This is a story of a CEO who discovered
Let’s start in the dim and distant past: In 2006, I started my blog. Five years later I really felt bad about not updating it regularly. Luckily, late last year I started to write again. I felt like I really had a lot to talk about, and wanted to share my views with my readers. Moreover, as the CEO of a company that focuses on making blogging easier, I missed that feeling of joy I get when writing.
This year, I’m hitting my stride, and I’m now writing a post per day. Some are re-blogs, enriched by my own views on the subject; and sometimes I write about something that has just popped into my head and I just have to put in my two cents worth.
Through my recent experiences, I’ve learned that my blogging more regularly has brought more visitors to my blog and has raised my profile in my industry; in other words, I am becoming more influential. Honestly, I didn’t expect that the simple decision to update my blog daily would bring such great and rewarding results so fast.
How could I tell that my readership and influence were growing? There were a few metrics I keep track of that were indicating a big change. For example, in a recent four-week period, my Klout score — an assessment of the breadth and strength of a user’s online influence — rocketed from 20 to almost 50. In the same period, Google Analytics showed that my blog had increased its visitors 10-fold, compared to the preceding four weeks. And those visitors were now spending an average of two minutes reading my blog posts (depending on their topic and length, of course).
The statistics above clearly show there’s a lot of value in providing a regular stream of fresh and relevant content. In order to increase your site visitors and to establish yourself as a leader in your market, you must put out relevant content on a regular basis. In fact, Joe Fernandez, founder and CEO of Klout, recently told me, “I believe that the internet has a short attention span, and without consistently creating content and staying active in your networks’ mindset, it’s impossible to build influence and drive actions.” No wonder, there are so many who argue that corporate websites should include a blog.
Research interestingly shows (and my example clearly demonstrates) that the regularity of blogging counts. According to 2011 State of Inbound Marketing report by HubSpot, there’s a strong correlation between how frequently a blog posts new content and the amount of traffic generated. “In fact, businesses that post daily will generate five times more traffic than those that post weekly or less,” writes Phil Mershon, director of events for Social Media Examiner.
Individuals, as well as companies of any size, should know that regular blogging requires iron-willed discipline. Yet, it also makes you a better writer and helps teach you to express yourself more effectively. Instead of viewing your blog duties as a chore, consider using these three tactics as motivation:
1. Write down an idea immediately after it hits you
Whenever I find something interesting that I might want to write about in a blog post, I write it down immediately. While there are many tools available to help me in this task, I use this wonderful app called Evernote, which allows me to make notes, clip useful URLs, or even save full web pages so my ideas and inspirations are always with me whenever and wherever I need them. This is how I make sure never to be left without something to write about.
2. Remember that some posts may just be good, but others could be legendary
Let’s face it: We can’t be great every single day (sometimes it doesn’t even happen once a week). Stop worrying so much about perfection every single time. I am not saying you should not care about the quality of your work; rather, I am saying that there are two kinds of posts: the great ones (which may only be created from time to time) and the good ones — which can be just as valuable to an audience. Once you come to grips with the fact that not every post has to be a masterpiece, you’ll feel more comfortable writing more regularly.
3. Realize that it isn’t cheating if you hire a ghostwriter
For those of us who are simply too busy, don’t like to write, or just don’t feel like they are good at it, consider hiring a professional writer to do your blogging for you. Look for someone who you can trust to turn your ideas and the information you want to share into relevant, interesting stories — particularly if they will be writing content that will run under your byline.
As my personal case shows, content rules! I definitely don’t plan to stop writing anytime soon, and neither should you.
Has the same thing happened to you? Have you also learned that the more often you update your blog, the more readers you get? Tell us what has motivated you to write more frequently.
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