Over the past several weeks we’ve been exploring why we should blog. Let’s start talking about how to blog.
Before we can get into the nitty gritty of how to write posts, there are a few things to take into consideration. I won’t go into nitty-gritty detail on being a successful blogger. I’ll be explaining the basics of how to blog and how to use it as a tool for your business once you have your blog.
What’s the central theme of your blog?
There should be a main theme tying all your blog posts together. And if you are blogging on your business website, your posts should in some way relate to what you do. This is one aspect of ‘how to blog.’
Having an overall theme will help give structure to your blog. This theme will give your blog structure. Structure is easier to create a strategy with than random topics. We’ll get into the strategy in another post. Being strategic with what you post will help search engines find you. It’s also pretty useful if you are wanting to use your blog to make an income.
If you aren’t blogging for business, having a central theme will help create a cohesive feel to your blog. This helps build trust and bring readers back knowing they will read more of what interests them.
A while ago I wrote about the questions you should ask yourself before starting a website. These are questions you should ask yourself before starting a blog, too.
Who do you want to reach?
Readers will return to your blog time and again. They may come because they want to learn, but return because they connect with the way you present it. Don’t take them by surprise with the topics you write about. They can relate to what you’re sharing, why you’re sharing it…
Writing posts with the reader in mind gives your posts purpose. You can speak to what they want to know or learn. Writing about things my readers can relate to (or want to learn) helps me build trust with my readers.
What do you want to do with your blog?
I can write with purpose when I have a central theme, know who I’m writing to, and know my goal for writing. I think of this when I’m writing each individual post. I also keep this in mind when I look at my blog from a big picture level.
I wrote my mom blog posts with other moms of young ones in mind. Moms who were at home day in and day out who needed help coming up with ideas to connect with their kids. Moms who wanted to sneak in fun learning moments. I wrote with the bigger goal of making life a little easier for them. I could have written with the goal of making a side income, selecting products to promote within each post. The purpose would have been entirely different and would have affected how I wrote.
The purpose of this blog is to help those who know they want/need to have an online presence, have frustration in doing it themselves and are looking for guidance and help. My goal is to relieve the frustration of doing all the research (just to be overwhelmed with choices and not know what direction to go in.) If I didn’t have a goal formed around a central theme, I could post about anything and likely have fewer readers visiting my page, even if each post is crammed with juicy morsels of knowledge.
These are two simple examples of how having a larger theme helps give direction to the purpose of a blog. These also introduce you to how you can take one topic and break it down into smaller, supportive topics.
Next week will start our delve into the vast topic of ‘How to Blog’.
Take Action
Take the time to think about your greater reason / goal for blogging, and who you want to write posts for.
