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Let’s get down to brass tacks!

You want to write a really great blog post! = Satisfaction

You want it to appeal to your readers. = Generosity

You want it to bring profit in your business. = Freedom

Any worthwhile endeavour will always include some stuff you don’t want to do or at least you feel resistant to but do it you must anyway.

I want to lay out what goes into writing a great blog post but also remind you that I am relatively new to this as well and am always learning new techniques.

I’m sharing what’s been useful to me so far and you can pick from it what resonates with you.

It’s your blog.
It’s your business.
It’s your responsibility.

Before we jump in, one of the things I love about blogging is the great communities you can tap into and the great characters you’ll meet.

I discovered one such person from a mentor suggestion, ? Ryan Biddulph ?, and I am including a link through to his blog Blogging From Paradise because I highly recommend his beautifully open and applicable style of writing.

We all need help and people are full of wisdom if you take the time to engage with true experts’ wisdom and guidance. Enjoy his blog and, of course, enjoy mine too!

Let’s go!

Table of Contents

RESEARCH

Hands up! I’ve neglected this.
People want proof.
They want illustration.
People want some stats.
They want to see you give a shit.

One key trait of entrepreneurs is openness. To be believable, I believe you have to be inquisitive and curious and you have to want to find solutions.

You will only get this by exposing yourself to new information all the time.

REMEMBER: digest info in a way that suits you. Any creative process can be taxing and you want to remove as many unnecessary barriers as you can.

I love watching podcasts, I am not that much of a reader (though I have started reading a few pages a day again to keep my skills sharp and to develop a bit more focus). Make it work.

Some take notes.

Some don’t.

TIME MANAGEMENT

No getting around it, writing a great blog post takes time. The average amount of time to write engaging prose has increased over time.

As of 2022, the average writing time of a well-received blog post is 4 hours. This means you have to get organised and you have to prioritise.

I am experimenting with block writing (all in one go) and spacing my long-form content creation over a few days.

Particularly if you are working, setting aside half an hour a day to write a paragraph or two means you chunk down your efforts into manageable stints and you get a persistent sense of achievement.

While writing in one go once you’ve collated all your source material means you have more time to market your work on forums, social media, etc.

At various times, your priorities will vary and sometimes you will more free time, be flexible.

WORD COUNT

“Martin, peoples’ attention spans are diminishing.”

Nope, your content is just boring. Do better.

Google suggests, and people read, long-form blog posts more frequently. The average length of a winning blog post in 2022 is 1895 words. In fact, the higher the word count, the better received your article.

You see, you have to be generous in your writing.

You want to show your reader you’ve covered all the bases.

You’ve effectively done their thinking for them and you’re offering practical advice for them to follow.

Being a creative AND learning how to monetise it baffles most and the attrition rate is massive. Show people how to, like we covered in the Time Management section, chunk down their work into manageable periods of creativity.

If you’re writing in short, sharp bursts over the week, 2000 words (let’s say) over five days is 400 words a day. Manageable! Your readers and potential bloggers are looking for encouragement and for clear ways they can make it work for themselves because, like anybody (and myself included!), they have their doubts and insecurities.

Word count does not have to mean filler.

Illustrate your knowledge, what personal experience and anecdotes can you bring to the plate?

WHAT PROBLEM DOES IT SOLVE FOR YOUR READER?

Right, ego-shedding time.

A business is only successful with, guess what, customers/clients.

Whether you realise it or not, every great company identifies a problem people are experiencing and establishes a way of overcoming it.

Amazon has next day delivery of, increasingly, every type of good and an excellent returns policy.
Apple keeps people connected and helps people buy into a luxurious lifestyle.
Google collates information and makes it universally available.

Whether you agree with these companies culturally or politically, they do what they say on the tin.

What does your business do to solve peoples’ problem(s)?

How are you expressing that in your writing?

For me, affiliate marketing (the current business model underpinning my blog) teaches people all the essentials of building a profitable online business with fantastic mentorship, as well as providing an uplifting community in which to share wins and stay consistent!

Every blog post must identify your reader’s pain and show them a way of kissing it better. That’s why you must know who you are aiming at.

My avatar is aspiring bloggers with the entrepreneurial bent to building their own lucrative business empire.

Who is your ideal client?

BEING PATIENT AND KIND TO YOURSELF

Let’s get a little vulnerable, shall we?

Rome was not built in a day.
The great ‘overnight success’ usually takes many, Many, MANY years!
I’ve been plugging for around seven and only really made genuine headway in the last year or so.

It ain’t gonna ‘appen overnight.

SO!

You have to be kind to yourself, but not complacent.

Turning up daily is a pre-requisite. There is much planning to do and, of course, execution and, believe me, you’re going to encounter every personal demon you dread and a few unexpected ones are going to gatecrash for good measure.

When you work consistently, you MUST bake acknowledgment and satisfaction of your small wins into the system.

Every new venture is a massive uphill learning curve. It’s what you have to do to climb the mountain of success – one step at a time.

One blog post at a time.
One new contact at a time.
One new training video at a time.

Stress is enemy of success and nothing worthwhile has ever been done out of impatience.

What I am about to say could be its own separate section but pacing yourself is essential, as is gratitude.

What are you in a hurry for?
Is your life so desperately bad?
What (AND WHO!) are you trying to prove?

FACT: You’re doing this for yourself and YOUR audience.

Start to embody what you want to see more of in the world. Creativity is such a gift and a tool of abundance.

Enjoy the Process.
Be a true leader and an uplifting role model.
Show yourself and your readers what is possible!

Which brings me to………

THEY WANT TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

I’m not a ‘rules’ man. I love principles. I also love personality.

Don’t be scared to be irreverent. No one wants to read a stuffy post, full of jargon and platitudes.

They want to see some life experience, the highs and lows, they want to see what makes you special.

Bring the colour, I swear quite a bit in my posts, fuck it, why not? It’s adults reading your stuff, people with disposable incomes and frustrations.

One principle I adore is ‘giving people permission’ – not that they need it but when a pianist is playing at the piano, he ‘seeds’ the money jar with a little coinage to show it’s acceptable for you to do the same. Do it with your writing.

Give them permission to express themselves honestly.
Give them permission to vent their frustrations.
Give them permission to get shit done.

You see, swore again in that last line. I’m testing you.

You’re an entrepreneur (or at least considering it) because you want to be free of bullshit constraints. You want to have fun with your business and your life AND you want to find bedfellows who do the same.

Be a bit dirrrrty!
Indulge your naughtiness.
Break the monotony and boredom people toil through!

WHAT ARE YOUR CHALLENGES?

So, here we go. Where are you struggling my friend?

What scares you about pouring your heart out?

What would you like your blog posts to achieve?

How would it improve your creativity to take your blogs a bit more seriously?

Let it gush my friend. Comment below where you’d like to improve in your blogging practice and let’s share the load.