Clarify the Purpose For Your Blog

by Cori-Leigh | Blogging | 2 comments

Starting a blog can be an exciting adventure, offering a platform to share your thoughts, experiences, and expertise with the world. However, many bloggers dive in without a clear message or defined purpose for their blog. While this enthusiasm is commendable, it’s essential to understand why having a focused purpose is crucial from the very beginning.

One common mistake new bloggers make is writing about a wide variety of subjects. If you’re like many aspiring writers, you likely have a ton of interests and an endless array of topics to explore. This might seem like a strength because it ensures you’ll never run out of things to write about. However, in the world of blogging, this approach often leads to confusion and frustration.

Imagine a blog that one day discusses travel tips, the next day delves into cooking recipes, and the following week shares personal finance advice. While all these topics might be of interest to the blogger, they can leave readers bewildered. They might struggle to understand the core theme of the blog and wonder if the content will consistently meet their interests and needs.

Here are a few suggestions to help you clarify the focus for your blog;

Know why you blog on your chosen topic.

Often bloggers don’t give enough attention to why they blog on their topic or topics of choice. It’s important to know this starting out. Doing this first helps you define the purpose of your blog. Knowing your why will help you develop your unique writer voice.

What is your why?

• Why did you start a blog or want to start a blog?
• Why is your topic of interest important to you?
• More importantly, why do you think it will help others?

Select a niche area of interest.

When I started blogging several years ago I struggled with this part. This happened because I was interested in many topics. My love for writing led me to blogging. At the time, I didn’t understand the importance of selecting a niche topic to write about.

When deciding on a niche area ask yourself a few questions;

• What are you interested in writing about?
• Are you interested in your blog topic enough to write consistently about it?
• Having a blog means you’ll be writing content consistently.
• If you lack interest in your blog niche, you’ll struggle with what to write about.

Focus on your target audience.

Once you know your why and have selected your niche area, your target audience is waiting for you! These readers will be interested in the topic you write about. Those who aren’t will not become your loyal readers and followers. This is okay because you are not speaking to everyone. You are helping those who are interested in your topic.

Connect with your audience and establish a relationship with them. As you and your blog grow, you’ll develop a loyal following.

Establishing a growing audience takes an investment of time. Reach out to other bloggers in your niche area and also establish friendships with them.

Make a clear first impression.

When I visit a website/blog for the first time, I like to know if I’m in the right place. Is this the place that can help me with the information or content I’m looking for? If I cannot see right away something that grabs my interest, I don’t stay long. Sometimes the website is not easy to navigate and that can cause me to leave. You have one chance to make a first impression and those first few seconds matter! Make it clear when people visit your blog what it’s about.

Below are a few ways you can do this;

• Create a tagline. One sentence that captures a little about what you do. Example: Mine is “Helping writers and bloggers find their wings of confidence.”
• Logos are great for branding your site. Like a stamp that is unique to you.
• Simple and clean design is pleasing to the eye. Less clutter enables your site content to stand out!

Conclusion

Clarity comes through spending the time to nail down the topic best suited to you in the long term. Mastering one topic of interest is easier than chasing too many and mastering none. Enjoy starting and growing your blog! Happy blogging friends!

How to Write and Publish Your Blog Posts Faster

by Cori-Leigh | Blogging | 5 comments

Many bloggers ask me how they can learn to write blog posts at a faster pace!  If you’re a new blogger it will take time and practice. Do this enough you’ll be posting content consistently to your blog like a pro!

Writing your blog content shouldn’t be a stressful and anxiety-producing activity. If it is – you’ll continue to struggle with improving your writing speed. A large number of beginner bloggers think they have to frantically rush the post-creation process.

I used to take too long to write and publish my blog posts. They never seemed good enough. Fear crept in and held me back from publishing what I wrote. As a result, I made creating blog content a difficult and unenjoyable challenge. Finally I worked on releasing my writing and blogging fears.

With practice and attention to releasing my writer doubts and fears, I eventually improved! It took time to turn what had become stressful into fun again by making a few changes. There are a number of ways that you can learn how to write your blog posts much quicker!

Show up to write daily.

Keep showing up to write and watch your blog post creation speed improve! The path to succeeding in writing your blog post quicker requires you to show up and write! If you don’t you’ll struggle to write and publish anything at all. The more you write daily the faster your writing routine develops.

