As an internet marketer with a blog you know the cardinal rule is to blog every day. You know that blogging every day is a crucial part of your survival in this industry. Not quite as crucial as say, breathing – but close!
Why is that?
Because CONTENT creates TRAFFIC. And TRAFFIC creates longevity.
But not just any old content. You must bring content that has VALUE to the market.
Which may seem like a daunting task when you know that there is already a mountain of valuable content out there.
You feel like climbing Mount Everest with an elephant on your back might be an easier challenge than creating content that would stand out against a teeming sea of value that has preceded you.
So if you’re new to the world of blogging daily and you're asking yourself 'what do I blog about?', here are 10 simple steps you can take to 'Beat The Blogging Blues', so you'll never have to use the excuse that your dog ate your blog again.
1 ) As you go about your day – keep your eyes open for something to blog about.
What’s making news? What’s grabbing people’s attention? What’s topical right now? What’s streaming? What headlines are grabbing front-page attention in the papers?
When you go to the supermarket, who’s splashed all over the covers of the gossip magazines and why?
What are people responding to? And blog about it.
If a current topic is hot, then people will want to read about it.
Find a way to bring the blog topic back to who you are and what you do.
2 ) Go to Amazon and see what’s trending.
This is such a great place to find inspiration for your blog.
Look for markets that are hot and ask yourself, “Why?”
What are the hottest products selling right now, what are the Amazon rankings and again, ask yourself, “Why?”
Pay specific attention to product reviews. What are people saying about a certain product and “Why?”
You’re looking for the top sellers, and working out what makes that hot.
Then blog about it.
3 ) Go to Discussion Groups and Forums that relate to your niche
If you’re looking for inspiration for your blog you’ll find it in Discussion Groups and Forums - no doubt!
Why are these such a great place for inspiration?
Because you’ll find real people with real problems,
looking for REAL solutions.
Listen very carefully to the hot topics.
If there’s a topic that stands out, ask yourself, “Can I provide a solution to this problem?” Work out a way to be the problem solver and deliver.
4 ) Search Google Alerts & Google News
Again, this is another way to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s hot RIGHT NOW.
You can create alerts for up to 1000 topics. The frequency of your alerts depends on how you set up your account, but with 1000 topics you’re sure to find something compelling to blog about on a daily basis.
Be the first to report on a hot topic, and you’ll be seen as “Johnny on the Spot”.
Readers will come to trust you to bring it to them first.
5 ) Write about something you’ve just learned
In your search for blog content you may get sidetracked and actually come across something so compelling that it takes you in an unexpected direction.
If you’ve learned something valuable, then blog about it. Heck, someone may be just as compelled by the information as you were.
And let’s face it, we’re learning every day.
Every day you should be exposed to new education in the form of books, webinars, seminars. This takes discipline, but it’s that discipline that will take you to the top.
So few people have the discipline to stick with learning every day.
Do the learning FOR them and then pack it down into a quick bite-sized chunk of information.
They’ll love you for it.
6 ) Have a strategic list of topics you will blog about.
There are 365 days in the year. Do you have 365 topics to blog about?
Chances are high that off the top of your head you don’t.
So sit down and strategically work out a flowing stream of ideas that you can blog about.
Write down at least 20 to start with so that your subconscious mind can start chewing on these ideas.
The rest will come when you actually sit down to write.
7 ) Blog about something you’re PASSIONATE about.
If you get really stuck, and nothing will flow, then blog about something you are absolutely PASSIONATE about.
Heck, it doesn’t matter if it’s slightly off the topic of what you’d normally blog about.
It gives your readers a chance to get to KNOW you above and beyond your corporate message.
Let your readers in so they feel a personal connection to you.
Maybe you love to cook, or jump out of airplanes, or go scuba diving, or just love to play with your kids. Blog about something that moves you and tie it back to what you do and what you offer.
People love to be inspired – so inspire them with stories about you.
8 ) Ask yourself, “What does my target market want?” “What is their biggest pain/problem?” “ How can I solve these pains/problems?
As a famous marketer once said, ‘you’re always going to be safe if you stay in your market’s world’.
Through a few of the research resources I’ve given, you should be able to get your finger on the pulse of your market.
When you’re really stuck for an idea to blog about, just get out of your own head for a minute and get into your audience’s head.
What is really troubling your audience RIGHT NOW and how can I solve it?
9 ) Blog daily
I know, this sounds painful, but you’ve got to get into the habit of blogging daily.Think of daily blog writing as if you’re an athlete fine-tuning your body for peak performance.
As an athlete there are certain things you will do daily to get yourself into a peak winning performance.
You’ll concentrate on diet, nutrition, body conditioning, you’ll set goals and targets, you’ll be wanting to improve on what you did yesterday.
Same thing with being a great blogger – you need to condition yourself.
Perhaps you need to set up a routine, a set time, a set place … for me I like to get up at 5:00am – EVERY morning.
I refuse to look at anything that might distract me from writing.
I make a cup of tea, and watch the sun rise over the Pacific Ocean.
I wonder at the glory of this life and all that it has to offer, and then from a selection of topics that have been forming in my head, I sit down, and without any interruption, I just start writing.
It may not be perfect first time around, but I tweak it and re-tweak until is resembles something that I believe will be of value to someone.
This discipline of blogging daily creates something magical.
Don’t ask me exactly how it happens, but once you start blogging daily, it’s as if your subconscious mind has all these pearls, absolute gems just waiting for you to discover within your creativity.
It’s like something magical happens between your brain and your hands. They take on a life of their own. As if they are possessed by the creative juices that have been ruminating in your subconscious, just waiting for their instruments of expression which are your hands.
Let them dance together and create magic.
So, blog daily.
That’s the greatest step you can take.
It won’t be perfect every day, but it’ll get there.
10 ) Just know that it doesn’t have to be perfect – it just has to have value and be of sincere benefit to your reader.
Sometimes we strap ourselves into the ideology that everything must be perfect before we hit “publish”.
We’re human beings, we’ll never be perfect. We're not designed to be perfect.
And how boring would it be if we were.
Our value comes from our struggle to be the best we can be.
If we are continually striving to learn more and share more, then that’s good enough. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
You will not be judged for giving 100% of yourself – ever.
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