The Ultimate Writer’s Guide to Blogging Part 1

The world of Twain, Hemingway and Salinger no longer exists.

Though the home row may still mean everything to a modern writer, marketing has never been more important. And the sharpest marketing tool in the modern writer’s box is a blog. A writer without a blog is handicapped when finding and cultivating an audience of eager readers.

Whatever type of writer you’re aiming to be, a blog should be central to your strategy.

WordPress is best, in my opinion, but other platforms such as Joomla, Blogger, and Movable Type are available as well. Microblogging platforms such as Tumblr are also growing in popularity, and are even easier to maintain. And with an approximate cost of free to nearly nothing, you have no excuses not to get started.

You must establish a strong online presence.

Every chapter in this book revolves around that one basic principle — there have never been more opportunities or potential for success available to the modern writer. However, it won’t come without work or learning to effectively navigate the online space.

You don’t need to be ridiculously gifted. A good writer can make a great living if you can write with clarity and think BIG. But you’re unlikely to succeed if you can’t draw a crowd. It doesn’t matter if you want to be an ace copywriter, ghostwriter, or grant writer; write novels, magazines, or screenplays; become a marketer, coach, or consultant, you must make yourself known online, even if it’s just within your niche.

It isn’t enough to be a great writer. In today’s world, successful scribes know how to command attention. A good writer with an earned reputation will have more creative control, freedom, and opportunity than a great writer who doesn’t know how to effectively mine the many freely-available online tools.

Simply being online isn’t enough, though. A static website won’t cut it. Today’s readers are looking for a connection to you and your work. A static website is little more than a business card tucked away and quickly forgotten. Google gives far more SEO juice to blogs than static websites — an important consideration, because if you’re invisible to Google, you’re invisible to people. Being on page one or two in search engine results is a world of difference from being buried on page 47, where nobody will find your website.

A blog also gives you the freedom to add pages quickly (and easily) on the fly, effortlessly changing your website’s content as needed. A well-written blog allows you to connect with your audience in a way that’s never been possible before, encouraging back and forth dialogue in the form of reader comments.

Done well, your blog is the nucleus of your online world.

Blogs aren’t just for freelance writers looking for business. If you’re writing a book with high hopes of getting noticed by a publisher, you need a blog. If you’re hoping to self-publish, you need one even more.

Your blog is where you freely offer what you know. It’s where you sell your services, tell your stories, and give people a glimpse of the real YOU. People naturally love to do business with people they like. A blog makes it easy for your potential clients to like you because you are revealing yourself through your posts.

Yes, you can get by without a blog, and I’m sure people out there with strong networks don’t need blogs, but most of us don’t have access to an awesome network of contacts who can help us promote ourselves or secure steady work. Most of us need to build our network from scratch. And that’s where blogging gives you a lot of power right out of the box.

If you’re ignoring blogs, you’re impairing your potential. Inaction has a cost. Sure, you can be the writer who abstains from developing an online presence as you sit in your home office or attic banging out The Great American Novel, and maybe you can even get a publisher to buy it. But most of the new breed of writers who are getting noticed are discovered online. The time they’ve spent building their blogs and establishing strong social media presences have given them full stables of clients, thriving coaching businesses, and published novels.

A blog allows you to build a brand around yourself and your style of writing. It allows you to give every reader a free appetizer that will whet their appetite for the meal you want them to someday buy. And though a blog can benefit just about any online business, you have it easy.
You are a writer, which means you already have the necessary talent to make your blog stand out on the Web.

The most important thing to remember when building your blog is always put your reader first. People are intolerant of thinly-disguised self-serving promotional agendas. Writers who treat their blog as a broadcast platform to endlessly pitch themselves and their wares will soon find their voice echoing down an empty hallway.

Design your blog around those readers you most hope to have. Be heartfelt, be funny, be human. Most of all, be yourself.

Take a few days to do some reconnaissance before starting your blog. Be a reader rather than a writer, so you can see what some of the best writers in your niche are doing. If you don’t have any favorite online writers, find some. And if you’re not already reading a few blogs, it’s time to start. You can’t be the best at what you don’t understand.

Look for blogs that inspire you. Notice what works and what doesn’t. Observe the different writing styles and notice how readers react in the comment sections. Are there a lot of comments? Does the blog author encourage conversation? Are the posts on your favorite blogs regularly re-tweeted on Twitter, liked on Facebook, or otherwise shared in social media channels? These sorts of things contribute to something known as social proof, showing that the blog has an active and engaged audience. Which is exactly what you want to build, because an engaged audience can act as your advocate to help you spread your message.

