{"id":1958,"date":"2013-09-14T07:50:06","date_gmt":"2013-09-14T12:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.feedthebeast.biz\/?p=1958"},"modified":"2013-09-14T07:50:06","modified_gmt":"2013-09-14T12:50:06","slug":"how-to-write-a-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.feedthebeast.biz\/index.php\/how-to-write-a-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Write a Blog (a.k.a. The Fear of Blogging)"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to Write a Blog<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you freeze up when you need to actually write <\/em>something that the entire world (potentially) could read?\u00a0 Does the word \u2018content\u2019 make you feel queasy? Does a little voice in your head say: \u201cYou\u2019re not a very good writer.\u201d \u201cYes you are.\u201d \u201cNo you\u2019re not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hello, my name is Anastasia and I have never written a blog post before.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/a>Yes, it\u2019s hard to admit. I develop blog topics, edit blogs, and direct writers as well as clients on how best to write an effective blog entry, but I have never actually written one.\u00a0 I know all about the \u201cbest practices\u201d and the \u201chow to\u2019s\u201d of \u201chow to write a blog\u201d and have been behind great SEO success and customer engagement due to well-crafted blog postings. So, what\u2019s up with me not taking the plunge before now to write one myself?<\/p>\n

The answer is \u2018fear\u2019. As we all know, fear gets in the way of success and can make something simple into a scary, overwhelming event, that\u2019s best avoided (right?). For me, writing is putting a piece of yourself out in public. What if it sounds stupid? What if no one finds it relevant? What if no one reads it? What if\u2026 .<\/p>\n

After a short pep talk reminding myself that I know<\/em> how to do this and I’m a smart, successful marketing strategist\u2026 and ending with \u201cand darn it, people like me\u201d, I knew I had to get started. How? The blinking cursor and the empty screen were freaking me out. I needed to find a less intimidating way. I did a search and found a speech recognition software app called Dragon Dictation (www.nuance.com<\/a>). I can talk and express my thoughts a lot more easily than I can write them down, so I just started talking into Dragon Diction, and out popped a bunch of text that contained my thinking. Wow.<\/p>\n

Creative problem solving at its best!<\/p>\n

Then I took the very advice I have given my clients on how to write a blog:<\/p>\n

1. Brainstorm ideas.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coming up with the \u2018perfect\u2019 blog post isn\u2019t easy. And, it really doesn\u2019t have to be perfect, now does it? It comes down to confidence in knowing your subject matter and what your customer \/ potential customer is interested in reading.<\/p>\n

2. Create an outline.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Remember essay writing? It\u2019s very similar to that except you need to ensure you have a strong headline. An outline is your roadmap.<\/p>\n

3. Think about keyword phrases ahead of time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Search engines love focused blog posts. If you want to get found by your audience, research what keyword phrases your audience would use to search for a solution. (The keyword phrase for this post is “how to write a blog” which accounts for about 12,000 web searches a month worldwide and has low competition. The title I wanted was “The Fear of Blogging”. You can see the results.) Keep in mind that the keyword phrase you decide on also has to intersect with your blog topic. You can use Google\u2019s free keyword research tool<\/a> to help you. Once you figure out the right keyword phrases, use them liberally in your title tag, headlines, sub-heads, body copy, and image tags. Thinking this through before<\/em> you write is a lot less painful than writing first, and then working your keyword phrases back into your blog post. Trust me.<\/p>\n

4. Give yourself deadlines and time limits.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I know that if I didn\u2019t have deadlines, I would have been stuck in the details. I have also learned that I can limit my tendency towards procrastination if I set a timer for just 10 minutes \u2013 I can do anything for 10 minutes. It really helps to combat the feeling of being overwhelmed.<\/p>\n

I gave myself multiple 10 minute deadlines for the different parts of this post:<\/p>\n

– Outline
\n– Research
\n– Writing
\n– Proofing and editing<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so easy to get lost in your research and editing and perfecting, that writing your blog can become a real time suck. And then, if writing a blog takes so much of your time, it creates an unending cycle of procrastination. Bad cycle. Bad.<\/p>\n

5. Plan to be consistent.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Publish your new post on the same day each week. It\u2019s great for your readers to know when to expect your new post and it\u2019s good for you to have a regular day and time that you know your blog needs to be ready.<\/p>\n

6. Realize your limits.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am going to write a post every week, but I know that if gets to be too much, then I will aim for bi-monthly instead. Quality is often more important than quantity. But consistency is always important.<\/p>\n

7. Record \/ make notes for blog ideas.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The most wonderful feeling can come from having a few \u2018extras\u2019 in the pipeline. There are great mobile tools to help you with this like OneNote<\/a>, Google Keep<\/a>, and EverNote<\/a>. When you come up with an idea, jot it down. It\u2019ll save a lot of wear and tear later on.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, here it is, my first blog post. How did I get over my fear? I didn\u2019t, I haven\u2019t, I still feel it\u2026 but here I am, done. Ha! And maybe, just maybe, the next one will be easier.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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How to Write a Blog
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