From Ideas to Posts: Kickstart Your Blogging Journey
"You should start a blog! I’d read that!" You keep hearing that, and you agree. Maybe to use AI? But you know, that human-written content is ranked higher on search engines, and you’d really like to engage your readers. You don’t see a point creating a blog just for the sake of it, but express your brilliant ideas, and the wealth of tips that can change lives. Things that only you know, stories you could share in a unique way. Not to mention the fact that your blog has the potential to breathe life into your website, attracting a torrent of visitors. Great. Let’s do this!
You praise your inner genius. Your enthusiasm is palpable. That giddy feeling in your stomach reminds you of butterflies on a warm summer’s day. What a beautiful feeling, isn't it? You've planned two hours in your diary to write this blog. You're pretty proud of yourself for being so organized and overly excited to get started.
So, the time is here.
Let’s. Start. Writing.
Five minutes later, the page is still blank. You wrote something and then deleted it. Wrote again and deleted. Nothing seemed good enough for your first blog post. Or any blog post. Fifteen minutes later, you're getting annoyed, disappointed, and a little frustrated. The words in your head now are not appropriate to write down. You start questioning yourself. Your inner genius. Your ability to make things happen. What was I thinking? What if the only thing I have is ideas? Maybe I should do what others are doing – using AI, and just 'tweak it a bit'? Blank page fear got the best of you. Only because you didn’t know how to break through this.
The solution is simple. All you needed to do was to write the first words and keep them on a page. It can be your name. It can be a welcome. Nothing of this must be ready to be published. You can't bake a cake if you don't make the dough. And making dough can be a pretty messy process. Your draft with everything in it is the dough. You can't make dough and bake a cake at the same time.
Dough first.
Baking later.
And then icing.
The easiest way to conquer blank page fear is with writing exercises. They are like warm-ups. Prompts. Poetry. Pictures. 5- or 8-word stories. Anything that inspires you. The easiest way is to set your timer for two minutes, pick a prompt, and start writing. Not thinking too much, just writing. Not reading while you write. Just write. Create that flow. If you need inspiration for your writing, whether it's business or personal, then I've written a book that can help you with just that.
There are thousands of prompts online and in books, but I'll give you two just now:
"I went out with a storm, and …"
"The thing about a blank page is …"
***
Now, that you've completed your draft, it’s time for editing. It's common to think it's not good enough. "Boring. I can do better." Correct.
"Who would read that?" Stop right here!
How do you know what they really think? How do you really know whether they're going to stay reading or not? How can you be sure that what you share is not what they need just at that very moment? Some people call it overthinking; I'd say you're trying to decide for them. Would you like the idea that someone is making the decision for you?
There's a market for everything. Some people are looking for new furniture, others are interested in antiques, a third group is looking for things they can use their DIY skills with.
Think about yourself — one day you'll have cravings for sweet potato soup with parsnip, the next day you want to have cookies and hot chocolate. The same is with your writing. And your audience. Write. Edit. Post. Let them decide. Analyze results and feedback.
Writing for your business, whether it's a blog, newsletter, social media content, emails, or website content, is like running a marathon. You need stamina, muscles, and great technique to last the whole distance. And the right attitude, mentality. Mindset, if you wish. You don't need to see yourself as a writer. But you can be smart and use the tips of writers who have created books we enjoy reading.
