As I work more and more with both freelance writers and small business owners looking to build up their blogs, I find these two groups have the same problems. Their blogging journey generally develops like this:
- Start a blog. All excited!
- Write a few posts.
- Write a few more posts.
- In the case of the businesses, they sometimes hire me at this point to write more and better posts.
- Soon, frustration sets in. They start to wonder why nothing’s happening — why they don’t get many readers, comments, or subscribers. And why, ultimately, they don’t get customers — either new business clients, or paid blogging gigs, or eBook sales.
I find this happens because of a basic disconnect people have about blogging.
Here’s why nothing’s happening with your blog:
When you write a blog post, you have created a tool. It’s like you’ve built a bullhorn for broadcasting what you know, who you are, and what you do.
But if no one picks up the bullhorn and talks into it, what will happen?
Nothing.
If you haven’t properly built your bullhorn, and it isn’t strong and sturdy and useful, what will happen?
Nothing.
No one is surprised that a silent bullhorn doesn’t accomplish anything. But people continue to be shocked when their unpromoted blog doesn’t make them an overnight millionaire.
What is the missing element in so many blogs?
Someone has to use the tool.
I know — blogging is so much work by itself! But it is actually just the first step in the process of using your online articles to draw people to you. Once you have that bullhorn, you’ve got to pick it up and start talking into it. Do that enough, and some people will notice and come on over to visit the blog.
As we saw earlier this week with one blogger’s bafflement about Twitter, many writers (and companies, too) don’t understand how to promote their blog. They aren’t using social media. They’re not sending out an email newsletter with their blog posts in it. So no one is discovering their posts. I’ve actually had clients sending out newsletters…but without including any links to their blog posts!
Another example: I had one client hire me to do two posts a week for two months, for instance. After six weeks, they hadn’t even bothered to read, approve, and post all the pieces I’d written. No one at the company was tasked with regularly promoting the posts in social media. So naturally, they were ready to pull the plug because “it just isn’t monetizing the way we expected.”
They expected their bullhorn to shout by itself. No surprise that didn’t work.
How to make something happen on your blog:
The good news is, you can fix this. The skills needed to succeed in blogging are not hard to learn. There are four basic elements you need:
- Spectacular content that works online
- Great design that delights and engages visitors
- An understanding of social-media marketing and a commitment to promoting your blog regularly
- Workable monetizing strategies for turning your growing audience of readers into buyers
Want to learn how to build a blog that makes you big money? Check out my ebooks:
