By Terez Howard
Someone once said, “Do you do it just enough to hate it?”
I recently thought about that question in reference to cooking. I try to cook healthy meals for my family. But if I cook too often or cook too many courses that take too much time, I don’t want to cook at all. I hate it. If I never cook (like when my kitchen was remodeled for a month), then I get used to not cooking and hate the idea of restarting.
Then there’s blogging. Do you blog just enough to hate it? Are you writing so much, so frequently that you dread the next time you have to concoct some witty, informative post? Or, do you write so rarely that you cannot produce anything worth reading?
Strike a balance
When you blog, you first have to have a clear objective in mind. What is your purpose?
Reasons for blogging include:
- Showing yourself to be an authority in your niche, thus directing potential customers to your business
- Helping people by explaining what you have learned in your niche
- Sharing personal experiences for the fun of it
- All of the above
Next, you have to take an honest look at your schedule.How much time per day or per week can you realistically devote to blogging?
You can devote:
- One to two hours per week
- One to two hours per day
- One hour every other day
- You get the idea!
Third, figure out how long it takes for you to create a high quality blog post. Some can whip up a post in a half hour, while it takes others a few hours to do the research, make links and write well.
Don’t forget about promotion
Too often, bloggers hear the saying, “Content is king.” And while beneficial content is a key ingredient to a great blog, promotion should be queen. It takes time to promote your blog.
Ways to promote your blog include:
- Guest posting. Write for blogs related to your niche, so readers will naturally be drawn to read more at your own blog.
- Blog commenting. Blogs you choose to comment on should be related to your niche, but even more importantly, should interest you. If you don’t care about the topic, then your comment will reflect your attitude.
- Social media. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Youtube are other avenues that can direct people back to your blog.
- E-mail marketing and newsletters. Build a list of devoted followers to inform of the newest developments on your blog and with your business.
- Free reports. Who doesn’t love freebies? Your audience will eat these up, especially when you tailor them to truly benefit your readers.
- SEO and LSI. When you write your blog posts, good content is definitely on top. But you should consider SEO and LSI to direct search engine results to your pertinent posts.
All of this promotion takes time. So, you have to decide what you’re going to do and how long this is going to take you.
Planning makes perfect
If you plan what you’re going to do, how much time you will take and follow your plan, you will see results. It might take longer for some that do not have much time to devote than others. But it WILL pay off. You can blog just enough to love it.
How do blog just enough to love it?
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Terez Howard operates TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility. She has written informative pieces for newspapers, online magazines and blogs, both big and small. She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas. You’ll find her on Twitter @thewriteblogger.
Thanks, Terez!
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!
