You started out with excitement.
You felt the energy run through your hands as they flew madly over the keyboard. Pounding the publish button and churning out blog post after blog post, you were on a roll. They were engaging, funny, and dynamic. People responded, and so did you.
Soon, your hands started to flutter over your keyboard, embodying a question mark, not quite sure what to write. As your excitement and devotion towards blogging waned, so did the interest of your followers.
If you can relate to this experience, it’s time to revitalize your blog. Whether or not you’re feeling the excitement or drive you felt initially, you can still implement four techniques to refresh your content.
Follow these four strategies, and get ready to reap the results of higher interest, engagement, and increased growth potential for your personal blog, brand, and business.
- Prioritize your blog writing time.
Things hit the fan (NOTE: I’m trying to think of a better alternative to the word, “things.” Ideas?). PTA is coming up. You and your partner are fighting. Life happens. However, with all the things happening around you, make sure to carve out an oasis of time to devote to writing for your blog. From an SEO standpoint, blogging should be viewed as a long-term investment for your business.
You probably won’t see overnight results. In fact, you won’t. However, if you blog consistently and frequently, you will gain a steady following that will offer tremendous value to your brand over time. Provide consistent, relevant, and frequent work, and you will eventually see the payoff. After you publish each blog post, be sure to share it on the appropriate social media to gain additional organic reach.
- Brainstorm relevant ideas.
It can be hard to keep your content fresh when you think you’ve exhausted writing about all ideas related to your subject.
However, is it true that you’ve really written everything there is to write about your brand’s focal point?
Create a list of blog topics that you could write about, ranging from the most novice of ideas to complicated ones that only experienced individuals would understand. Appeal to a wide audience. Write about ideas that range from simple to complex, banal to inventive, and established techniques to ones that are more obscure. Don’t be afraid of asking friends or colleagues which topics they would like to read. Simply asking the people around you what they would like to learn more about will inspire you to think of ideas that can supply your blog with an entire month’s worth of content, or more.
- Create a content calendar.
A content calendar is a scheduled list of blog topic ideas. Rather than spending excess time brainstorming each time you are faced with a blog writing goal, follow step two to generate a list of ideas.
Pre-planning your content by using a social calendar will save time in the long run. Log the chosen ideas into a calendar and order them in a way that you think will best engage for your readers. Follow through with your content calendar and publish the topics you have listed on time. You can use spreadsheets provided by Google, an app, or even on a pad of paper for this. Find the medium that works best for you.
- Delegate, Delegate, Delegate.
It’s easy to run the show and take care of everything — in the beginning. While it may be challenging to delegate certain responsibilities to others, delegating is a crucial part of running a business. And, when done correctly, it can catapult your business into a new arena of growth and success.
If your brand has grown and reached the point where you no longer have the time or space to provide thoughtful blog content, find someone who writes in a voice that you want representing your brand. You can hire guest bloggers to contribute on occasion to keep content fresh, request that experts in your business publish articles every once in a while, or you can hire a professional content writer.
Whichever method you choose, remember to monitor their work without breathing over their neck. Allow them to enliven your blog while following your guidelines. This will allow you to focus on other aspects of your business which require your attention and will expand your brand in other ways
Keeping a blog engaging can be a challenge. However, remember that passion led you here. Allow that passion to expand and express itself in your blog and in the way you represent your brand. Success will surely follow.
