Blogging 101: Blog Like A Newbie
Let’s get back to basics, shall we? I love working with, and writing about, topics that relate to long-time bloggers who are looking to take their blogs and their businesses to new heights. There are times, though, when it’s nice to take a step back. Look at where you are. Hearken back to where you started and ask yourself, “Do I still have the same passion for what I am doing?” If not, why not?
Have you lost your way? Is your blog rambling? Do you feel as though you’ve lost your purpose? Do you want to build upon a new purpose and passion? If you answered “yes” or “maybe” or “I’m not quite certain…” then let’s start thinking like a newbie.
Blogging 101: Blog Like A Newbie
This post is working under the assumption that you’ve already got a website and a blog and have been blogging and in business but that you’ve lost your direction and perhaps your mojo. Today, though, let’s pretend that you’re brand new to this concept of blogging and being in the pet space, shall we?
What is your passion?
Grab a notebook or open a document on your computer and write down:
- What are you passionate about?
- What knowledge do you have to share?
- Who will want to learn about what you have to share?
- Do you know who your audience is?
- What makes you THE person to share this knowledge and passion?
Pondering those topics just might reignite your passion and help you have that “light-bulb” moment of “YES, this is why I do what I do!”
Review your blog posts
- Did you start out blogging about one topic only to shift to another?
- Why?
- What caused the shift?
- What changed from one blog post to the next?
- Was it a gradual progression or an overnight change?
Are you happy with the shift, or do you want to go back to your roots? Believe me, we have all been there. We start out with big plans of writing about topic X and making our living at it until the end of time. Then, we learn new things. We grow. We change. Of course, when that happens our blog and our writing will morph with it.
There is no right or wrong answer here. This is an exercise to help you see where you started, where you are now ,and where you want to go.
Carve (and claim) your path
Where DO you want to go? Are you on the same road upon which you started the journey? Are you happy on this road? Did you begin blogging about dogs and now want to write about cats? Did your blog start out as a “how to” and you now want to shift over to writing about spirituality and gratitude?
If you’re like most bloggers, you want to turn your blog into a business and that means you need to find a way to not only do what you love, but also to get paid. Yes, you love what you do, and no, it’s not crass to want to make money. If your dream is to blog full time and work from your home office with your pets gathered around you, then you should claim that path.
To do that, though, you need to have direction. You need to have a business plan in place. You need to have an editorial calendar. If you can find an accountability partner or two, that may help you more quickly achieve your goals because you have someone out there waiting for a “report” on your self-set accomplishments.
When claiming your potential money-making path:
- What expertise do you have that people might pay for?
- What do you need to do to get paid for it? Create an online course? Write an eBook? Package your existing blog posts into a book or a course? Etc.
- Who will pay for what you do? Where does your ideal client hang out? Online? At the local dog park? In a coffee shop? At your local Chamber of Commerce?
Take some time (and this will be part of your blogging business plan) to write down the answers to these questions and then see where they intersect. Having all of this info down where you can see it: Expertise + Product/Service + Ideal Client = Paycheck will let you visualize much easier than if you have all of that information “in your head.”
Action Plan: Set aside some time to go through the questions and answer them. Next time we’ll cover: nichecraft, editorial calendars and repurposing content.
When you’re thinking like a newbie is it helping reignite your passion?
Robbi Hess is an award-winning author, full-time writer, newspaper columnist, writing coach and time-management guru. She works with bloggers and solopreneurs and blogs at All Words Matter. I spoke at the BlogPaws conference on the topic of: Overworked & Overwhelmed? The Four-Step Process for Reinventing Your Writing,” if you couldn’t attend, email me for free a copy of the e-book I offered. (Robbi AT AllWordsMatter DOT COM)
