Daily Steps for Writing a Blog That Benefits Your Business

You have been playing around with blogging for a little while now. You set up a free website account just to be able to write down your thoughts or ideas when they come to you. Maybe you’ve even started considering adding a business aspect to your blog like a coaching service or a product where you’re an affiliate. You love to write and you’ve had several people tell you they love your writing, yet once you started making it a focus to be consistent at it you started to struggle. You sit down and feel like the creativity has been sucked right out of it. The free website platform your using isn’t working to be able to charge people for your service or product, and the blog is just one more thing you have to do on your website. You find yourself saying, “Is the blog really worth it?”.

I know where you’re coming from, BizMom! For as much as I love writing, when I decided to develop a business AND have my blog somehow my writing for the blog consistently became the piece of my work I was willing to give up on first. Go figure?

PICTURE

The aspects of building the business became more pressing and thinking about how to fit my blog into it all seemed like it was too much. My blog is just my thoughts, opinions, my ideas… Who really cares about those, right?

The issue is, I do. I care about sharing my thoughts, opinions, and ideas. The more I neglected to share them the less I was enjoying my business. I needed to develop a way to make writing my blog a practice I’d enjoy, not one I’d avoid. I needed it to be a system that didn’t feel so pressured that it stole all the joy and creativity from writing it in the first place. My blog needed to have a breakdown. It was no longer something where I could have an entire morning (or all day long) to sit and knock it out from start to finish. There needed to be a daily action that by the end of the week my blog post would be finished. This way I had plenty of time for the other tasks of my business but also was able to enjoy the creation of what I was writing.

I thought I’d share with you this process, so if you are struggling with the creation of your blog feeling daunting or losing creativity here is My Blog Breakdown. It’s simple steps so each day you are moving towards the creation of an important part of your business and website. Here it is, @ivealwaysbeengena’s BLOG BREAKDOWN:

Day 1 - Do the Research

I start with Monday and spend at least 15 to 20 minutes doing the research for my topic. Every post, even your opinions need a little bit of research. I set a timer and dig into Pinterest and other search engines to see what others are saying about the topic. This can help you with determining the title of your blog post so it is more easily found with SEO. It also can help you find inspiring quotes, find images that match the topic or other helpful did bits that you can reference within your blog or weekly content for your business pages. 

It can be difficult to make yourself stop here and not go right into writing your blog post, however, I encourage you to set your research aside until the next day. I find this to be super helpful as my thoughts have this new information I’ve found around what I was going to write. I find I am able to formulate my idea or topic better when I write. As I have additional ideas throughout the day I will jot them down so that writing the actual post comes out seamlessly the next day.

Day 2 - Write it & Let it Sit

On Tuesdays, I sit down and review my research. This always gets me inspired to sit and write, even if there is a lot on my SPRINT list (my form of to-do lists) for the day. Reviewing my research before I write reminds me that there are a lot of people looking for what I have to share and even if I am only going to write it for one person the topic or idea really does matters.

You may find on writing days that it helps to wake up earlier than your usual start time or maybe you’re a night owl and you stay up a little later on this day. This is really personal preference. I find my best time to write is early, so on Tuesdays I sit down at my desk early, with a hot cup of coffee or cocoa and write. I don’t worry about proofing or adding images. I just write, and when I am done, I close it up and move on to my next task for the day. There will be time enough for me to over-analyze and proof it tomorrow.

Day 3 - Proof & Design Day

This is the day for creativity! Wednesday I print out my blog post. Yes, if you have a printer I highly encourage you to print it out. Maybe it is the teacher in me but I like to proof-read my posts by printing them out. I personally find something fulfilling within the creative process of my writing by printing it out, reading it, writing little thoughts in the margins and then coming back to my computer and correcting my post.

Once you’re done proofing your post, then it’s time for the design work. This is where I decide what photos I will use within the post and for the thumbnail of my post. I also decide if there is any video or hyperlinks I want to place within the body of the post, and where will I enhance the text with bolding, italics or a larger font. 

I encourage you to set a timer for this part of the process as well, as I can find myself sucked into the creative portions trying to make it perfect. Wondering if the picture should have a mom figure in it or maybe that image is too dark can go on for hours. There is no reason for perfection here, BizMom as over the years you’ll revise and recycle your blog. Getting the post out there for people to read is more important than if you used italics in the right place.

