When you’re writing for your business, blogging motivation is everything.
With it, you’ll be sitting down to write each week — or batch write every couple weeks — with energy. You’ll finish faster and like what you’ve written.
Without it, you’ll slog through your blog, resisting it at every step.
The motivation way sounds much better, right?
Here are eight ways to tap into your own motivation and make blogging an energized and satisfying aspect of your business marketing.
You only need one reason to write, so find the one that resonates most with you and start blogging like you mean it!
#1 Blogging Is No Big Deal
Before you sit down to write, remind yourself that blogging is no big deal. Your readers skim and scan your posts. They don’t scrutinize. They don’t expect the great American novel. They just want some helpful tips or advice, or a dose of inspiration as they go about their day.
When you take the pressure off your blog posts to be practically perfect in every way, writing them becomes a lot more motivating.
#2 Blogging Is Easy
Blog posts can be short! 500 – 600 words is usually plenty to share a tip, answer a question, tell a story, or provide a focused insight into a topic.
Many of my clients tell me that writing just isn’t their jam. They do it because they need to for their businesses, and they’re incredibly passionate about those businesses, but they have no desire to spend tons of time writing. If that sounds like you, isn’t it motivating to know you can get in, get out, and get on with serving your customers?
In addition to being short, blog posts are formulaic! They follow a few basic recipes. What could be easier than following one step at a time, knowing it will lead you to success?
When your mind starts to object and say, “Blogging is NOT easy!!!” just pull out these two facts: short and formulaic. Ultimately, though, remember you’re looking for motivation. And if this doesn’t do it for you, that’s totally fine. You’ve got seven other choices! 🙂
#3 Blogging Is Serving
Many of my clients are really motivated by serving others. It’s why they started their businesses: They wanted to help people to be happier, healthier, wealthier, more successful, etc.
Tapping into the idea of helping others can be a great motivator if you’re a people pleaser, an empath, or someone who’s been where your clients are and knows firsthand what it’s like to struggle with a certain issue. Helping others is also motivating if you’re an expert at what you do and know that you, yes you, can really make a difference by sharing your wisdom.
If you’re having a hard time getting started on your blog post, just imagine someone reading it and getting exactly the help she needs! (And then sharing the post with everyone she knows because she loved it so much. ) Man, there’s some motivation!
#4 Blogging Helps You Become a Thought Leader
Blog posts not only help your readers; they help your business. What’s more motivating than knowing your blog post is building your reputation as someone who knows her stuff? When you blog consistently and authentically about your area of expertise, you get known in your industry as an expert. People start looking to you for answers.
If you want to do more speaking on stage, more podcasts, more TV interviews, more sitting on Oprah’s couch, your blog is your ticket there. You need to be invited to those other platforms. And the invitation will rely on evidence that you’re a thought leader. And that evidence is in your blog.
#5 Blogging Builds Trust and Connection
I won’t be the first one to tell you that people buy from people they know, like, and trust. People trust you when you consistently give them value. When they can come back to your blog week after week and learn something that helps, entertains, or inspires them, they trust you. They know that you know your stuff, and that you care about your audience.
Trust is also forged in vulnerability. When you’re open and authentic, people connect to you and feel they can trust you. After all, you’re being open. So they want to be open. Your blog is the PERFECT place to be authentic and vulnerable. To show your voice. To build trust and connection by being real.
#6 Blogging Is The Best Bang for Your Marketing Buck
You may have been noticing that the trend in marketing in 2019 is personal connection and storytelling. Even the big brands are trying to show their human side. The difference is that they’re spending millions of dollars to do it on TV. You don’t need to buy airspace from someone else: Your blog is your platform.
By showing up consistently each week with posts that help, inform, educate, and delight your readers, you’re grabbing a market share organically. Then, by sharing your blog posts with your email subscribers, with networking contacts, and on social media, you’re growing that market share. For a mere fraction of what it costs to advertise on TV and radio, or to pay per click with Google or Facebook ads.
#7 Blogging Increases Your Website Visibility
We just talked about sharing your blog posts via email and social media. Every time you do that, it has the potential to bring people back to your website. Where of course you have a lot more information about how awesome you are, as well as opportunities for people to hire you!
Each blog post you write about your area of expertise also sends a message to Google’s bots: “This person is serious about what she does. She’s an expert.” Google loves that message. When it has the evidence that a certain website is a really great place for learning about a topic, Google is more likely to return that website when a user does a search for that topic. That means the more focused, high-quality content you have on your site, the more likely someone is to find you in a search.
(There is a little more black magic to Google’s algorithms, but this is the foundation! You can’t do the fancy stuff to get Google’s attention until you’ve covered the basics: having focused content that demonstrates expertise.)
The next time you’re struggling for the motivation to blog, how about thinking about increased website traffic. ?
#8 Blogging Builds Your Writing Chops
‘Member above, when I said that a lot of my clients don’t love writing, but that they know it’s important for their businesses? Well, the corollary of that is they know they need to practice it!
Your blog is the perfect practice arena for writing for your business. It helps you find your voice and nail down your message. It’s this amazing opportunity to get real-time feedback on the way you talk to your customers. Do people like and respond to your posts? Or are you hearing crickets?
The chance to find out how your writing is landing is crucial. Use your blog as a sandbox to hone your writing skills so that you can craft killer sales pages or marketing emails.
What’s Your Motivation?
What gives you blogging motivation? Is it thinking of blogging as no big deal? Is it knowing that you’re helping someone who needs your expertise? Is it feeling super smart for getting the best bang for your marketing buck?
Or maybe something else entirely?
Once you find your own personal motivation, hold onto it. Keep it front and center as you write — and as you plan your schedule and maybe feel tempted to skip over blogging altogether.
Once you’ve chosen your blogging motivation, write it on a post-it. Keep it by your computer, and let it guide you the next time you’re feeling blah about blogging.
Blogging doesn’t have to be a slog. When you find your blogging flow, you’ll…
- enjoy writing more
- blog faster
- be more open to new ideas (a positive mindset boosts creativity)
- sound more like you
- and connect better with your readers
And all that good stuff starts with finding your motivation. So jump in and choose the blogging motivation that works for you.