“You may delay, but time will not, and lost time is never found again.”
Those are wise words from Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, about the importance of not putting things off.
So, ask yourself, if you are committed to B2B content marketing, how often does your company blog?
We've all been there: you get to the end of the week and realise you haven't published as many pieces of new content as you planned - or maybe none at all. Do you need to overcome blogger's block?
Perhaps you didn’t have time; you weren't sure what to write about; you didn’t think anyone would read it; or maybe you were worried your attempts would result in failure.
But, while these are genuine concerns, ultimately they are excuses we use to avoid starting. They are all forms of blogger's block - a problem for sure - but one that can be solved.
When you have a packed schedule it can be difficult to find the time to write a blog post. But what if you designated a specific time each week to blogging - and stuck to it?
Seth Godin, entrepreneur, marketer, and best-selling author, writes on his blog: “'I didn't have time' … actually means: 'It wasn't important enough.' It wasn't a high priority, fun, distracting, profitable or urgent enough to make it to the top of the list.”
Blogging is one of the best ways to attract your ideal customers, so highlighting it on your to-do list is worthwhile. Publishing a sustained flow of informative and educational content on your blog will bring returns for your business. It's proven. So it needs to be a priority. And you have to make the time.
You can ease the load by getting different people from your company to blog each week; or you might consider hiring a writer or outsourcing your blog to an agency.
Whatever you decide, make blogging a priority.
Knowing what to write about comes down to really understanding the needs of your ideal customers. What is their specific pain and how can your product or service provide a solution?
A useful tactic to generate ideas is to think of the most common questions you get from current customers – and answer these in blog posts. Or you could see what other people in your industry are writing about and put your own spin on it; and find different angles from which to approach key topics.
Ideally, put all of your ideas in an editorial calendar and update it whenever inspiration strikes. That way, when it comes to writing a blog post, you can get going straight away.
It takes time to nurture an audience for your blog and it's easy to get caught up in the specific numbers, especially in the short term. But remember, not everyone needs to read your content – just the right people. And a blog post, written the right way, is an evergreen asset that is going to keep on giving over time.
Copyblogger writer Henneke Duistermaat says: “Of course you’d love to get more clicks, shares, and comments. But the truth is, these factors don’t matter. Authentic engagement with the people who might want to buy from you is what matters.”
It's a good idea to frequently review your strategy to ensure that you’re writing with your target audience’s needs in mind. And make sure you’re also spending time distributing your content on the right channels – whether that’s Twitter, LinkedIn, email, or the like. It will help get more eyes on your posts.
Fear is often a reason for blogger's block – it can be daunting to publish your writing online. But how about thinking about failure in a different way?
Writing on Forbes, Amy Rees Anderson says: “Redefine failure as any time that you allow your fears to stop you from doing the things you truly want to do in life. “Then move forward and get “it” done!”
It might take you a while to get the hang of producing remarkable content that engages your readers - but you’ll only improve if you keep blogging.
And if you’ve done your research, honed your writing chops, and committed to a schedule, it’s unlikely that you will fail. Believe it.
If you've not been as prolific as you would like of late, it’s likely you’re experiencing a case of blogger's block. And while your concerns may be genuine, they are problems that can be addressed.
Dedicate time to create content, create an editorial calendar and reconsider what failure really means.
Ready, set, go!