We can all relate to the judgment of a blank page. It’s just there. Staring at you, well, blankly. And you keep hearing that you should be publishing on your blog. Yes, small businesses need to write. It’s good for your soul, it’s good for your social efforts, and it’s good for SEO.
You need actionable tips to get going today. But first, you need to give yourself an uninterrupted 20-30 minutes.
Ready?
Blogging Tip 1 Tap Into Your Frustration
What thing do your customers always ask you that drives you crazy? Shift that energy (anger, frustration) into something positive: a blog post.
Do people not understand why your pricing is where it is? Do they question your shipping speeds? Maybe they don’t get it. They don’t get why they should hire you.
Educate them. You can even do it with humor. Think of a Letterman Top 10 list of why people shouldn’t buy your product or service.
Either way, get the frustration out on the keyboard. Or, if you don’t want to physically type, you can use voice typing in Google Docs. It’s pretty great.
With all that frustration funneled into your writing, read it out loud before you click publish. Make sure it’s still friendly and professional.
Blogging Tip 2 Write Somewhere Neutral
Maybe the office isn’t the best place for you to knock out that blog post. You see all of the work around you. People may stop by your office to chit-chat. Maybe home isn’t a good place, either – especially since you have laundry to do. You need a third place.
Europe has all of these wonderful cafes and outdoor spaces where you can meet up with a friend, have a drink, and chill out before you go home.
Pick a third place that will inspire you. It may be the library, a coffee shop, or a beach. Whatever it is, pair that third place with the productivity of writing. Separate it from the “work” of your business to make it more fun. This will help you see business blogging as a way to position yourself as an expert, not another chore on your to-do list.
Blogging Tip 3 Keep a Journal
This tip is actionable now for future you. Keep a notebook next to you and write down ideas as they come, then you just pack that journal up with you when you go to your third place. And before you say it, typing notes on your phone is not the same. There is a different neurological process when you write things down.
Maybe you forgot that clients always ask about the sugar content in your lattes. Think of your business blogging as customer service and presales. What questions do you repeatedly get? What things does your website not explain to customers?
Keeping a journal helps you organize these thoughts so you can keep track of patterns. If the question has been asked three times, make it a blog post.
No one knows your business better than you – you’re the expert!
Blogging Tip 4 Use Launch With Words
The hardest part of doing anything new is starting. Gym. Cooking. Writing. You need to overcome the obstacle of forming a new habit.
This is where Launch With Words comes in. It’s a free WordPress plugin that imports blogging prompts right into your drafts folder. Simply follow the prompts and start writing – right there. There’s even a checklist for blogging best practices. You don’t have to remember notes you took a year ago at a lunch and learn on how to use WordPress.
If you want to use AI instead of following the blogging prompts, you can! The AI prompts in Launch With Words even work with ChatGPT. The downside of using ChatGPT, however, is a bunch of extra steps to copy/paste and get links. The more you leave your WordPress dashboard the more excuses you have to not publish. Believe me, I’ve coached a lot of business owners.
Blogging Tip 5 Use Bertha.ai
If you want to stay in your WordPress dashboard and still use AI, then use Bertha. When it comes to prompts, Bertha has you covered. There’s no end to what she can do. But that may be the part that is hanging you up.
Even though AI will write for you, it still needs you to participate. How do I tell her what I want? Will she write like me?
Bertha solves this with her onboarding. You put in information about your company and your tonality – once. Say yes to making one decision one time and get the business blog off of your plate!
Pair that up with the free Launch With Words Starter Pack and those AI prompts and you’re golden.
With over 20,000 users, it’s a great investment in your business!
