When you sit down to write a blog post, how does your thought process flow?
Think about it for a moment.
I can tell you that 3-4 months ago, I did not really have a thought process. I would get an idea for a blog post, and by idea I mean absolutely anything that came into my head that was remotely marketing or Social Media related. I’d sit down and type, look for a picture, hit publish, and tweet it out. Then I would wait and see who would pop by and comment.
At the time, my thinking was that this was working pretty well. I was thinking, I thought to myself. Aren’t ideas thoughts? Wasn’t I writing my thoughts down? I thought so.
What I was missing
If you are blogging in a way remotely similar to the way I was blogging a few months ago, you may find that you are missing a lot of things that are really important to think about, as it turns out.
For example:
• Who are you writing for?
• What is your objective?
• What kind of narrative are you hoping your blog will tell?
• If someone new happens upon your blog will they “get” what you’re trying to do?
Three or four months ago, these questions were not even residing in the general orbital space around my brain. A month or two ago, I thought about some of these questions but didn’t have any answers. Or at least the answers weren’t very good. “Who are you writing for?” I’d ask myself. “Um…people…who read…blogs.”
Your slip is showing
If you’re a person who has worn skirts and dresses with slips, you know that one of the primary concerns, all day long, is whether your slip will show. It’s not that it’s the most tragic thing in the world, but it’s something that’s nice to avoid. Realizing that your fly is undone could also be used as an analogy here.
Well, approaching blogging without a thought process results in the same kind of feeling, or at least it did for me. As I realized that I hadn’t even been thinking about thinking, my ability to grasp my own narrative and my own, well, point, drifted further and further away. What was I doing? Why was I doing it? It all became a great muddle, and I felt certain that everybody noticed. My confidence drifted away. My blog was revamped and then further revamped and then resuscitated. It was not good. And I knew it.
Let’s get to thinking
About a month ago, I decided to do something revolutionary.
I actually decided to think about what I was doing. And you know what? It’s made a pretty positive difference, at least in my outlook. I’ll leave it to you to evaluate my blog posts.
Since we’re early in the year, this is a great opportunity to think about what you think when you sit down to blog. Let me know if you have answers in your head to the questions I raised above:
• Who are you writing for?
• What is your objective?
• What kind of narrative are you hoping your blog will tell?
• If someone new happens upon your blog will they “get” what you’re trying to do?
If you don’t have answers to these questions yet, that’s okay. We can still work on that. If you have answers but aren’t happy with them, we can talk about that in the comments section. And of course, if you have answers and you’re willing to share your example for others, that would also be great.
Make sense?
Hey Margie, makes perfect sense. Thanks for the reminder. I suppose it should seem obvious but i have found I tend to use your original approach. I have been thinking more about who would benefit from content I am creating and you are right it is very different from just broadcasting stuff. How ironic, preach don’t broadcast all day then sit down to write and broadcast. Good news is we are early in the year.
Appreciate you.
Joe
It definitely is interesting what you realize about your blogging approach when you pause for a moment and say, “OK, what’s the point of this post right here?”
Lately, my point has been “I’m really confused about this or was at one time. How about you?”
But hey, misery loves company, right? 🙂
Thanks, Joe!
Great post Margie. I can see the difference.
I’m at a similar point you were with http://www.312Digital.com. I’m writing what comes to mind, and what I find interesting. There are 3 reasons for that:
1. The design of the blog is not yet complete. My coder friend is working on other projects right now, but we have jointly develpoed a list of changes I would like to make to the theme. In the past, I would have let my reptilian brain prevent me from blogging until the design was complete. Not this time. This time, I decided to start writing now. The deisgn can come later.
2. Because the design is not complete, I’m writing to get the mechanics down. To become a better writer. Writing does not (and never has) come easy to me. I’m also writing to learn HOW to blog. To dive into the world of blogging and to see it up close and personal, so I can learn what tactics to apply to what situations once the strategy is more clearly defined.
3. The strategy has not been clearly defined. My current thinking is I want 312 Digital to be two distinct things. The first side is primarily media/publisher. On that side I want to focus attention on and give exposure to the SoMe, Internet Marketing, Design, Advertising and SEO communities here in Chicago. The second side of the blog is more about business generation for an as yet undetermined consulting business. My challenge is I haven’t clearly defined what that offering is as yet.
