it’s about documenting ideas when you have them and continually expressing them in a structured and recurring process. So if you don’t show up at the page consistently, the idea never gets expressed and the content never gets created.
2. | Put inspiration fuel in the tank.
Ideas come from everywhere. And your goal should be to have a steady diet of inspiration from many sources. This means reading and consuming writing and content as often as possible.
You need to set up ways to gather information, ideas, perspectives, and opinions efficiently.
Consider setting up Google Alerts and subscribing to high traffic blogs or aggregation sites that filter and assemble content in your area of interest or expertise.
Sites like Zite and Flipboard are becoming have-to-have aggregation resources for scouring the web-based on the filters that you define. Once they’re configured, they’ll do the heavy-lifting and deliver all the subject matter you’re seeking in one easy to view and navigate repository. Whether you choose to use digital algorithms, popular apps, human editors, or a combination of all the above, these tools and techniques can have a dramatic effect on the content you discover, consume or share.
3. | You’re not a machine so don’t act like one.
It may be obvious, but it’s important to remember that writing is both a mental and physical activity. And unlike your computer, you’ll never be able to work around the clock without some serious degradation in both the quality and quantity of your work.
The same way that your blog needs to continually be fed with great content to deliver the results you’re looking for, you too need to feed yourself (not too much) with a healthy diet and frequent and vigorous exercise.
Forget the pizza, taco chips and soda and start consuming raw fruits and veggies for maximum effect and creative productivity value. Working in concentrated bursts with breaks that allow you to absorb and reflect on your effort will also help you revisit your work with a clearer mind and an improved perspective. The result is your writing will improve with just a bit of editing or digital sanding.
One last line.
Are you having success with a content creation and publishing routine? What have you discovered or learned that you’d like to share? Looking forward to hearing from you.
As president and creative director of TeamworksCom, Paul develops brand strategy, engineers content to express customer value and creates integrated online and content marketing solutions to help businesses succeed. Connect with Paul, send an Email, or just call 415.789.5830.