This is a guest post by Tom Treanor of Right Mix Marketing and the Business Blogging Telesummit.
10 Common Business Blogging Saboteurs…And How To Overcome Them
The business blog has become a critical component of many a company's online marketing strategy (and for good reason). It's the place where companies can place content that attracts (and educates) their target audience and it's one of the best ways to improve a company's search engine optimization. The business blog provides fuel for a company's social media activities by providing valuable content for them to share with their connections (and for their connections to share out as well). Good blog content can help a company be perceived as an authority in their industry or locality and the business blog can become a major lead generator when given the attention it deserves.
With that in mind, writing those blog posts should be a no-brainer, right?
Well, the sad truth is that we may have the best intentions, but our actions don't always fall in line. We may have an idealized picture of where we want to be in a few months with our blog, but day-to-day things just seem to get in the way of progress.
Let's face the fact that there are invisible saboteurs that impede our blog writing. Let's address some of the most important ones and look at ways to overcome them. What others do you have to add? What other solutions do you have? Leave them in the comments below.
10 Common Business Blogging Saboteurs – do you say these to yourself?
1. "I don't have anything to add to the conversation"
Okay, this is a bit of a leap of faith…but I know that you DO have something to add. You know more about certain topics than a lot of people out there. You can certainly educate your potential customers.
Start simple. Teach people basic topics in a very easy-to-follow manner. What questions do your target customers ask you? Start by writing up a simple "how to" post. Or consider writing a list post like "Top 5 reasons to refinance now" or "Top 5 reasons to hire an architect for your kitchen remodel".
2. "I don't have any good ideas"
Stop telling yourself you can't come up with good ideas. That's step #1 for dealing with this saboteur.
Here are a few ways to come up with ideas:
- Create a list of common FAQs that your customers ask. Each one can be a blog post or you can compile then into a list post.
- Look at blogs you like (in any industry). Use similar ideas and headlines for topics in your industry.
- Go to Alltop.com and look at any category. Get some ideas there for blog posts.
- Capture any kernels of ideas into a notebook or your phone as you go about your day. Make sure these all get to a centralized place (like a document on your computer. Use these ideas as a starting point when you're ready to write.
- Ask clients, readers or social media connections what they want to know about related to your industry. Create a post based on that.
3. "I don't know where to start writing" or "I can't figure out how to start this post"
There are no rules for writing. Start in the middle if that helps. Or you can do an outline of the main points. You can even start with your conclusion or main point and back up from there. The point is, don't keep rewriting the first sentence if that's going to hang you up. Get some content on paper (real or virtual) and work from there!
4. "I don't have my own writing style"
Just like an painter or rock guitarist, we're all influenced by our predecessors. Find one or two bloggers whose styles you like and mimic them in your posts. After a while you'll move on and develop your own style.
5. "I need to focus more on blog design, adding new features or working on social media"
This is procrastination, plain and simple. Carve out a separate time for your blogging and don't allow email, blog design tweaks, social media or TV to intrude.
6. "I have a lot of unfinished posts but not enough completed ones"
Your metric should be completed posts. You need to develop the attitude of a finisher, not a starter. Overcome your fear of pressing "publish". Overcome your perfectionism that tells you there's always more to write, more research needed, or more editing to be done. The finished posts should be good posts though. There's no room for just average posts (except maybe at the beginning when you're just getting up to speed).
7. "My posts are not very good"
It's not a linear equation. 100 poor blog posts are much less valuable than one or two stellar blog posts. Why? Because one stellar blog post can be shared thousands of times and get you inbound links to your site, traffic, attention, PR and new leads. 100 poor blog posts wastes a lot of your time and no one will care about them. They may even hurt your reputation if they're that bad! One stellar blog post can add a ton of value to your company.
So, you have to learn to create better than average blog posts. How?
- Use formulas to start: "Top 10…", "How To..", "The Ultimate List Of…"
- Take more time doing the research, with your writing, doing the formatting, picking a good picture and getting the post edited.
- Mimic better writers (see #4 above) until you find your own style.
- If you absolutely can't do it, find someone (inside the company or outside) to help you create great content. Make sure the content represents you and your brand well.
8. "Blogging is low on my priority list"
Understand the business case for blogging and how closely it ties to Social Media and SEO (search engine optimization). If you can generate leads from your blog are you able to reduce spending in other areas of marketing? Are your competitors gaining ground on you in terms of blogging and content marketing? Think objectively about where blogging should fit on your priority list and make sure it gets the attention it deserves.
9. "I feel like I'm trying to write about something outside my area of expertise"
Option 1: Go back to your area of expertise and focus thereOption 2: Interview someone who focuses on that other area and write up the interview or post a video of itOption 3: Hire someone to help you write on that topicOption 4: Get guest bloggers to write on that topicOption 5: Curate posts on that topic (see Content Curation Interview and Content Curation Definition)
10. "I'm not seeing results from my blog"
Blogging takes time to show results. If you're creating high quality posts, adding value to your audience, and promoting effectively via social media, you're on the right track. Blogging is more akin to a marathon than a sprint so set your expectations accordingly and keep going!
Overcome your blogging saboteurs
I hope these ideas for overcoming your blogging saboteurs have been helpful for you and your business blog. What other saboteurs have you run into? Or, what other suggestions do you have? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
About the Author: Tom Treanor is the founder of the Business Blogging Telesummit, designed to help entrepreneurs, small business owners and sole proprietors succeed with their blogging and social media efforts. Denise Wakeman is one of the featured speakers and the event starts on December 12th so register (for free) soon! Visit Tom's blog at RightMixMarketing.com.
Best line of this post: “Blogging is more akin to a marathon than a sprint so set your expectations accordingly.”
The business blog I manage just celebrated its one-year anniversary. Although my team must still work everyday to overcome the saboteurs, I’m proud to say we’re getting better. Planning ahead helps so much.
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Those are exactly some fo the excuses running around my own noggin. I suppose I have to FINISh those posts that I’ve started… and write on topics I like, and go back to the basics, AND mimic those writers I admire – all of the above. Thanks for writing this list today!
Thanks Cathy. Yes, finishing a high percentage of the blog posts that you start helps you get more content on your blog (which leads to good things!). Good luck making more progress in the new year!!
Very comprehensive tips you shared over here.
Thanks Richard!
Great tips, Tom, and they resonate with my own experience and certainly with the things Denise has been teaching us for so long. The more we can be ourselves, the more powerful our “voice” becomes.
My biggest saboteur is procrastination and irregularity of creating an editorial calendar. 2012 will be better though, I’ve already started, and there’s a Year-at-a-Glance dry erase calendar propped up right by my desk with the beginnings of my effort.
Thanks so much.
Thanks Elizabeth! I love that idea of the Year-at-a-Glance dry erase calendar. I may have to get one for myself too!
Thanks Denise. I can talk about it because I’ve been through each of these myself. I hope people can use some of the tips to break free of the saboteurs they face with their blogging!
I’ve been blogging for my business since 2004 and I think I have experienced every one of these saboteurs! Keep the big picture in mind and remember it’s about serving your audience and getting found by your ideal client. That’s what keeps me going.
Thanks for the great article, Tom @RtMixMktg:twitter