A Blog about Blogging

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I'm feeling inspired about blogging. This afternoon, I attended a virtual event held by Siobhan Fitzpatrick of The Networking Summit and Women in Business Network, and introducing Meadhbh Hand of Business Blogger. I love to write but don’t consider myself a great writer, so while I often create content and share it, I haven’t perhaps prioritised it as a marketing strategy in building my business. As an introvert in business writing is a really great way for me to share my ideas and hopefully draw potential customers to my own startup Inside Strategies. Here are a few lessons I have learned along the way and in today’s session. 

Lessons Learned 

It’s not about me: My blog posts need to speak to what my audience wants to hear. My potential readers will click on an article because the topic might resonate with them or touch a pain point that they want to address. Introverts, in particular, can get caught up in the details and want to share too much or perhaps lose focus on their core message. Meadhbh suggests we write as if writing for an eight year old. Keep it clear and simple. 

Have a plan: My blogging tends to be haphazard. I will get an idea from a book, a coaching session with a client or something I come across in another article. While this is great and it gets me blogging, a plan would help me to be more strategic as I build my business. I need to think about all aspects of my business offerings and what this offers my potential customers. 

A call to action: My husband, who writes for a living, and kindly proofs all my posts, always picks me up on this. As the humble introvert I rarely include a call to action not wanting to be too ‘salesy’. I make the same mistake on my social media posts. Meadhbh suggests we can do a call to action such as asking the reader to share a book, or in my case, perhaps share some advice or a story. 

Be Brave: In our breakout room during today’s session we chatted about the vulnerability of writing a blog post about your own business and putting yourself out there. I agree wholeheartedly but we are in business and so while we want our blog posts to add value to readers, we also want our readers to engage with us whether as potential customers, or to join our network. Don’t be afraid to show your true self and share your story. People buy from people, and sharing your story humanises your business. 

Get Started: In the breakout session we discussed how many blog posts we have started, but as our perfectionist tendencies got in the way, never finished them. Meadhbh shared the old story ‘the perfect time to plant a tree was 10 years ago, the next best time is today’. As I said earlier, I am not a great writer but if what I write can help even one other person or inspire them to move forward then that is what matters most. 

Humour: A universal need to laugh… I can definitely see why adding some humour to your blog is beneficial and can draw readers in. I would describe myself as a naturally serious person. I will have to work on this for sure. 

I am definitely feeling motivated to design a plan that works for my business. I asked Meadhbh how many blog posts  a solopreneur should write. Her answer, of course, is it depends. It depends on your time availability, especially in these unprecedented circumstances. For me, I enjoy writing and as I am in business start up mode I can, and believe I should, dedicate more time to writing. As my coaching practice grows my time availability will reduce, leaving me less time to work on the business and more time in the business. 

So, for my call to action. I love to connect with people. If you have ever considered coaching, or want to learn more about introversion and how it might be impacting your life, I invite you to connect with me on social media and enjoy the material I share. Or contact me for a free 20 minute phone consultation to learn more about my coaching practice and how I support introverts. 

Not too salesy I hope, let me know how I did!