Why is Writing Blogs Consistently So Difficult? Part 1: It Pays Off to Stay Regular
Keeping your blog updated is a bit like taking your vitamins: some days are a little hard to swallow, and it’s easy to drop the habit. BUT there are major returns for your business by sticking with it.
Publishing a blog is a core pillar of inbound marketing, and one of the best things you can do for your business.
Businesses with an active blog generate 67% more leads per month and have 434% more indexed pages (aka web pages that are noticed and ranked higher by search engines like Google). And a business that prioritizes blogging sees 13-times the ROI compared to a business that doesn’t blog.
Consistent blogging = more social media shares, more traffic to your website, and more customers.
We know it’s good for our business, and that time spent reaps genuine rewards.
So why is blogging consistently so hard to do?
As a copywriter for conscious businesses, a large part of my job is writing blogs. I consistently help my clients build up trustworthy, informative, and entertaining resources for their customers. And I’ve seen the positive impact that blogging regularly has on their business.
But I have a confession. The last time I wrote a blog for my own business was 7 months ago. Yeesh. Talk about not practicing what you preach.
But my shame has a silver lining — I intimately know what it’s like to struggle with blogging consistently, which means I understand why you might be struggling with your blog, too.
Let’s take a look at why maintaining your business blog and posting consistently matters, some of the main reasons why people struggle to blog, and some simple solutions to stay on track with your blogging goals.
🎵We’re all in this together!🎵 (High School Musical? Just me? Ok. *go wildcats*)
Why is blogging consistently important?
I’ve written an entire blog dedicated to the benefits of blogging (how meta), but it’s always great to remind ourselves about the measurable value of blogging regularly.
When it comes to the technical side of blogging, it’s all about consistency. Each time you create a blog post, you are adding a page to your website. This alerts Google that your website is active and that you have fresh content to review and index.
Another website page = another opportunity to show up on Google = another opportunity to drive traffic to your website.
Plus, each new blog post is a piece of content (or several!) that can be shared on social media. Consistent blogging means you will always have source material that can be repurposed for social media posts (another content format that benefits hugely from consistency). Two birds, one stone!
The dreaded “inactive blog”
Let’s talk about some “soft stats” when it comes to blogging.
As a conscious business, you know it’s not all about data and numbers: it’s about values, integrity, and connecting with your customers.
The truth is, an inactive (or sporadic) blog just doesn’t look very good from the perspective of a potential customer.
If your website was a storefront, an active blog is switching your lights on and illuminating the Welcome sign to show customers you’re open for business.
Especially if your business operates online, a blog is a chance for you to connect with your existing (and future) customers conversationally. By interacting regularly with your customers through your blog, you are giving them a sense of your corporate standards, business character, and core values. And authentic, consistent, and quality communication builds trust.
And let’s not forget, blogs provide valuable content and demonstrate that you know your industry. Blogging consistently establishes you as an authority in your audience’s eyes — not only can you be someone's “go-to” for information, it means they will already trust you, even before they need your services. This is especially huge from a sales perspective — think fewer persuasive sales pitches and more willing customers who already know (and love) what you have to offer.
But you already knew all this… the issue is WRITING the blog!
Let’s take a closer look at some of the main reasons people don’t blog and some ways you can get past these roadblocks.
3 reasons people don’t blog (even when it would be good for their business)
Reason #1: We don’t know what to write about
We all know the feeling of staring at a blank word document, waiting for inspiration to strike….
Depending on what industry you’re in, coming up with interesting ideas for your blog is easier said than done. And if your niche doesn’t lend itself easily to how-to posts or listicles, coming up with topics might feel impossible.
Inspiration may be a fickle mistress, but there are easy ways to get around the pressures of topic-choosing so that blog writing can be, dare I say it, fun?!
Here are some tips to break through this blogging roadblock:
1. “Idea Farm”
My #1 tip to combat the blog-idea blues is the “idea farm”: a tiny slice of paradise amidst sprawling green hills where ideas peacefully grow, graze, and get deliciously plump.
Ok so that’s not exactly it… but it’s not far off: an idea farm is a single document that acts as a collection point for every idea, opinion, or question you (or your customers) may have about your business.
An idea farm is uncensored and unedited: by collecting them in one place and keeping them “raw”, you have a handful of scattered thoughts that can develop into fully-formed blog post ideas over time.
I keep an idea farm for myself, as well as separate ones for each of my blogging clients, and plop anything (and everything) into it. Do you have frequently asked questions from your customers? Into the idea farm. Read an article with an intriguing new angle to explore? Idea farm. Struck by divine inspiration while on the ivory throne? You know where it goes. There is no idea too dumb or too small.
For example, this blog post was spawned by an entry that simply said “why is it sooo hard to start blogging?” I didn’t have the answers at the time, because I hadn’t written a single blog post yet. Time and experience developed that tiny, frustration-laden idea into an entire post.
Tip: make sure your document is easy to access and keep it in ONE PLACE, like a note on your phone or a GoogleDoc. There is nothing worse than having a blog idea and not being able to write it down somewhere, or having 10 different documents to sort through when it comes time to write.
… to be continued
Stay tuned for PART TWO of this riveting blogging adventure, where we explore blogging blocks and their simple solutions.
Remember…
If you want to increase your online exposure, establish yourself as an expert in your industry, and connect to your ideal clients, be sure to take advantage of consistent blogging as a marketing strategy for your conscious business.
And if you don't have the time or resources to write blog content (or hey, maybe you just hate writing!), I offer unique, relevant, and engaging blog writing services — let’s chat about how I can focus on your writing, so you can focus on your work.
