TheBizcoachBlog

Every now and then as I work with online entrepreneurs, there seems to be a trend of similar questions that are more prevalent than the weeks prior.  Over the past 7-10 days I have gotten inundated with “I’ve got my blog set up but now what do I write about?” or “I want to connect better with my readers but I don’t know where to find topics to do that”. Maybe this is a result of my recent preaching about how important it is to provide value when seeking to connect and attract traffic that creates a following. It’s a good thing in my book because it means you are all thinking about it seriously rather than cutting and pasting from 3 different blog posts and pressing “publish” (Thank God!).

If you’re asking the question it means that you have prioritized bringing useful information and connecting with your audience. But I don’t want you to let blogging feel like such a daunting task. So yes, the irony is not lost on me: I am in fact going to write an interesting blog post about helping you write an interesting blog post. Lol!

Just Relax Will Ya! Imagine Your Readers Naked…

To begin with, you want to relax. This is not like creating a mid-term research paper for your college professor.  I know, I’ve heard the pleas “but this is my branding man, I don’t want to come across all wrong, this is going to stay out there years down the road and people will judge me by it and… blah blah blah….”. To which I say “For the love of God RELAX will ya!” Shake it out, do some stretching, some jumping jacks, find your kwan, your mojo, your Chi, take some deep breaths in a paper bag or down a Jaeger-bomb (or all of the above if needed… on second thought no, please don’t because someone will try and then email me).

The first and most important thing you need to accomplish when blogging is to have YOU come through. Be transparent, be real. If you’re all uptight acting like what you’re going to write will someday be on your tombstone then it’ll never happen. The Truth is that if you write something so chock full of facts that it reads like a college mid-term thesis then you’ll do to your readers what you did when you had to read 40 pages in your history book for an upcoming test…. you’ll put them to sleep.

By being real I mean be transparent, be interesting, be cool or quirky it really doesn’t matter. If you’re you, you’ll find that you naturally draw others that are like you and if you’re really authentic you’ll draw far more because you’ll amuse many while communicating something of intellectual value.  You amuse them and they grow to like you.  I myself read a few bloggers who are typically highly focused on being authentic and low on value for that reason. Heck, I’ll admit it, I even watched a few episodes of “Flavor Of Love” and I don’t wear a clock around my neck or act like Flavor-Flav.  The dude just cracked me up. Don’t take this point lightly because it’s where bloggers fall flat as they act like super intelligent IBM executives and guru-marketers who appear like an expert but neither connect nor attract any one.

Don’t Speak To The Masses

If you’ve designated your target audience then you have someone in your mind of whom you desire to “be real” and communicate with. Otherwise you will attempt to communicate to everyone, which will naturally make you be uptight, make certain not to offend, appear super smart and thus… fake. Listen, believe me when I tell you that there are TONS of those poor people out there.  They preach about being authentic while they pretend to be something that they aren’t in order to look like an industry authority. 

For some reason almost everyone wants to act like an expert, they want to act like a guru. I’m telling you that the industry is RIPE for this “authentic” delineator if you capitalize on it.  The flood gates of traffic will open far quicker and more continuously for authentic people because most everyone wants to connect with someone real, not be preached to by a pretend pretentious expert. So…don’t be that guy cause they’re everywhere… but alas I digress.

If you haven’t identified your target market then go to the “Video Coaching” tab on the top left corner of the BizcoachBlog and watch “Creating A Successful Online Business Video #3: Identifying & Attracting Your Target Market”.  This will allow you to visualize talking directly to a person rather than speaking to a large crowd.  It’s a great exercise that enables you to naturally relax, take a breath and just talk with a friend.  This also proves even more useful when creating videos as well.  If you feel that you have to sell someone you’re going to come across as a salesman, if you feel you need to convince doubters then you’ll appear defensive and preachy, but if you visualize talking to a friend who knows you then the audience can relax and listen because you’re relaxed allowing your authentic message clothed in your passion to become evident.

Enough Donkeywork – What Do I Write About?

By now you know your target audience; you’re ready to “naturally connect” with them, so now what? This is actually the easiest part to coach but often the one that most are reluctant to improve upon. Typically, most people are very prone to interact but aren’t committed life-long learners, which is why they desire to communicate but immediately find they have little value to offer which would attract someone to follow and quickly lose confidence. Again I’ll say, relax; this is an easy one to fix in a short amount of time if you’re committed to making the solution into a daily habit.  I’ve said it before that your business growth will often mirror your personal growth and this is a perfect example.

The solution is a commitment to daily self eduction. Begin by educating yourself on things that overlap what both you and your audience would find applicable.  If you’re a new online marketer then make a list of the top 5 obstacles or challenges that you’re facing that would also apply to your target market as well.  This way you can research to learn how to overcome a challenge and get material of value to share at the same time.  Just choose one and do research on it.

Write down useful facts as you come across them then throw them in a rough outline to keep you on track. At that point you can begin writing what you’ve learned hitting all the points you’ve outlined, communicating it in a way that you would speak to a friend.  Stephen Covey said “First seek to understand, then be understood”. The value you are providing is that you will be communicating strong content in a way that is far easier to read.  Remember when you had to do a book report for school and you read the “Cliff-notes” instead because it just hit the interesting high points, was easier to read and didn’t put you to sleep. Well, just add your personality to it to connect, making it an easy read and there’s your value.

Read current news, events or posts that apply to your business and target market.  Its why the Learn2Earn Support site has a “daily news feed” page that pipes in all the new info to digest, for blog posting or re-tweeting. I take a scheduled time out first thing in the morning with my coffee to review all the top stories, jotting down notes and bookmarking them for videos topics, blog posts or for starting discussions on Facebook, twitter or forums. 

Now let me take the time to strongly state that your priority should not be to seek out information to blog about. Your priority is to learn and self educate or provoke an opinion based upon observed industry trends that you then desire to share.  If you make this the priority, then when you interact in anyway online, people will know that you have a finger on the pulse of what is going on in their industry and it is then that you will gain respect, not by posing as an expert that you’re not and being fake and merely regurgitating facts. It’s by being the respected, yet “authentically-approachable” you that attraction marketing occurs.

Another great way to get topics to write about is to find an opinion or particular methodology that’s being used that you disagree with which would apply to your target market.  For example: if you read about all the social media “automators” being marketed like crazy, you could easily take the position that if everyone uses them then we will basically have software interacting with software while no one is actually listening. (yes it is a pet peeve of mine – could ya tell?) Always use the same process; get your facts, create your rough outline and then go to town writing like you’re discussing it with a “business friend” who’s interested in the same topic. Again, this also works well with video and not enough people use a rough outline for videos and it really makes ALL the difference.

Conclusion

So begin by relaxing, identifying your target market and write as if you are communicating to that one person.  This will enable you to not be uptight or fake.  Obtain topics through a commitment of self-education pertaining to your business market.  You can pull topics from a running list of “overcoming common obstacles” common to your target market, current news and events or stating your opinion on a trend or particular methodology you’ve done research on. 

A continuous commitment to educate yourself through written information and instruction or video training is as paramount to your success as being authentic as you bear in mind that your business growth will typically mirror your personal growth.  Create the habit of making your rough outline which will keep you on track when you naturally converse with your target market, hitting those outlined points to provide value.  Always remember that it’s the value plus your authenticity that draws people in to be engaged with what you’ve written and compels them to keep returning to your blog.

Your Coach & Fan

Patrick Daugherty

The “Biz Coach”

CEO of Learn2earn it now Training & Support

Author of:  “The Success Steps For Building Wealth Online” for all internet entrepreneurs who desire real results!

You can also connect with the “Biz Coach” through:

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