You might think there are some secrets that you have never heard about when blogging for your business. To be frank, it’s a lot like staying healthy. The things you need to do are simple, but not easy. Here’s a short refresher.
Be Consistent
I’ll cut right to the chase here and tell you the #1 secret to your blogging success: consistency. That means blogging when you don’t really feel like it. Sometimes you’ll really want to write something. Other times, not so much. I publish every Thursday morning at 6 a.m. Lots of times I don’t feel like writing. Not at all. By the way, if you missed last Thursday’s post, here it is: How Pivoting Away from Drama Will Make You Less Stressed.
Add An Image or Two
You don’t need a lot of images, but you should have one or two images. According to most content marketing experts, visual content performs better. “32% of marketers say visual images are the most important form of content for their business, with blogging in second (27%).” This is according to Hubspot’s
Include a Few Tags
After a while, you can choose from your most-used tags. WordPress automagically adds an archive of the tags you’ve used in the past. When you add your tags, you WordPress can help by giving you clues about which other posts you might link to, as explained in Yoast’s post: Tagging posts properly for users and SEO. As you might expect, my tags are generally about Facebook, Instagram, social media, startups, Twitter, etc. Yours might be very different. What is your audience interested in hearing about? Write about that.
Use a Couple of Links
I like to add a couple of outgoing links to good sources, and then a couple of links to my older blog posts. Do you have a formula for what you do when you write? If you missed my post about writing habits, here it is. Content Creation: What Are the Best Habits for Writing?
These Secrets Aren’t Really So Secret, Are They?
Leave you best-kept secrets in the comments! Hahaha! Just kidding. But if you do want to comment, I’d appreciate it.
Being consistent is my nemesis.
Hi Bridget,
Yes, sometimes other things take precedence. Thanks for stopping by!
Carol
Make a blogging plan, adjust it through trial and error, learn what works for you, and then, and this is the key, once you have a system follow it, do not vary because the exception becomes the rule.
Hi Randy,
What excellent advice. You have a lot of experience blogging, and I’m looking forward to reading your book, too! Following a system consistently is the key to success.
Thank you, Randy! And Happy New Year!
Carol
I’m with Randy as far as finding what works for you. And yes, I believe consistency is key. But often people who start take it a bit too far and the consistency becomes a burden, which often sets them up for failure. It’s so critical to find that sweet spot first. I have talked to people at my workshops in the past that were totally stressed out because they followed some blogger’s advice and didn’t test it out for themselves first. One was actually in tears and staying up at night worrying about what she would blog about next. There’s that fine line…
Hi Bob,
Not everyone is a natural-born writer, but most people have an easy time talking. Sometimes talking to someone can help them figure out a lot of topics to write about. Yes, testing is important. Some people can handle one topic per month. Some people prefer a longer format. There is no one formula that works for everyone, unfortunately.
Thanks for stopping by!
Carol
P.S. Your workshop sounds really interesting. Is it an in-person workshop, or is it online? I guess I’ll have to go ask you!
You are welcome :)
Actually, that was a workshop I did a few years ago. In fact, for about 5 or 6 years I did workshops throughout the Seattle area. They covered a lot around WordPress, and of course, blogging. In a way I miss them because of the interaction, but they are time-consuming is so many ways. But I do have fond memories of them.
Hi Bob,
That workshop sounds like it would’ve been a lot of fun. Do let me know if you ever decide to give one again! I’ll bet they are very time-consuming! Any time I’ve ever taught anything, I’ve invested way more time than I thought possible. But I also felt like I learned more than anyone, too.
Carol