Look around just long enough to learn the game, but don’t waste too much time on the bench. Jump in and start playing — it’s one of the most important things you will ever do. Capture as much momentum as you can, so you can start establishing your authority as early as possible.

What Is Authority And Why Should Yours Matter?

Authority, simply put, is proof that you (and your blog) are worth listening to and you know what you’re talking about. You have relevant information that people respond to. Authority can come in a few forms — you’ve achieved success and can speak to the topic, your posts are often re-tweeted or commented on, and people regard you as an expert in your niche.

Establishing a strong voice of authority is an essential step in building your blog. You have an online forum to demonstrate your knowledge in front of a live and always evolving audience. Done well, your blog will teach you to write for an audience and maintain a consistent writing schedule, while helping you focus on your growth as a writer.

Some blogs take years to grow, which is why most people quickly give up. Don’t think of your blog as the thing that will make you rich or get you discovered. It’s probably not — at least not in the way most people think of when they think of blogs as money makers. But that’s okay. Your blog is the vehicle which you can use to find success (whether that’s measured in buyers, readers, or job opportunities), and build your network.

Three things you must do to accelerate the growth of your blog are: Be unique, simple, and consistent.

The blogosphere is crowded with copycats. Pick the top 20 or so blogs in any niche and read them. You will notice a startling amount of recycled ideas, regurgitated content, and replicated perspectives. Few writers are willing to truly stand out.

Some tips for standing out are:

Dare to be different. Look for the angle no one else sees and be willing to say what no one else will. You’re not trying to build the biggest blog on the Web. You’re trying to make the most powerful blog you can in the shortest amount of time. You’re trying to become an authority, so remember, the people at the front of the line aren’t followers.

Keep things simple. People are busy. Your ideas must be broken down small enough for an elementary schooler to understand. That doesn’t mean you’re writing for a third grader; it means you must keep your language clear. When possible, take complex ideas and break them into base components. Whether people find your blog through search or social media, chances are good they’re looking for a solution to a pressing problem. Give it to them quickly and in an easy-to-read format; they’re likely to stick around and see what else you have to say.

Be consistent. Your favorite TV shows are on the same time every week for a reason. People love consistency. This doesn’t mean you must publish your post at the same time each day, but it does mean you should establish a regular voice, a dependable tone, a uniform way of dealing with your audience, and a reasonably consistent publishing schedule if you expect people to receive you into their already-crowded lives. This is the surest way to build your authority and show that you matter and that your blog is a must-read.

Above all, always put your readers first. Putting your readers first makes it easy to accomplish two blogging fundamentals — getting attention and making friends.

Getting Attention

Getting positive, easy-to-monetize online attention comes down to two things: anticipating the critical problems facing your target market, then providing effective solutions.

The key to successful sales — and let’s not kid ourselves here, we are selling — is threefold. Identify a problem, convince your audience that you’ve diagnosed their problem, and then offer the solution. This problem can be as real as lower back pain or as imagined as a temporary state of mind such as boredom.

Never be duplicitous, of course. But you can write in such a way that shows you understand your readers’ difficulties. But more importantly, you know how to help. Deliver on your promise of resolution and you will build authority with every pledge.

The key to grabbing reader attention is writing about the problems they have or anticipate having, then articulating quality solutions. The key to holding that attention is being able to do it over and over again. Before starting a project, pretend you’re a complete outsider and ask yourself what you’d want to know.

Would you want to know:

Common symptoms?
Warning signs?
How to know you have a specific problem and not another one that’s closely related?
How the problem could harm your future?
Where to find additional help?
Steps to take to solve the problem on your own?
How to avoid this problem altogether?

By asking yourself what you’d want to know, you’re giving yourself multiple angles to write from. This is perfect for blog copy, which requires authors to write about the same theme multiple times without too much repetition.
The formula is simple: Educate your readers, then offer a solution. This doesn’t mean you must always tell them exactly what to do, step-by-step. You can skim the surface in your regular, free on-site copy, then design an eBook or service product that offers a full solution you can sell at a premium.

How far you go in offering a solution depends on the scope of the problem, how complicated or simple the solution is, and how much expertise the solution requires to implement. Generally speaking, you’ll want to give your readers enough information to determine if they have the problem, along with enough tips to help them solve the simple issues that will get them on the right track or solve their problems independently. You can then offer your own (or your client’s) product as a solution for those readers seeking additional help or who don’t want to leap the hurdles on their own.

Providing genuinely useful information will inspire your readers with the confidence that you are an authority in your niche. It also ensures they get enough value from your work to seek you out in the future, either as readers or buyers.

As in life, many ways are available to get attention online. Some writers do so by being obnoxious, some do it by being funny, while others curate entertaining content. Just know ahead of time — entertaining people is far more difficult to monetize. People can find free entertainment on millions of sites.

