If you're reading this, you probably already know about the importance of creating content. Content is a key part of any good inbound strategy, as it helps you attract your target audience by providing value.
Marketing is all about starting conversations. By creating and sharing content, you're putting your expertise out there for people to engage. You need content in order to educate and build awareness.
Yet, some struggle to find the time to create content, while others just aren't sure what to even write about.
Writing content can be hard when you're first starting out.
It's a lot like going to the gym. You decide you want to get in shape, but it might take a lot of effort to actually get yourself to the gym.
Once you finally do, you look at all of the equipment (and all of the in shape people exercising) and you start to feel overwhelmed.
You take a breath and jump in, but start to feel exhausted sooner than you thought you would.
BUT, you can't compare yourself to others who have been doing it longer. If you stick with it, you will get there eventually.
The more you do it, the more natural it will become.
Here are our tips to help you write a blog post when you're not sure what to write about
Plan what you want to talk about & make notes on key concepts to include
Create a headline that's engaging & includes keywords your audience is searching
Include images and graphics to engage your audience visually
Add in a table of contents with anchor tags, so people can jump to specific information
1. Take time to consume content in your industry
This tip will be help you immensely when you're feeling stuck and aren't sure what to talk about. Set some time aside each week to consume content. Read other blog articles, listen to podcasts, watch YouTube videos and scroll through TikTok.
The goal isn't to copy what someone else is doing, but instead to give yourself space for light bulb moments. This is where you will suddenly have an idea about something to write about.
This should be something that will resonate with your target audience.
Consuming content also helps you see what other takes are out there. Then you can determine if you share a similar view, or if you have a different opinion, which will help to differentiate you.
Pro Tip: Keep a notebook or a note on your iPhone where you can make notes of ideas when they come to you, or after you've consumed some content. This will be a great resource to refer back to when you're feeling stumped on what to talk about.
2. Plan what you want to talk about & make notes on key concepts to include
As you go about your week, jot down any ideas, topics, and questions you can answer in your content. There are probably many times when an idea pops in your head, but you let it slip away in favor of whatever you're focusing on. Don't let great ideas slip away!
If your customer or client shares something they struggled with before working with you, make a note of it. Chances are that others feel the same way, and this could be a great topic for your next article.
This is also great to do when you receive feedback from a client. Pay attention to the specific words and phrases they use to describe their experience and how they felt.
Pro Tip: When you click "create a post" and are staring at the blank screen in front of you, start typing out ideas. Let yourself do some free form writing, and let yourself get some thoughts out without second guessing yourself.
3. Create a headline that's engaging & includes keywords your audience is searching
Your blog headlines are very important. These paired with your meta description are what will show up in search results, and encourage a Google searcher to click on your website.
Use tools like Answer the Public to find out what specific phrases people are searching for a particular topic.
This will help you identify some relevant topic ideas for your next blog post, as well as which keywords you will want to make sure get included.
Pro Tip: You want your headline to be eye-catching and stand out from the other results that will be shown. How-To's, questions, numbers, and headlines that demonstrate your value are great to include in your headline.
Examples of Compelling Headlines:
Build Your Own Wix Website: A Beginner's Guide
You Think You Know SEO? Find Out What Most People Miss!
6 Tricks to Help You Out Market Your Competition
4. Consider your unique take on the topic & tell a story
Some business owners forget that they bring their unique experience and views to the table. If you are passionate about something, let it shine through your writing!
Not sure what to include or how to order your ideas? Use a narrative arc to tie your content together and engage your readers.
A narrative arc is the overarching storyline that binds everything together into one compelling story.
Narrative Arc for your blog:
Intro: Introduce the topic
Identify the Problem: Share a problem related to topic experienced by your target audience
Include your unique take on the subject and the why behind it
Offer a resolution to the problem and glimpse into their futures state
Wrap it up and provide a brief summary on what you covered
5. Include images and graphics to engage your audience visually
Images and infographics are a great way to break up walls of text, and add a more personalized touch to your post. The images you choose to use can be your images, free media provided by Wix, or a combination of the two.
Infographics in particular are great for your audience to share on social media, which will then link back to your website.
Pro Tip: Make key information in your sentences bold to draw a reader's attention and make that content stand out if they're skimming.
6. Add in a table of contents with anchor tags, so people can jump to specific information
Wix has recently added this feature to blogs now, which is super cool! Start by writing out the text for your table of contents, highlight the text you want to link, click the link icon in the top menu, click "section", and then choose the section you want to link to.
This will make jumping to specific content quick and easy.
Some people just want a quick answer to their question, and don't want to spend time reading through the whole article - that's okay!
As long as they're getting value from what you've included, who cares if they read every word.
7. Don't overthink it, your post doesn't have to be perfect!
One of our core philosophies here at Border7 is making progress is better than chasing perfection. The small moves you make each day are what build upon each other to get you where you want to be!
You will have typos from time to time, you will read your post in the future and think of a better way to phrase something. Your way of doing things might change, and you may have to go back and update content.
There will always be things you want to tweak and improve, and that's okay!
What's not okay is holding off on posting new articles to your blog because you're being too critical of yourself, or you're worried there might be a mistake.
Take your time to proofread as best you can, check the built in spelling checker for any errors, and then get publishing!
Holding Yourself Accountable
It's easier to put off writing your content, saying you'll do it tomorrow, or to tell yourself that there's other aspects of your business that are more important.
But if you don't hold yourself accountable to your goal of creating content, who will?
No one knows your business as well as you do, so the content you create has a higher potential of better resonating with your target audience than a generic post written by someone else.
When it comes to marketing, there is no magic wand. There's just different actions you need to take that will build into an effective marketing strategy. Creating content consistently is one of them.
