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After hundreds of blogs (which are incredibly findable and that can't be said for everyone who blogs a lot), I feel like I've cracked the code. The 8 "hacks" below help me tremendously in persevering with blogging.
1. Don't base every article on keywords
You're not going to get this advice anytime soon, but my main tip is that you shouldn't just focus on SEO-based content.
'But you want to be findable with your blogs, right?'
True. But if you have a nice topic in mind, you're comfortable in the flow and have a topic that doesn't really have a good keyword fit, then you should write it nicely.
Don't be so hard on yourself.
This is because it allows you to express your creativity, make flying hours (and thus get better at writing) and still add content to your website.
And the latter is the basis of SEO. Because the more relevant content, the more findable you become. Besides, it could just be that the topic is not alive now, but will be next year, for example.
If you have a choice of whether to write a blog with a keyword or a blog without a keyword, I would always recommend with keyword. But that is often not the choice. The choice is often a blog with no keyword or no blog.
Then a blog without a keyword is always better.
2. Prepare your blogs well
If you have scheduled every Friday morning to blog, that does not mean that your blogging session starts at 8:00 a.m. on Friday morning.
No, it should start at a time when you are creative. On a Tuesday morning at 11 a.m., for example. Or on a Monday afternoon. Or Wednesday. Whatever works for you.
After all, at such a time you can think of good blog topics, determine keywords, figure out the structure of your blog, get inspiration for your article and more.
Then when Friday morning arrives, you have everything ready to write. You then don't have to think too much, don't bother with the topic you want to write about, come up with headings, etc.
After all, you did all that earlier in the week. This is my golden tip for blogging. In fact, I find that for writing blogs I don't really need creativity, I need focus for that.
For coming up with the blogs and the headings, I need creativity for that. And when I'm in a creative mood, I can think up 5 blogs completely in no time.
3. Schedule writing time, but also be flexible regarding your creativity
Blogging requires continuity and discipline. Therefore, it is important that you grab a set time when you start blogging. Make sure that moment suits you.
Are you a morning person and like to write in the morning? Then schedule it!
Do you prefer to write when the sun is down? Then schedule it!
Make sure that the time you have chosen suits you as a person and your rhythm as well as possible. Is there a time that is not convenient? Then make sure you have a backup moment so that that blog will just get there anyway.
As you know, I blog every Friday. This is a nice time for me.
If I can't manage on Friday afternoon, I grab Saturday morning before exercise. A cup of coffee and I can type a few thousand words in no time.
And if you blog so fanatically and one time you don't feel like it, absolutely don't go around balking at that and judging yourself. Because that's a waste of your time.
4. Outsource components
Don't like figuring out or determining keywords and headings? Or, like me, do you hate spelling?
Then outsource that part! If blogging becomes a lot easier (or faster) for you if you outsource a part, do so. I do the same with the spell check.
This saves me an awful lot of time and makes the work much more enjoyable.
As far as I'm concerned, you can even outsource the whole blogging thing if you have the budget for it. But if you had wanted to, I don't think you would have ended up on this article ;-).
5. Don't be too strict
Do you know what your very worst blog is? Your first one.
The more often you write, the better you get. And about getting better I want to talk a little more.
Because what is good? And what is better? And what is the very best?
Quality is subjective. What you think is great, someone else thinks sucks. And what you think sucks, someone else thinks is brilliant.
So don't be too hard on yourself and don't be too perfectionist. In the 3 years I've been blogging, there hasn't been a single article I haven't posted because I didn't think it was good enough.
That is not for me to judge.
The blogs I personally like best are not very findable and are not read super much. The blogs I moderate myself are very well findable and incredibly well read.
And I didn't expect that beforehand.
So post each article. You can always change or delete it later.
6. Blog with a purpose
Currently, I blog so much because I have a dot on the horizon. And when I write that dot out in goals, these are them:
- I want to become the best findable website in the field of online marketing
- I want to be able to build OMA as a business based on unpaid leads (Based on SEO, that is)
- I want 100,000 organic visitors per month
These goals are so immensely challenging that they seem almost unachievable.
Because Frankwatching is probably never going to catch up with me. Building an agency of once 20+ people based on unpaid leads is incredibly handsome and currently we are at 40,000-60,000 organic visitors per month.
But I think that's just cool.
And now I'm not saying that you need to set those challenging goals. No, you need to look for your dot on the horizon.
Want to beat your biggest competitor? Do you want 50 leads a month through SEO? Or do you want to turn €10,000 in sales from your e-books?
Whatever your dot is, write it down and work toward it. It will keep you motivated.
7. Review the results of your effort
What helps me a lot in keeping up with blogging is keeping track of what it gets me. And I'm talking about:
You see, I'm really a numbers and progress guy. When I see our website growing and our online presence growing, it energizes me.
And feel like blogging again ;-).
8. Don't just focus on evergreen content
Number 8 ties in with number 1 (not every article has to be keyword-based!) and is another piece of advice you don't often hear. In many blogs about blogging, you'll read that the advice is that your content should be evergreen.
In other words, content that is not time-bound and is always relevant. But I disagree with that by definition. Non-evergreen content is so important precisely because you respond to current events, can easily come up with a topic, and stand out precisely because you write innovatively.
The downside is that your content may no longer be relevant after 1 month and must be updated after a certain period of time, but that's up to you.
Again, don't be too hard on yourself.
Written by: Daniel Kuipers
Daniel is the founder of Online Marketing Agency. He constantly scours the Internet for the latest gadgets and tactics and blogs about them in understandable language. Well, sometimes.