This post is an attempt to answer a question I’ve been asked multiple times over the past few years…”I feel stuck with my blog. Could I consult with you?”

My initial response was this query was another question, ‘what does blog consultation actually mean’? An offshoot of my initial unworded response- What ALL do you want me to do as a blog consultant?

You see, I do manage blogs for businesses but these people were looking for consultation because they were struggling with questions like…

• How do I keep finding interesting content?
• I’m feeling stuck with my blog, what can I do?
• Is there something I’m missing?
• How do I  make my blogs stand out from the crowd?
• How do I ensure that my blog satisfies the needs and expectations of my reader?

The people who called me didn’t want me to write, they just wanted to get my seasoned advice and experienced ‘how to’s’.

This was different from what I was doing, so I stopped to consider and thought about what I could offer and how my experience in writing for myself and others could help…

A wise entrepreneur once told me, “When you know a few steps more than another, you can always help them… because as you help them work up to a higher level, your ideas will grow and so by the time they reach your learning you’ve already moved on ahead and can help them further.”

You know me! I love any idea which involves the magic of learning and expanding together!😍

When I thought through all I know about blogging, I thought I could visualise where I can help. The beauty of this offering is that it can help bloggers at different stages of their blogging and at different obstacle points…

Let me explain…

Scenario 1: You are a niche brand in a segment that has many small players and a few multi-national ones. How do you make your presence felt through your content? In other words what should you talk about?

Scenario 15: You are already blogging well for your SME but find the topics mundane. How do you add your original flavour to your blogs?

Scenario n: Your idea is to create a book, yet it’s untested idea and you don’t know how to build on it.

There are multiple places and scenarios where a blogging consultant can help you

Before I dive into my ideas, let me answer the obvious yet crucial question first:

Why a blog?

I rarely hear this question now. Everyone from business owners to self-driven coaches, talk about the power of blogs.

What exactly makes blogs stand out as content and audience champion?

According to the Content Marketing Institute, “61% of U.S. consumers have bought something after reading blog recommendations.”

Though multiple online platforms through which you can upscale your business is growing every year,  yet blogs still retain their crown.

Why?

There is no one clear answer…

Maybe people like to read more about your product or service, how it helps and what problem it solves…

And a blog allows you to share as much as you like…

Once when I worked as a copywriter, we wrote long sales copies (that’s what advertisers call, long-form content) to sell financial products. These copies would be 20-25 pages long and were written to share the details of the financial product in an interesting and story-telling manner.

Every year the copywriting team would discuss with the management why can’t we write a short copy that’s 1-2 pages long?

And every year we would write the short copies and test them against the long copies… there was no comparison…the long copies ALWAYS WON!

I saw that happen as my long copy became the best seller of the year grossing more than 2000 new subscribers but my short copy which was based on it just floundered.

Since then I have had a healthy respect for content that shares stories which are essentially helpful.

Blogs fit into that zone as they give you the freedom to create authentic content as and when you desire. Do them right and they give your business an edge over your audience- building your credibility as the right choice. But there’s a huge gap between writing regular blogs and effective blogs.

Writing Effective Blogs

Blogging is a more powerful tool than you may have imagined

How much can you make out of blogging? Here are some examples of blogs that  help you get an idea (I found this data on https://www.starterstory.com/ideas/blogging-business/success-stories):

Blogging for Devs: Free Email Course & Newsletter ($120K/year)
TechJury ($360K/year)
Tracie Fobes ($120K/year)
Visualmodo ($360K/year)
ryrob.com ($420K/year)

These are just a few successful bloggers and they work on their blogs 24*7

This is not a side-hustle for them. It’s what they do.

And the blogs defined what they do.

Can you create an effective blog for yourself too?

Secret Sauce of Effective Blogging

These 3 are my blogging pillars. By using these ideas I have seen my client’s blogs speak relevantly to their intended audience, increase their readership and build their brand recall through stories.

