028: 5 How-to Steps to Maximizing your Blog [Podcast]

Blog, blogger and blogging are terms we know. But we often wonder what it takes to create a blog that others will want to read. How do I blog? What does it take to create a successful blog? Also, we’ll dive back into John Maxwell’s devotional on leadership.

Blogging has become my life. I live for it and I believe the content I create helps leaders take their ministries to the next level. And Helping people develop their leadership, writing and blogging skills is where my passion lies. But how do you blog? What is it, and how do you begin?

Here are seven tips to starting your own blog and making it a smashing success.

1. Just Do It:

Take the NIKE approach and just do it. It simply takes making the decision to blog a priority. If you’re going to blog, you must go all in. For years I dabbled in blogging. Sure, I had one, but I didn’t really utilize it.

However, consistency is the key. I’ve often heard Michael Hyatt (Former CEO of Thomas Nelson) say, “Decide what you’re going to do and follow through.” We can’t sit idly by, if we do, nothing will get done.

2. Find your Website and sign up.

There are so many options in the website arena, it’s hard to know where to begin. This is where I come in. I did a simple Google search for “blogging platforms” and found 45 million results on people telling you what the best platform out there is.

For me, I personally use www.wordpress.com. It’s simple and it’s free. WordPress is considered the gold standard in blogging. You can’t go wrong. Now, if you really want to go gold on WordPress the best platform to use is self-hosted WordPress.org.

3. Know your Niche Market.

Sure, we can write about anything, but who are we writing to? What is your target audience. If we don’t know our niche market, we will never take things to the next level. We should be very intentional about who we are trying to reach with the message God has placed on our heart.

We should know what, in some form, what our target audience desires. I know my audience wants to succeed in their family, ministry and life. I know they want to stay motivated with clear thinking so they can succeed. If we know our audience, they will keep coming back. And I can attest that this is very true!

4. Write and schedule your posts:

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with everything on our plate. My suggestion is to batch create your content. When I’ve done this, it takes the stress level off your shoulders and lightens your load.

I believe blogging is the perfect way for us to be authentic and real with our readers. We are taking people on a journey through our life experiences. But, if we don’t take the time to produce quality content and schedule it in our lives, we will never get the job done. Make the most of your time, and schedule your time to write and while you’re at it, batch a few posts together.

5. Be consistent:

As writers it’s so easy to procrastinate or say “I’ll get to my blog later.” At least for me it is. Blogging requires consistency, not necessarily frequency. But one thing that readers want is authenticity and consistency.

If you’re blogging for the first time, take the time and schedule one post per week. It’s better to have one post a week then have people wondering if something will ever show up. I am recording this episode at 10 pm on Tuesday so that you, today on Wednesday can listen and enjoy.

People count on us, and if we don’t show up, no one else will be there to pick up the slack.

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT:

“What one thing do you want people to learn on your blog?” Share your thoughts below in the comments on Facebook or on Twitter.