There’s something wrong with that clover over there on the left. Can you tell what it is? (Go ahead, look, I’ll wait here.)
Correct! It’s not lucky. It’s only got *three* leaves. So it’s just like every other clover out there in the field… it blends right in… it’s not the one people are seeking to find.
You get where I’m going with this. Your blog needs to be like the lucky four leaf clover. You want people to seek you out and get excited when they find you.
Because what happens when someone finds a four leaf clover? They get happy. They tell their friends. They save it. Laminate it, stuff it, mount it next to that singing fish on the wall, whatever. It’s special.
So, you need to be strategic! On St. Patrick’s Day I shared the four “leaves” every blog needs. Click here to see all four strategies.
Let’s go over them one by one. Starting with leaf #1: blog consistently and share great content.
Why is this leaf one? Because a blog is nothing without content.
Part One: Blog Consistently
Does consistency matter? Absolutely! Do you have to blog *every* day? Not necessarily. Just pick a schedule and stick with it. If you want to post daily, go for it. If you want to post a couple times a week, fine. But don’t go posting every day for two weeks, then not at all for a month!
One thing that can really help in blogging consistently is to develop a blogging calendar. I’ve talked about it a bit before, but here are some great resources for it:
- ProBlogger: How to Develop an Editorial Calendar
- HubSpot: Blog Better with an Editorial Calendar and Style Bank (Bonus: Great ideas for different types of posts.)
I can tell you from experience if you don’t blog consistently… well, your traffic will mirror that!
Part Two: Share Great Content
Don’t blog every day just to blog. Blog when you have something of value to share with your readers. If that’s every day, then rock on. If not, don’t sweat it as long as what you do put out there is quality.
There are days I don’t post here. Those are the days when I either forgot/didn’t make time to preschedule content (whoops, failed on part one…), or didn’t feel like I had real value to deliver because a post I’ve been working on isn’t quite complete. I’d rather skip a day that post something that feels like I phoned it in.
Do it right and put your heart into it or don’t do it. Readers can tell. And perhaps more importantly, YOU can tell. You won’t throw yourself into promoting a post if you don’t feel it was your best work. So just don’t do that to yourself.
There are lots of different strategies you can use to come up with great content. You can use mindmaps, lists, surveys, other people’s ideas, there are lots of options. And don’t restrict yourself to blogging about you or relying on your expertise. You’re smart. I know. But it’s always cool to point to other helpful people and connect your readers with great content that lies beyond your corner of the web. Don’t worry, they’ll come back. Sometimes sharing great content means sending your readers to someone else who you’ve found helpful–so point out someone else’s newsletter, freebie, promo, blog, articles, whatever–great content is great content.
What’s “great” content? That’s up to your readers! Great content to me is anything that helps me — it inspires, it challenges, it educates, it solves a problem.
Your readers will tell you when you’ve hit “great” on the content scale. Watch for comments. Watch for retweets and social sharing. When you get a post that gets attention, dissect why. Then repeat that style or approach with another topic or post on that same topic in another way. The more you blog, the better a feel you’ll get for what your readers want.
Share your feedback:
- What’s great content to you?
- Do you struggle with blogging consistently?
- What’s your experience been as far as blogging and traffic?
Martha Giffen says
You are so right about our readers! They always let me know when I have hit it out of the park. I know pretty much exactly what they are looking for on my blog and I try to deliver that. Same with my products. I have learned what they want and what they won’t touch! LOL
Michelle Shaeffer says
It gets easier when we tune into that feedback. :) And I know what you mean about what they won’t touch. lol
Lucretia Nickell says
Consistency is a big one for me-it is still all very new to me and there is so much to learn I find myself wanting to run the other way. ((blush)) but I am plugging away at it and boy! learning a lot!
Michelle Shaeffer says
I think we ALL have those days. I know I do anyway. Always something more to learn. But just keep taking it one step at a time–you’re doing great!
Ryan Biddulph says
Hi Michelle,
“Do it right and put your heart into it or don’t do it.”
Bingo. Put your heart into your work, or don’t work. Create content when you’re inspired. There’s a certain power behind your words when acting inspired. Readers sense it on a subconscious level, and respond to it.
Thanks for sharing with us!
RB
Michelle Shaeffer says
Definitely. It’s amazing how that inspiration comes through (or doesn’t).
Joe says
i think the first part is the most difficult.. yeah, if you don’t have a job and you can dedicate full time to blogging, then sure, you can blog consistently and daily… but if you work 8 hours a day, you only got left weekends to really do something with your blog :)
Michelle Shaeffer says
It can be a challenge, and it does take time. I do most of my blogging on the weekends. I write out several posts and then use the scheduling feature in WordPress to set the up to post later in the week. So I can write when I’ve got time but keep content consistently dripping out on my blog. Works really well for me. :)
Steve Nicholas says
Great post, Michelle! I blog 5-6 times a week myself, although during finals week, I cut down to about 2-3. I think that the other key to consistency is realizing how much you can do in any given day and not adding too much to your calendar. This way, you can get everything done, and as you get better, you can often find more room to do other things.
Michelle Shaeffer says
Flexibility can be a great thing. :) Many successful blogs post multiple times a day, while many others are successful with 3 or 4 posts a week. Finding what works for each of us is key.
Roz says
Great reminders, Michelle. I like the idea of dissecting a popular post in order to repeat the approach. Good advice.
Michelle Shaeffer says
I’ve had a lot of fun with that, Roz. It’s always interesting to me to see what is popular both here on my own blog and at other blogs. It’s often not what I’d expect (and sometimes not for the reasons I’d expect) so I learn a lot that way.
Diana says
Hi Michelle,
What’s great content for me? Your content!! Every post of yours rock. I am struggling a touch with consistency and don’t have a calendar. However, I do make it a note to post 3 times a week. There are days where an idea pops into my head and it’s so easy to write. And there are days where I draw blank.
I am a planner in general but I feel my blogging comes from the heart. I read other posts, comments and get ideas from there. It’s hard for me to plan ahead and I am learning to see how that can fit with my style of blogging :)
My experience so far with blogging has been….gosh impossible to describe!! All I can say is loving everything about it – relationships, learning, sharing, collaboration, traffic and everything good.
Michelle Shaeffer says
Thank you, Diana, I appreciate that.
Consistently is a challenge. I’d love to say it gets easy… but I still have to fight the urge to skip a few days (and sometimes I lose that fight).
But blogging is such a wonderful way to connect, share, and teach. :)
Dan says
Michelle, really appreciate all the advice you give on here. It’s amazing how much value you provide. Your tip here in the comments about the WordPress Schedule a post, is pricele$$! I’ve been using WordPress for months now & never noticed it, right next to the publish button. I guess my 23inch widescreen is too big for my eyeballs.