The BIG money online comes with being a builder of solutions.

Are you writing about real problems and solutions on your blog and guest posts?
Are you writing the copy that’s most relevant to your target market to help them live better lives?
Are you getting your audience the information they need most?

Do that well and you’ll have a crowd large enough to start making a good living. Keep that crowd happy, and you can make a GREAT living in no time. Once you have the attention you need, it’s time to start making friends.

How To Win Friends and Gain Influence

You know how to make friends in real life, right?

Good news — making friends online isn’t too different. In fact, it’s easier because you can do it on your terms. Real life harbors too many variables that are out of your control. You must engage in real-time conversations as they unfold. Online, you can be measured enough to ensure you are always using your words to focus on the three qualities it takes to grow any healthy friendship.

Think about your best friends. They’re helpful, funny, interesting, consistent, and magnetic. I’m sure you could think of 1,000 other superlatives. Think of what draws you to your friends, then apply that to your blog.

Be helpful. Withholding information has no value. If you know a tip or trick that will help someone pull further ahead, share it. No matter what your field of expertise, information inside your head can help the people around you. Take the time to write it in a simple, easy-to-digest format, and you will be making friends every time you press the publish button on your WordPress dashboard.

Be funny. Make people laugh and they will be more inclined to read and share everything you have to say. But be careful. There is a big difference between attention and profit. Don’t make the mistake of being one of the funny bloggers who get hundreds of comments with nothing to show for it in their bank account. This happens far more often than you might realize.

Be interesting and consistent, but above all — be YOU. Be the you you’re most proud of and you will easily connect with your audience. Be human and show your readers that though your perspective is unique, you know what it feels like to be them. Isn’t that what your friends do for you?

If you’re able to make friends with your audience, then you’ll be able to do one of the most important things you can do with your blog — create a bond.

Making Relationships Work

Fail to strike a bond with your audience and you may as well be yelling in an empty ballroom. Unless you’re keeping an online journal, the purpose of your blog is to grow as a writer in both profit and purpose. Bonding with your audience is a large part of this. Like anything worth doing, this takes time.

Think of those times in your life when you genuinely bonded with another person, whether it was a family member, friend, or casual acquaintance; it was time together that allowed your relationship to deepen. It’s simple human nature — the more time spent together, the more natural the bond.

The more consistent you are as a writer, the more people will be willing to spend time with you and your words. The longer people are willing to spend reading your work, the deeper the bond. The deeper the bond, the more you can do with the relationship.

This is everything.

People do business with people they like. Whether you’re writing freelance or selling a book, you want an audience that is eager to give you their time, money, attention, and seal of approval. Fortunately, it’s easier than you’re probably thinking. It all starts with a simple blog post.

How to Create A Powerful Blog Post

Think about some of your favorite blog posts. What did they have in common?

Chances are, they hooked people into conversation, plunged them into dilemmas, or aroused their sympathies, outrage, or other emotions. Powerful blog posts are like all good writing — they put their readers in the middle of the action, and make them think. They inspire change, provide blinding revelations, or sometimes, they simply make people laugh — a powerful antidote to the day-to-day madness most of us endure.

Powerful posts make people forget what they were going to do next by grabbing their attention and holding it. They engage the reader enough that finishing the copy becomes an instant priority.

In short, they’re irresistible.

You don’t have to be brilliant, nor do you need a degree in literature or journalism. You can learn all of the above as long as you understand the essential elements of a powerful post.

You need:

A short, enticing headline that offers a promise to the reader.
A first sentence that “hooks” the reader and compels them to keep reading.
A great resource box or biography, no more than two lines, tops.
Eye-catching photos or art.
Breaks in the text. Short paragraphs, numbered lists, bullet points and subheads all help people read posts quickly and easily.

Online readers scan until they find something that “grabs” their attention.

Every post you publish should have a point.

It isn’t enough to choose an interesting topic and spit out a few hundred words. If you want your blog to blow up BIG, you must create something worth reading, sharing, or returning to later. Content that’s read and spread is the content that builds a bond with your audience, helps your blog grow, and ultimately boosts your authority, making it easier to market yourself without all the marketing tactics.

Get the structure of a blog post right, and your readers will spread your posts on social networking sites, increasing your reach and attracting new readers. But never forget that you’re not just writing to impress people. Each post needs to have a point.

Eager to learn more? Check out Part 2 of the Ultimate Writer’s Guide to Blogging!

This has been an excerpt from the book, Writing Online.

To get the full book, Writing Online, and get everything you need to build a lucrative career as an online writer (for just $4.99) click here.