Are secret fears holding you back from jumping head first into blogging? Don’t let them! Blogging is nothing to be afraid of and it can do amazing things for your online business. This is part 1 in an 8 part series to help you bust through your blogging fears!
I Don’t Have Anything to Write About!
Everyone has something to share. I promise you that if you have survived life up until now, you have learned lessons, you’ve lived through things, you’ve found answers and ways to get through and succeed that you can share with others!
If you’re an entrepreneur and you’re in business for yourself, then it’s safe to assume you’re passionate about the business you are building. What is it about your services, products, or mission that gets you excited and motivated? That’s where to start brainstorming for blog ideas.
When you’re blogging for business, then it doesn’t necessarily matter what you feel you’ve got to share–it only matters what your audience wants to read. They’ve got problems, challenges, questions, and you can be the one to deliver the answers they’re searching for.
So where can you go to figure out what questions to answer for your readers? Here are three places to find ideas:
- Social Networks: If you have social networking accounts (Twitter, Facebook, etc) then ask your friends and followers what questions they’ve got that you can answer. Turn your answers into blog posts. If you don’t have many connections yet, then go to a popular fan page or do a #hashtag search on Twitter and see what questions people are asking. Use that to inspire your blog posts.
- Question & Answer Sites: Quora, Google Answers, Yahoo Answers, Fluther, Vark, and other sites allow anyone to ask questions – and you can find all sorts of blog post ideas (you can also answer questions on these sites to generate traffic).
- Your Inbox: What questions do your friends and clients ask frequently? That’s a great blog post waiting for you to write it.
Once you’ve got your main topic or theme for your blog, you can find inspiration everywhere. Here are some great resources to get your brain going:
- Chris Brogan
- Blogging Bookshelf
- Social Media Examiner
- Simplestorming
Hey Michelle,
This happens to me so many times. But it is tougher if someone is blogging for business. I think they could re-post an old post with a newer twist. Like for many, our opinion might change over time and it is fun to see how they have changed and why have those changes come by. It might be interesting to deal on that.
Also, check back to old posts and see what readers have asked you and you could work on that!
I love the resources mentioned here… Thanks!
Have a lovely day!
That’s a good idea, Hajra — things do change lots over time, especially things like technology related to our businesses, or social networking tools, etc.
Most all of my inspiration comes from discussions I’ve had in real life and on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. I’ll probably be in material for the rest of my life. :P
I find the same thing, Angie. The social networks provide so many ideas! :)
Thanks Michelle! This is really good advice! I’m just starting out and I have plenty to write about. I’m trying to learn how to generate traffic and focus my blog more. Right now I feel like I’m just writing as a release. It would definitely be helpful to have the insight to know what topics are interest to help give my blog more of a focus. I’ll be working on that. : ) ~Marie