I’m interested in your thought son whether those two can peacefully coexist. In the meantime I’ll keep writing what comes to mind. 😉
Oh, I love your blog design as it is, Sean. I’d have never guessed it isn’t done. Then again, my blog site is not exactly the epitome of finely designed sites, so take that for what it’s worth 🙂
I think that defining your offering will lead you to whether you should have 2 different blogs or one blog that covers both business goals. I struggled with a similar question. I’m out here in the Social Media world as an ambassador of Clayman Advertising, but I also love Social Media and reaching out a hand to people who may be treading ground I’ve already covered. How can you marry those two?
Well, in the end I allowed myself the freedom to do both in this blog. I promised my Social Media readers that they would have a morsel here every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The rest of the days I would focus on marketing, which is the Clayman Advertising part.
In the end, you’d probably find that your consultation overlaps with what you’d be talking about for 312 Media, so I’m thinking you could do something similar, but truly, that has to be a decision born out of your overall strategy.
I also think you’re a great writer!
Does that help?
We figured out the answer to the question some time ago for one of our blogs and realized the content we had been writing was all wrong! However, it’s taken us months to figure out what the content should be instead. Finally have a new direction for a new year. A new side goal for the blog. And I’m looking forward to moving forward with the process.
That’s a heart sinking feeling, isn’t it? But I have no doubt that your new approach will help you soar. You have a lot of great ideas and a strong community – just time to connect that all together 🙂
Where’s the like button when you need it? I’m so looking forward to your new direction Jill!
The “Who” and “What” questions are good only when you understand the “Why.”
Why are you writing this blog? Why do you feel it is import? Why do you CARE? Etc.
Why conversations are internally focused with ourselves or a someone (like a coach, mentor, etc.) guiding us through our core thoughts, values, and beliefs.
Answering the “Why” questions get us clear on our passion and purpose. When we are clear, the “Who” and “What” are more easily answered.
I would agree, but sometimes it’s very difficult to separate the “why” from the “who” or “what.” For example, I know that I want this blog to reach people who may be struggling with some facet of their Social Media experience. Knowing who I want to reach and how I want to reach them kind of came into my head at the same time, and I’m not sure I could have found one without the other.
But yes, the “why” needs to come from within, and while people can help you get to that point where know what your why is, ultimately it has to be something that stems from your own brain and heart.
Thanks for the comment!
Yikes Margie! I think my slip is showing. 🙂
Great post and points. What I have found in my own blog writing is that I followed a similar process to the one you described – little focus led to a lot of wandering around. What helped me more than anything was a post by Chris Brogan where he talked about “writing frameworks.” Wow! What an interesting tool.
Chris’ suggestion transformed both how I go about my writing and how I think about a number of bigger issues. Where blogging is concerned having a framework is like always having a built in shortcut. I remember struggling with the traditional 1-3-1 essay format back in junior high, but once I figured out how to do it, there was no holding me back…
Having a basic metal framework for whatever you are working on works much the same way. Need to understand how to find a great job? Look for a personal branding framework. Are you putting together a complex project for work? Start with the right project management framework and cut your time in half. Looking for the love of your life. There’s a framework for that too.
I am by no means an expert on the frameworks topic, buy I can attest to how well it works. If you know of any great resources, I’d love to hear about them.
I thought that frameworks post was really interesting as well. I have always relied on outlines for huge papers – it helps me see that I have a point (always nice), points to support my points, and it also shows me where I have holes I need to fill in. I think outlines are probably pretty similar to the framework idea – I always referred to them as the skeletons of a paper that I would then need to add the meat to.
I will tell you a secret though – I don’t do that for my blog posts. Perhaps I should, but I aiming really for a conversational tone, and so I write as if I’m sitting down to talk to you and just recording my words. When I sit down to talk to someone, I don’t have an outline with quotes from Newsweek and Brian Solis ready at hand. Sometimes I’ll link to another post, especially if it inspired me, but generally not.
Weird, huh? 🙂