Day 4 - Content Plan

By this point I know I have ants in my pants to get it out into the world, but I want you to take a day to let it all sit before you post it onto your website and shout it is done from the rooftops. I want to share this sales tip with you that has helped me intertwine my blog better into my business. Before you post it, plan your social media content that will go with your blog for when you share it. Your blog is a product. It needs marketing, it needs to be sold to your readers.

A blog by itself is great, but I find one of the reasons I am more willing to let my blog go to the wayside is that it doesn’t feel like it fits or is doing anything to support my business. The “Why does this really matter to anyone?” pops up if you don’t consider why is it important people for following your business read it. So, take some time to plan the other content you’ll share along with the post. I talk a lot about how I build content plans in my Build a Facebook Biz Page on Purpose course and I find incorporating that strategy to my content around my blog really helps with my overall purpose of why my blog. It also reminds me that it is an important part of my business model around my products I sell, and also helps ensure I am talking about my blog enough for my followers to keep reading & sharing it.

Again, a blog is a product of your business. Be willing to take the time to create some content for it that will sell it to become something your followers & customers appreciate.

Day 5 - Email & Share It

Here’s the day you’ve been waiting for and it’s an important day most bloggers take for granted. I am guilty of this, I often take this step for granted. I half-ass it and don’t use it to my biggest advantage. Tip: Don’t be like Gena. Be like the blogger who doesn’t half-ass this step.

On the day you are sharing your blog post with your subscribers & website, consider all the places you have to share it. I make the mistake too often to email my list and only post it on my website. Instead of sharing it on as many writing sites (not social media sites yet) that I can or to as many people as I can think to share it with personally. This is where having a list of what websites, such as Medium or Commaful, to share your blog is important. Take some time to decide what are the sites you want, other than your own that you are going to post your blog to each time you create it.

Also, consider writing down iif there is anyone you can personally think of that could use the blog post you just wrote? Wouldn’t it be nice to send it to them personally and tell them you thought of them when writing it? 

This day isn’t only about posting it on your website. Take the time to make all the work you just did for this blog post count.

Day 6 - Post it & Pin it

Saturdays and Sundays are the days I get social with my blog post. This is where I schedule my blog to be posted to my social media channels and when I pin it to Pinterest. Depending on the blog, I’ll also create a board on my Pinterest profile for it, and add a few other pins that link with the subject. Whatever social platforms you use, be sure to share it as many places as possible. From your stories to going LIVE about your writing is an extension of your brand and your followers NEED & WANT to hear about it from you!

Over the years of writing a blog, I have found it’s an important part of my “HOW I make an impact” not only my WHY of making an impact. I want my blog to be something that I am proud of on my website of HOW my customers trust me, know me, and are loyal to me when it comes to my products too. 

If you are wanting to take your blog to the next level and have it be a key piece of your business your customers enjoy, using my Blog Breakdown each week can help you keep the creative flow. It will keep you consistent, and dare I say confidence instead of feeling your blog is a daunting task added to your weekly schedule.

Another big plus when using your blog as a key driver of HOW you reach your customers is to have it housed on a platform that makes the rest of your business easy to develop. Your blog should be something that is easy to update, add SEO, have your followers comment on and pin to Pinterest. My website platform is through Kajabi, who just recently added the feature of my followers & customers being able to access everything from me from an app on their phones. Kajabi is marketed as a All-In-One Business Platform and it truly is all of that. I don’t need to request from anyone to add plug-ins and new features don’t require me to pay additional fees. It’s worth checking out if you are in the stages of just developing how your blog & your product/service link together. I did a series of LIVES sharing all about Kajabi on my business page on Facebook.

Finally, I want to encourage you that whether you have been struggling with staying consistent to your blog or you feel like a blog isn’t a digestible addition to your business that a blog is an asset to your business model. Having a blog will help your customers get to know you better and learn to trust you. When deciding what you will share in your blog, look for ways for it to be incorporated with your product, services, and values of your business. If your blog is not on your business website but housed somewhere separately consider merging them through platforms like Kajabi. It will take work to join them but that work will pay off in directing customers & followers to be more loyal and dedicated to everything you offer them. 

I’d love to hear from those of you who implement my Blog Breakdown the result you have, and any other questions you have about developing a business blog. Please share in the comments or email me your questions at [email protected].