1. Focus on ONE Ideal Reader-

• • Worried that it will limit your audience? Don’t be. The more specific you are about your audience, their pain points and goals…the better you connect with them. And the easier it will be to find the right content that attracts them.
  • Remember this old marketing adage…”When you speak to everyone, you speak to no one.” So focus on your audience and tune into  their specific frequency
  • If you want to make blogging your business then you need to first KNOW your audience. Start with ONE and then you will see the ‘all’ reflected
  • Start with the question, “What is the problem that my ideal reader is looking to solve?”
    • You might say I have a blog on the art I create…it is not meant to solve a problem. Yes, you can have a blog about your artwork and post pictures of your work, but if you are looking to do more with it and increase your audience, then you would include the making process, the ideas that got you started and why. When you do this you attract the people looking for good art and who while working in their day jobs aspire for art! They might buy your art or recommend it to others because the art and the way you spoke about it ignited their passion.
      There is always a problem…
      Look for it
  • How do you find your ideal audience?
    • #Tip– Your ideal reader is usually going through what you have already conquered.
    • This part usually reminds me of the song the man in the mirror…you see most often the reader is someone like you…because you can only tell what you know so your reader will be an earlier version of you. The version that didn’t know what you know now, the version that was struggling with too many questions and too few answers.
      • Have you managed to find the perfect way to retire early? Well, your audience is looking for it or
      • Have you found the best way to live with hormone-ridden teenagers? Guess, what your audience is looking for:)
    • An easy way is to look at quora groups, Reddit, etc. Search for the keywords related to your niche and look into the problems people are talking about. What solutions do they need? What discussions are trending?
    • Spend time understanding their issues before you start building your ideas

 

2. Be original & ‘helpful’-

• • Generic content is a big No-No because readers and consumers have seen enough of it. Now they just blank out the generic stuff.
  • Everybody wants to read pieces that feel written only with them in mind…words that address their pain and offer a solution to their specific problems. How do you ensure your blogs speak to your audience?
    • Look at point #1 when you are focused on your audience you will know their pain, understand their goals and be aware of their roadblocks, so you can easily create original content that works.
    • The phrase here is “Be Helpful”. The net is littered with content that is just created to become click-magnets…nothing else. Yes, they might get you the clicks with their perfect Headlines and subheads but if their content is just basic, they’ll never get you returning audience.
    • Your posts should be so authentic and give such relevant advice that your reader keeps coming back for more…and even recommends your posts to others. Yes, that happens frequently when you go beyond the surface. But the learning here is to Be helpful but keep your post focused on 1 idea. Don’t confuse your reader with too much advice too soon…
  •  #Tip: A simple technique to understand this is to write a fan letter to yourself- it’s a simple visualisation technique created by Julia Cameroon in her eye-opening book The Artists Way.

3. Repurpose & Spread –

• • Writing a blog takes time and effort, yet if after writing you only post it on your page and leave the rest to fair winds…then your blog will take a long time to be discovered by your ideal readers. How do you spread the word about your post?
    • Spread the word on different social media platforms
    • Break it down into smaller posts that you can use in your social media accounts and give a link to your post
    • Find places where you can be a guest blogger
  • Don’t forget to REPURPOSE!
    • Turn a blog post into a YouTube video or a podcast or an infographic…the list is endless because people like to consume content in different ways. You can choose more ways to communicate your idea with your audience and while you are doing so you can build your content library🥷 and become a blogging ninja!

How Can I Help You Achieve Your Goals

As a blogging consultant, I will be your coach in this world of blogging and help you correctly identify your goals and the problems you are facing because I have seen that sometimes you need distance to really judge the effectiveness of what you are doing. I will provide that distance and perspective.

Some of my views that go against the flow of popular beliefs but I’ve seen them work are:

• Grow organically
• Don’t forget your Call to Action
• Know your audience better than your SEO

Maybe you think that your problem is that you don’t know how to keep finding new content, but after discussion, we might find out that your real problem was that you never identified your target audience correctly. Knowing your target audience opens up doors for your content.

You don’t need to keep researching for good content…you will know what you want to write because you know your audience so well!

Yes, as a blog consultant I can help you build your blog more effectively.

Now, I am curious, what is the biggest problem you are facing in your blog?

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I help my bloggers through questions like:

✅Understanding blog focus- audience and goals

✅Collating the stories

✅Creating themes and content plan (for every 3 months)

✅Building your blogging platform + design

✅Writing consultation-Blogging- basics- headline, image, content, call-to action, white spaces

✅Working through the blocks

✅Mixing media- video, audio, infographics and writing

✅How to grow your blog

✅Using tools to share effectively