Once your blog is up and running, find 3 steps here on how to set up your blog, it’s time to write your first post.
This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. Please read my disclosure policy here.
This can seem like a bit of a daunting task when you’re staring at a blank screen.
First Post
An easy first post is one that simply introduces you to your readers. Share with them who you are, and what your business is all about.
If you have a vision for your blog (which you should), you may want to share some of that with your readers as well.
Wrap it up with a list of other places they can find you (your main website, your brick and mortar store, social media accounts, etc.) and you’re done.
Add a picture of yourself or your store and you’re ready to publish your first post.
Above all don’t worry too much about your first post.
Get it under your belt and get comfortable with the process. Early on there won’t be a lot of people reading your blog and you always have the option of editing and improving it later.
For now, look at it as good practice.
It may also help you to jot down a quick outline for your post before writing it.
With an outline, it feels more like a “fill-in-the-blanks” exercise as you simply add a few sentences here and there.
Start writing and come back later to edit and improve before publishing if you need to.
Click on the image below to grab the 5 steps to understanding your unique brilliance and help you create content which will attract the right clients!
How Often Should You Blog?
One of the first questions you may have once you get started with your blog is how often you should write and publish new posts. I wish there was an easy answer.
The truth is instead of fixating on a certain number, what’s more, important is that you blog regularly and keep to a schedule of sorts so your readers know when to expect a new post.
For example, you may start by blogging once per week, keeping up that schedule week after week.
If you find that you can get more blog posts written on a regular basis, go for it. Move up to twice per week and see how that works with your work schedule.
Keep trying different blogging schedules until you come up with something you can stick within the long run.
It’s also helpful to have a few blog posts ready to go in case you have an extra busy couple of days in your business or get sick. This way you can continue to stick to your blog post publishing schedule no matter what.
The only wrong way to do things is to not blog for days and weeks at a time.
Don’t overcommit yourself or you’ll burn out and end up doing just that and don’t allow your blog to go stale.
Stick to your blogging schedule and slow down if you need to. At a minimum, you want to get at least one new blog post per week published.
What Type Of Content Should You Post?
Before we start to talk about regular blogging, let’s quickly run through the different types of content you can post on your blog.
The first is, of course, a text post.
This can take a variety of formats and lengths from quick tips, to lengthy tutorials or lists. Take a look at what other successful bloggers in your niche are doing and take inspiration from the types of posts they create.
Of course, your text posts can be enhanced by adding images and even videos and various other media files.
Images make for great blog post content.
You can create posts that mainly consist of a series of images with a little text to help the reader understand what’s going on with the images.
Image posts make great tutorials, but you can also use them to showcase your products or share with your readers how others are using your products for example.
Video and audio posts are other interesting things to try.
It depends on your audience and how they like to consume your content.
Try different formats and find a balance between the type of content that’s easy for you to create and showcases your products well, and what your audience wants.
You should also switch up the length of your blog posts and mix things up.
Most importantly, make sure you get high-quality content published on a regular basis, no matter what the format and length.
Plotting And Planning
I’ve mentioned a few times throughout this report that it is important to blog regularly. This will help you grow a loyal readership and it will also help you with getting free traffic from search engines.
They love sites that are updated regularly and reward them by sending more traffic to those types of sites.
But how do you go about making sure you’re blogging regularly, even when things get busy and you get distracted?
What you need is a plan, and a blogging calendar is a perfect place to record your plotting and planning.
There are plugins out there for your blogging platform that allow you to create an editorial calendar, but you can also use whatever existing calendar you’re using – be it digital or physical.
Or you can use a simple notebook to keep track of your blog post ideas and scheduling.
The important part is that you sit down, brainstorm blog post ideas, and then figure out what post you want to write when.
While your blogging calendar doesn’t have to be set in stone, it will help you get writing in the morning and ensure that you publish blog posts on a regular basis.
How much you plot and plan and in how much detail is up to you. Some people find that writing a topic or idea down for each post is all they need to get them started.
Others find it helpful to have an outline and links for further research or resources they want to mention in their posts.
Play around with different formats and strategies until you find a system that works well for you and keeps you blogging regularly.
Plan at least a week’s worth of content ahead, but you can certainly go much longer than that.
How often do you plan on publishing new content? Leave us a comment.
Here are some more blogging tips to help you get started and grow your business:
- How Blogging Can Help Grow Your Business
- 4 Positive Effects of Blogging
- 3 Steps to Follow When Starting a Blog
- Effective Strategies for Blogging
- Blogging Mistakes to Avoid
Interested in more ways to balance your life and your business? Get a reminder with my HappyBot for my free Facebook Live trainings every Friday! happinessmatters.com/fblive