Once you do this enough it will feel strange to not write every day. Doing this helps you to form habits to ultimately increase your blog post creation process.

Every pro blogger I know became an influential blogger by showing up daily to write. Each one is committed to writing and publishing content to their blogs.

Let go of the perfect post mindset.

Perfectionism will rob you of time and cause frustration. Blogging fears cause the focus to be on perfectionism. When we change our blogging mindset we release the fears that limit our blogging success. This includes areas we get stuck in creating our blog posts quicker and more consistently.

Your post won’t be perfect because nothing is perfect. The reality is our blog posts don’t need to be perfect. In fact the best posts you’ll ever write will be on the other side of fear and perfection. This is where writing freedom is found. When you are aware of this then you’ll speed up your writing flow.

Create a list of blog post ideas.

Not knowing what to write about will absorb your time and slow you down. Daily activities we do provide countless blog post ideas! Creating a list of blog post ideas that helps you always know what to write about for your next post.

In the backend of my WordPress blog here I have a list of blog post ideas. These are ideas I jot down into my phone, tablet or notebook. I add collected ideas to my post list. You’ll never run out of what to write for your next post! When life gets busy you can be blog post prepared!

Reduce unnecessary distractions.

Eliminating or reducing distractions will help to keep you writing at a steady pace. While it may be impossible to remove all distractions there are some that you can change. The internet is a busy and often distracting place for many writers and bloggers.

Pay attention to how much time you spend on social media platforms and other online activities  I achieved incredible results when I began being more intentional about where and how I spend my time online. This is also true for everything we do daily.

It’s important to be aware of your writing distractions. Know what they are so you can focus on what to do about them. Doing this also helps you save time so you can accomplish more!  When you minimize distractions you’ll increase the speed of your writing flow. Reducing distractions also works free the mind and allows you to focus your thoughts on writing quicker.

Practice free writing.

When writing our blog posts we often get in our own way. Get out of your own way to allow your thoughts freely flow! Many bloggers and writers restrict their writing flow. I enjoy free writing it allows me to write without restriction.

Doing this removes the pressure of your own expectations. Allowing you to unlock your mind for your thoughts to flow freely. Doing this allows you to ease into a writing flow. Allowing for your words to pour out of you. This helps to get your writing process moving.

Write what you know.

It takes time and practice to freely unleash your unique writing voice. Another way that you can write and publish your posts quickly is to write about what you know. You won’t be an expert on every topic.

There is no need to try to be someone you are not. If you aren’t sure of what you’re writing about this will dramatically slow you down. You’ll spend more time researching topics you’re not experience in writing about.

Instead, be you bringing your unique and genuine self into your writing. Writing about what you already know based on life experience and knowledge in your niche area helps! You will write higher-quality posts too!

Create a quick blog post outline.

Blog post outlines or templates help you to save time and create your blog posts quicker. Write down the main points that you want to cover in your blog post. Creating an outline is nice, as it allows you to spend more time writing and less time thinking about what you want to write about.

Even a blog post you wrote previously can function as a great blog post outline. You can use your post outline as a template for future posts. Filling in the areas is easier and before I know it I have the beginning foundations to a great post!

I start with the following;

• Have a basic general idea as to what I will write about in my post.
• Basic title to tweak later.
• Subheadings to fill in with content. These headings can be worked with more later.
• Short conclusion – doesn’t necessarily have to be written yet but I at least have the subheading.
• Encourage my readers to join the conversation by asking a few questions consistent with the post topic.

Resist the urge to edit too early.

While writing resist the urge to critique and edit. Editing your written work is a separate process. Let go of perfectionism in the blog post writing process. Resist the urge to edit while in the flow of writing your post. Doing this prevents your mind from the distraction of focusing on mistakes. Allowing for free writing and an easy quick flow of thought.

While I’m writing I never interrupt the writing process to edit. This creates a mental distraction as you’ll look at what you wrote with a critical eye. Doing this blocks writing flow.

Keep writing until you have more than the amount of content you need. Take out what you don’t need. If you are a beginner focus on writing shorter posts starting out. This will make the process easier.

Writing and publishing your blog posts at a quicker pace;

Is the result of time spent being aware of where you get stuck. Often it is just a few changes consistently implemented that produce results more rapidly.

You can also try writing shorter posts which can help starting out. With practice and consistency you’ll soon be writing and publishing your blog posts faster!

Let us know in the comments what helps you to write your posts quicker?